Toyota's much-loved fifth-generation Prius would have wound up as a fleet-operated special model if plans didn't change during development.
Taxis usually aren't very sexy, but they thrive on being reliable, efficient, and spacious. The latest Toyota Prius, on the other hand, is a design-led exercise that aims to inject some sex appeal into the hybrid market.
What do these two things have to do with each other? Well, the deputy chief engineer of the new Prius recently revealed to Top Gear that at the start of its design program, the Prius was going to be developed specifically for use as a taxi.
Prius engineer, Kohei Yanai, revealed that, as with the finished product, the fifth-generation Prius was designed to break away from the pattern established by the first four models of “forecasting eco-friendly vehicles”.
At that time, the decision was made to concentrate on the taxi market as a way of having the biggest overall impact on global vehicle emissions. “At the time we proposed an idea to make the fifth-gen Prius a taxi-dedicated vehicle.” Yanai said.
“Toyota thought we [could] contribute to the environment by increased number of [hybrid taxi] vehicles.”
The move would not have been entirely without precedent. In Japan, Toyota sells the JPN Taxi, a specialised taxi service vehicle with a unique body, and a platform and hybrid drivetrain shared with vehicles like the previous-generation Yaris, and Prius C.
Despite its commercial potential, Toyota’s goals at that time saw the brand moving away from its reputation for reliable but uninvolving products, with a greater focus on dynamics and design.
According to Yanai, Toyota’s CEO at the time, Akio Toyoda, had approved the taxi plan for the Prius, but when presented with the more radical proposal, Toyoda switched to “an emotional Prius, not a commoditised taxi.”
With the hybrid efficiency advantage of earlier Prius models diminished, owing to Toyota’s adoption of similar hybrid powertrains across its passenger car range, the Prius still needed a point of difference.
The sportier style of the wedge-shaped Prius, with its raked swinscreen and shallow glasshouse, starts to make sense when you consider Akio Toyoda’s push for cars to sell alongside it, like the GR sub-brand of sports car, and bolder styling for mainstream models like the Camry and RAV4.
Although Yanai didn't divulge what shape the styling for the Prius Taxi project would have taken, it’s easy to imagine how the tall roof, passenger-first rear cabin of the JPN Taxi would have influenced the overall direction for a dedicated Prius taxi.
Despite its more sports car-like styling, the fifth-gen Prius has been put to work as a taxi in a number of cities around the world. Australia, meanwhile, misses out on the model as an official Toyota offering, relying on low-volume private imports instead.
Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.
