2019 Toyota Prius teased ahead of the possible debut

MANILA: At the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show, Toyota might bring out the newest iteration of the Prius. To confirm the unveiling, we have a photograph of the brand new Prius floating over the internet. The photograph has been revealed by none other than the Japanese manufacturer itself.

Taking cues from the image posted by Toyota on its social media handles, assumptions are being made that the 2019 Prius might feature an all-wheel-drive system. The reason being that a lot of snow is being booted by the Prius in the image. Toyota has captioned the image with “Fall is here, winter's near, but the 2019 Prius performs on roads whether snowy or clear”. No elements of the car are visible apart from the cargo carrier installed on the roof as the car is covered in a snow bubble. The teaser has been well received because the Prius hasn’t had any updates since the time it was launched in 2015.

The Prius has been already having an all-wheel-drive system in its Japanese spec model. However, the rest of the world has been kept away from Toyota's E-Four system. The E-Four system by Toyota installs a secondary motor at the back powering the rear wheels. Front wheel drive or all-wheel-drive is chosen by the car’s intelligent system according to driving situations. There is no change in the boot space of the Prius even with the addition of the rear motor. The weight also goes up marginally without making any difference to the performance or riding experience.

Toyota Prius available in the Philippines is powered by a 1.8-litre 4-pot motor that produces 99 PS of max power at 5,200 rpm and a peak torque of 142 Nm at 3,600 rpm. Power figures go up to 134 PS and 207 Nm when we add the power provided by the electric motor. A CVT unit takes care of transmission duties. Prius sells for Php 2.25 million in the Philippines.

There's another amazing vehicle that has been leaked before the reveal at the 2018 Los Angeles Auto Show. Check out our story on the leak of Jeep Gladiator.