Geneva 2011: EU Toyota Prius+ MPV Gains Two More Seats Over its US Counterpart [Updated Gallery]

This week in Geneva Toyota revealed its European-market Prius + MPV, known stateside as the Prius V. Instead of five seats, the Euro Prius + will get seven seats when it debuts in early 2012. Also unlike its USDM counterpart, the Prius + gets a three middle row seats that fold individually (instead of our 60/40 split) and a 50/50 folding third-row seat.

The Prius + should burn approximately 5.9 liters / 100 km (using US combined city/highway figures) thanks to its hybrid power train and a drag coefficient of 0.29. It is also the first non-plug-in hybrid Toyota to use a lithium-ion battery pack and, like its Prius sibling, gets EV, ECO, and POWER driving modes.

For more general info on Toyota's Prius MPV, check out our previous post. If that doesn't tickle you, just check out the live pics from the show below.

Toyota Announces Auris Hybrid for European Market, Sales to Start in Mid-2010

Toyota has confirmed plans to launch a full-hybrid version of its Golf-sized Auris hatchback for the European market in mid-2010. According to the Japanese firm, the Auris Hybrid will be built at its UK-based facility in Burnaston, Derbyshire. The company did not release any technical information but chances are that the Auris will make use of a similar, if not the same, hybrid drivetrain system to the new Prius that combines a 1.8-liter gasoline engine with two electric motors.

"With today's announcement, Toyota has taken a significant step forward in ensuring that full hybrids become more accessible to a wider range of customers," said Tadashi Arashima, CEO and President of Toyota Europe. "Such efforts are crucial if we are to see more low-carbon vehicles on European roads," he added.

In other words, it's safe to assume that the Auris Hybrid will be priced much lower than the Prius, giving Honda's newly introduced Insight Hybrid a run for its money.

The Auris is Toyota's proposal in the all-important for the European market C-segment rivaling the likes of the Volkswagen Golf, Renault Megane, Ford Focus and Opel Astra. It was launched into the European market in the Spring of 2007 replacing the three- and five-door hatchback variants of the Corolla. Since then, it has sold over 370,000 units across the continent.

The Auris is offered with various powertrains in Europe including the newly introduced 101HP 1.33-liter gasoline engine that returns 5.8lt/100km or 40.6mpg US in the European cycle and a range-topping 2.2-liter turbo diesel with 175HP for the sporty Auris SR180 (pictured here) that returns an average of 6.0lt/100km or 39.2mpg.

Toyota Announces Yaris HSD Concept and New Prius+ MPV with 7-Seats for Geneva Salon

Toyota is going to have an interesting collection of cars at this year's Geneva Motor Show in March as the second and closer to production concept version of the FT-86 rear-wheel drive sports coupe will be joined by the Yaris HSD study and the new Prius+ minivan, which appears to be the European version of the Prius V with seating for seven instead of five.

The Japanese automaker said that the Yaris HSD study represents the next step in the firm's full hybrid roll-out strategy in Europe. The single cropped photo reveals that the car is based on the all-new Yaris supermini, which was unveiled in Japan at the end of December 2010, featuring hybrid-specific styling cues. A production version will follow within the next year or so.

As for the Prius+, Toyota said it's the first car to offer European customers the versatility of 7 seats combined with a full hybrid powertrain, adding that it will boast the lowest consumption of any 7-seat MPV on the market. It remains to be seen if Prius+ is a longer version of the North American Prius V minivan that made its debut at the Detroit auto show in January.