• by Thom Forbes  @tforbes, September 10, 2015

Toyota has taken the wraps off a flashier, fourth-generation Prius with 10% better fuel efficiency that it hopes will revive sales of the august hybrid in an increasingly crowded field even as gasoline prices are spiraling downward.

“Toyota chose Las Vegas as the glitzy backdrop for the global reveal,” writes Alisa Priddle for the Detroit Free Press, unveiling it at a “lavish event Tuesday evening for members of the media and other guests.” By and large, they seem to be impressed.

“Competition in the alternative-fuel space is fiercer than ever,” Eric Lyman, VP of industry insights at TrueCar, tells Priddle. “There are several new models in the marketplace since the last Prius launch, including the Ford C-Max and Honda Accord plug-ins. The second-generation (Chevrolet) Volt comes out later this year, as will the Audi e-tron, and Tesla has become a force in electric vehicles.”

That glut is, perhaps, the reason why the automaker “is downplaying fuel economy and emphasizing the style and handling of the new Prius,” writes Paul A. Eisenstein on NBCnews.com, with Toyota U.S.A. GM Bill Fay maintaining that the vehicle “has a certain presence to it that will appeal to a broader range of buyers.” 

Eisenstein tells us that the vehicle “is longer, wider, lower and a bit roomier. It has a new double-wishbone suspension and a lower center of gravity that should give it more sporty handling. It has a more lavishly equipped interior, adds more safety and infotainment technology, and adopts a new, more aggressive exterior design.”

Its fuel efficiency could very well be a talking point, too, not only among those who are inclined to steadfastly think green but also among those who are inclined to think greenbacks, once prices rise again at the pumps.

“The fuel-economy boost should allow Toyota to maintain the 2016 Prius as the country's gas-mileage champ among cars that don't come with a plug, with an average of about 55 miles per gallon,” point out Laura Petrecca and Chris Woodyard for USA Today. “…It will be helped by lighter hybrid components and a battery with higher energy density.”

The sweltering 90-degree-plus temperatures had 350 attendees outside Caesar’s Palace’s The Linq “[glistening] with sweat” as a rock band played and lights flashed at the reveal, Petrecca and Woodyard observe. No doubt many of them were thinking that reducing carbon dioxide emissions is a good thing, but they may not be in the mainstream with gasoline getting increasingly cheaper.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) last week said that gas prices in the week before Labor Day were at their lowest levels in 11 years, and 95 cents lower on average nationwide than the year before. That trend spurred car sales to hit their highest levels since 2005 in August, but consumers were particularly partial to gas guzzlers. 

“Truck sales surged by 8.6% versus a year ago while passenger car sales fell,” Reuters’ Jonathan Leff reports.

“It's really clear that low prices are boosting consumption,” energy economist Philip Verleger tells Leff. “And it's not so much more driving, it’s which car you take.”

Leff points to an Edmunds.com study published in April that found that “22% of consumers who were trading in hybrids or electric vehicles went on to buy a new SUV instead.” Only 45% of this year's hybrid and EV trade-ins went toward the purchase of another alternative fuel vehicle — the first time loyalty rates for alt-fuel vehicles have fallen below 50%.

Not everybody caught the vibe at the Las Vegas event. Yahoo Auto’s Neal Pollack, a Prius owner since 2006, found the evening rather cheesy and the car a bit passé but writes: “I didn’t come to Caesar’s Palace to bury the Prius. I’m sure it will do fine as it enters middle age. It will go about its business unheralded while all the hip Millennial car brands take Vines of themselves and don’t care who they have to destroy to get ahead, the bastards.”

Others were more upbeat.

“The new Prius is clearly a step up in every way,” writes Kelley Blue Book analyst Karl Brauer in Forbes, after praising its seat comfort, control placement and a battery of safety features, among other improvements. “These enhancements may not reverse the car’s waning demand, but if the new Prius simply stabilizes around 150,000 sales a year, it will be among the best-selling cars in a country where hybrid cars are increasingly difficult to sell,” he concludes.

Autoblog’s Sebastian Blanco surveyed some passersby on the Strip about the new look. “It looks really cute, it's really nice, it is really modern and futuristic looking,” Joanna tells him. Xavier, who says that the Prius “was never a car that a dude like me could look at and be like, ‘Oh that's a really good looking model,’” avers that “this one looks cool, man.”

There may be hope for the planet yet.