Toyota Prius Estate in late 2010

Toyota Hybrid X Concept. Is this a look at the 2011 Prius Estate?

We’ve believed for a long time that Toyota were going to extend the Prius brand, effectively creating a sub-brand for its hybrid cars. But the planned arrival of the Toyota Auris Hybrid next year, and the plans for a Yaris Hybrid in 2011 and other ‘Hybridified’ versions of existing models seemed to have kyboshed that theory. But it seems not.

It now seems that Toyota won’t be adding the Prius badge to hybrid versions of its current range, but they will be extending the Prius range none the less. The Yomiuri newspaper in Japan is reporting that Toyota has plans to launch  a Prius Estate and a perhaps a Prius SUV in late 2010 as a 2011 model. Additionally, it is reported that the Prius Estate will make use of lithium ion batteries instead of the nickel-metal hydride batteries currently used in the Prius, which will deliver more power – a real must in an SUV or Estate.

The rumours of an Estate Prius have been around for a while, and the Toyota Hybrid X Concept (pictured above) could well signal the looks 0f the Prius Estate.

But we dread to think what a Prius SUV will look like.

By Cars UK