Main Difference is of the placement and type of battery
& the obvious (Number of Seats)
in Japan like other so called Developed Countries have small families thus do not buy many 7 Seater Alphas
and ppl just dont buy 7 seaters when they do not need them as Road Taxes in Japan are based on the number of seats in a car so no1 wants to pay extra taxes
there is no flaw causing lesser sale of Alpha 7 Seater (ZVW40)
i have sold several Alphas both 5 & 7 Seats
no user ever complained about battery issues
the car is superior to Standard Prius in all aspects of Comfort & no1 can say otherwise, after trying both cars, I can say that having driven all trim levels of both cars
Alpha has "Pitch & Bounce Suspension Technology", which is in short much better than Prius (ZVW30), no offence to its owners
now I said its better in comfort its proven on paper
I wont debate its looks, parts, resale & fuel economy
those things are down to personal preference but every1 likes a comfortable ride that matter most for me
wassalaam