LA MOTOR SHOW: Updated Toyota Prius debuts

Toyota has toned down the unorthodox styling of the Prius hybrid and heightened the sense of occasion inside the car ahead of a local release in April next year.

Rolled out at the Los Angeles motor show this week, the updated Toyota Prius features revised styling treatment, incorporating twin-beam LED headlights in the nose.

Tail-lights and bumpers have also been revised, while the high-grade Toyota Prius i-Tech is specified with a new design of 17-inch alloy wheels, and the basic Prius rides on new 15-inch alloys. Two new exterior colours for the 2019 Toyota Prius are red and blue.

The 7.0-inch multimedia infotainment touch-screen – featuring pinch and swipe operation – is a highlight of the interior changes, which also include different upholstery, centre console and controls.

Although the Toyota Prius will be available in an all-wheel drive version for other markets, Toyota Australia has no plans to bring that offering here.

Toyota won't reveal pricing for the updated Prius for the moment. The 2019 model is expected to lob in Australia about the same time as the hybrid version of the new RAV4 SUV, which will expand the company's local hybrid presence once more.

After that Toyota will launch the hybrid version of the new Corolla sedan late in the year. The three-box hybrid was also unveiled in LA this week, taking the number of hybrid products available to local buyers up to seven, when it arrives here.

"Toyota is focused on expanding its hybrid range to appeal to customers who have different vehicle requirements - whether hatches, sedans and SUVs -- but the same desire for solid performance with fewer visits to the petrol station," said Sean Hanley, Toyota Australia's vice president sales and marketing.

"This new Corolla hybrid sedan is further evidence of Toyota's indisputable global hybrid leadership, which began more than 20 years ago," Hanley said in a press release.

The Toyota Corolla sedan's powertrain will be that of the Prius, a 1.8-litre Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine and two motor/generator units driving the front wheels through a planetary gear set for a continuously-variable transmission. Conventional sedans will be powered by a 2.0-litre Otto-cycle engine.

In addition to the facelifted Toyota Prius, the RAV4 and the Corolla sedan hybrids, Toyota plans to introduce other hybrid models and variants in coming years, despite Australian consumers' apparent reluctance and the potential for cannibalisation of Prius sales. These other hybrids include C-HR, Kluger and Yaris.