Did the Ugly Duckling grow into a beautiful swan?

The Gen III is the Gen II minus the oddness and awkwardness. Definitely more mainstreamed. IMO, any oddness/awkwardness distracts from the beauty of it. I can name a few models of Ferrari, Corvette, Porsche, etc. with an awkward angle to it and it definitely didn't help.

I'm one of those new breed of Prius owners who would not consider a Gen II before the 17"-wheel Gen III. Today I would not mind getting a Gen II but only if I upgrade to bigger rims. Don't like the Gen III with 15" wheels either. Too awkward looking.

 

I own a gen 3. To be honest I prefer the gen 2 styling better. It was more balanced than the current model. The gen 3 has more of an aggressive style but I really do not like it overall.

 

I prefer Gen3 exterior and Gen2 interior.

 

But in the 2nd Gen Prius they missed the best proportion of front and rear seatroom / legroom ....

>> When you have a 6'2" guy like me, 35" inseams sitting in backseat of Gen2 Prius, and there is still 4" room in front of my knees with front seat slid full back, there is a fundamental problem. Really, what kind of people were they planning to put in the backseat anyway, NBA centers? The Gen2 roof peak and B (door) pillars are too far forward. But, this problem has been corrected in the 3rd Gen Prius.

The other minor styling stuff doesn't mean all that much. The chassis proportions do mean a lot.

 

I am in love with my Gen II Prius and the Gen III but not so much for what it looks like but what it does for me. I must admit the styling was not the car's main draw for me but I have always admired the versatility in all hatchback designs. Now I am waiting to see if Toyota comes out with a Prius Coupe hatchback as good looking as the concept car shown in other threads. If it also will be a PHV, then I know what my second car will be without any further thoughts (presently a Beetle TDI).

 

It's more like 3 1/2" measured in front of my knees, but still, it should be less than 2". IOW, everything, the B pillars, roof peak, steering wheel, front seat travel, touchscreen all ought to have been moved back about 1.5 to 2 inches.

Just goes to show it takes generations for a new car concept to reach a refined state and during the process, may the buyer beware.

 

Every time going out of a driveway, but not hitting the front tires squarely, I can feel the flex in the GenII chassis.

Funny how Macmaster says the GenII Prius says 'mod me'. 'Cause for many, it needs modding.

I could really do without the burping/farting sound of that coolant pump too.

 

The angled beltline of the G3 is its most attractive feature. The sharp creases further makes the car look more chiseled and wedge-like. It has a purposeful stance, looking like it's ready to move forward. The 17's puts the necessary final touch. I only wish it was 3" wider, because the rear view does look a bit skinny.

The Gen 2 simply looks dorky. I have never like narrow headlights on any car (see Nissan/Infiniti). The side panels of the Gen 2 are rounded and bulges in the middle, making the car look fat.

 

Wow! I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder.

I think that the angled beltline is the least attractive aspect of the Gen 3. Not only does it damage the sight lines but to my eye, it makes the car look like it's designed by a fashion designer rather than someone who was thinking about function.

I also really wonder about the elaborate headlight profile.

I bought the Gen 3 for its multitude of other merits and despite the angled belt line and the headlights not because of them.

 

I own a gen 3 currently. I just do not like the appeal of the gen 3 vs the gen 2. I mean the prius is not a sport cars, and the aggressively styling is a bit much, and the more pronounced 'wedge shape' of the car is not attractive to me.

The gen 2 has a softer more balanced look.


Of course the opinions about the looks vary, but that's just my own observation.

 

The G2 had a simple, functional, yet distinctive look.

The G3 has too many affectations, the best examples being the head and tail lights. I mean, was it necessary to have the the split at the rear of the headlights? That just looks silly. The same goes for the oversized tail-lights with the big wedge shape. Imagine if VW had done some of these things during the course of the Beetle's long production run.

OTOH, BMW has done a lot of the same sort of thing with their cars, starting with the Chris Bangle designed E65 7-series in 2002. While I absolutely detest the Bangle influence on BMW's vehicles, I am apparently in the minority, since BMW has enjoyed steady growth.

 

If you don't like the more aggressive styling of the G3, then you definitely won't like honda's new hybrid.

Love the wedge. Love the sculptured sides.

No question that the G3 is more attractive than the G2. Some folk at work can't believe it's a Prius, with comments like, "it looks too nice to be a Prius".

 

The Gen II is a very serious work or Art...Literally by the Eastern definition of the word..." the poetic study of the essence of a subject". The Gen III is a small advancement over the original work...a refinement really and therefore is not significant...i.e. the Gen II would be suitable for MOMA the Gen III would not make the cut...

Now aesthetically I think the Gen III has improved proportions and its connection to the design themes of the last Celica GT are obvious...In a way the cut lines now in fashion and seen on the latest BMW 3 series were predated by the same forms on the Celica. This is all a trend towards harder styling lines seen on the New Buicks, Cadillacs, Mercedes, BMW etc...Toyota's integration of this line energy is quite rigorous in a mid 80's Italian way (think Walter D'Silva Alfas). I like moving towards a more taught and muscular surface treatment and after the doughy forms of the 90's I would suggest there was no other direction for Auto stylists to go.

 

2010 Prius ---> 2000 Celica

 

I was behind a new cadillac yesterday that looked like if a Prius and one of the new fugly acuras mated... Had the Prius wedge with the sharp angles and the acura left right wedge.

The back looked just like a Prius with the rear window almost being horizontal, but there was no bottom lookout window.