Christmas is now less than a week away and our writers are gearing up to begin reporting on the changes you will see in the new 2010 and 2011 hybrid SUV models. With holiday music filling my office, I am staring out the window at more than a foot of snow on the ground - pondering. What would be the one hybrid vehicle I’d like to see announced in the next 12 months? Well, as crazy as it sounds - it would have to be a Toyota Prius SUV or a Prius crossover vehicle.

There’s nothing wrong with a little dreaming this time of year, right? I was dreaming of a white Christmas and look how that turned out. Even so, I want to make it clear we’ve heard very little from Toyota that would lead us to really believe that Prius SUV’s are coming, not even by Christmas 2010. Yes, there was the “Hybrid X Concept” Toyota showed us at the Geneva Auto Show in 2007 (pictured above and with more details on Autoblog). I’m not sure if that one would qualify as a crossover or a sport wagon, but it was interesting.

Bloomberg reported in November that Toyota may be planning to turn the Prius into a full line of hybrid vehicles, taking advantage of the badge that is nearly synonymous with gas-electric cars. In that same article, Toyota’s Jim Lentz (executive VP of U.S. sales) was quoted as saying, “A smaller city car based on the Prius would have even higher fuel efficiency and would fit with a trend toward people moving into inner-city lofts. People also want to see more utility on the vehicle, so you could imagine something that’s a little more utility or crossover-based.”. Hmmm.

Toyota already offers a hybrid Highlander SUV, and they have hinted that a hybrid Rav4 could be on its way to Chinese markets in the near future, so would it even make sense to slap the Prius name on a new SUV or crossover? It’s equally as probable we could instead see a hybrid version of the Venza or Matrix. Either way, we may have an answer in three weeks as Toyota will unveil another hybrid vehicle at the Detroit Auto Show on January 11, 2010. Rumors are this one will be an even smaller hybrid - possibly based on the IQ (teaser photo to the left). Granted, it doesn’t look like a Prius SUV but it never hurts to dream, right Bing?