A Prius for the whole family

Seven-seater hybrid set for Australia
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Soon the whole family will be able to save the planet. Toyota Australia is close to securing a deal to import a new seven-seater version of the Prius hybrid.

The Prius Plus edition (it's a little longer, taller and roomier than the regular model) was unveiled at the Detroit motor show in January as a five-seater, but now a seven-seat verison has emerged.

Toyota Australia would not comment on the likelihood of this model arriving in local showrooms but the Car gamesales Network understands it will be on sale by the middle of next year priced at a modest premium over the regular model, starting from about $45,000.

A Prius seven-seater could fill the void left by the mid-sized people mover, the Avensis, which was phased out late last year.

"We would love to have the Prius Plus in Australia," said Toyota Australia spokesman Mike Breen. "But it is still under study and nothing is confirmed."

This is car games-company code for "it's on the boat".

Meanwhile, as Toyota Europe announced plans to introduce more plug-in Prius cars as mainstream models, Toyota Australia was more cautious.

"We have 10 cars under study at the moment, but it is not clear what our plans are," said Breen. Eight of the 10 cars are with the Monash University, and two are in the hands of Toyota technical and product planning divisions."

The plug-in Prius cars drive the same as a regular Prius but can travel up to 20km on battery power alone because their lithium-ion batteries (as opposed to mickel-metal hydride used in the regular versions) can be recharged overnight.

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