Poll for your reaction of the Gen 4 - so far.

I think the little asterisk and the bold type is how "you" voted. Change your vote and the asterisk and bold type should change also...

I am in the middle of the fence on this one. I feel it is not about looks, but about functionality. What one man looks at as garbage is another man's treasure.

IMO, reveals are one thing. Actual test drive and usage is quite another thing. Let's all just wait and see what the real thing brings out before we jump the gun and say to He** with it...

 

You're correct! Only thing I can add is that I also include what the vehicle looks like as part of the equation, form and function. Function is always important... that's why we drive the Prius. Form goes along for the ride every time you get in, buckle up and drive off. At the moment, I'm pretty disappointed with the exterior Form portion and the interior layout. By the time we are ready to sell/trade/retire our 2011, there may be other choices available. More hybrids, plug-in hybrids and longer range electrics are coming on line. Don't think we'll be short of choices.

Prius is one of the best engineered cars when it comes to the hybrid system. It's truly brilliant. Gen II was good looking to my eye, but not the best driver. Upgrading the tires and wheels did help. Gen III looks better and definitely became a better driving car in every way right out of the box. So hopefully Gen IV will up the ante some more. There's always the chance that the form part can be fixed.

 

Looks like the perfect car for Gokhan - he could challenge himself a few times a day to help him advance on his path of eternal youth and spiritual enlightenment.

Who knew that critiquing a car company's design decisions was so revelatory of deep attitudinal shortcomings? I guess all us grumpy old coots are lucky to have such a mentor here in a forum that I thought was merely for discussing a line of cars. It's quite the bonus - I guess I was just being an ingrate.

 

Sorry guys, I just could not resist it. Seeing as how I turned 60 today, I can understand all to well what it's like to have difficulty getting around. All I can say is to enjoy your youth and your health, cause it aint' gonna last forever.

 

Kinda catty for a Zen master there, aren't ya kid?

Returning to the topic, my broader point was that the car's dimensions have apparently been altered in ways intended to broaden its aesthetic appeal (which doesn't seem to be working if you look at feedback in the wider world, compared to which criticism here has been muted and constructive), but may also have the unintended effect of narrowing its functional appeal. We'll see where they go with the next Prius v, but it may be that its role will expand from fuel-sipping family hauler to include becoming a more comfortable and commodious cruiser for mature hybrid fans unimpressed by the Gen4's suboptimal flourishes and disinclined to embrace the more luxurious (and expensive) Avalon Hybrid. I'm not sure I need something quite that big, but if the next v suits me better than the Gen4 hb, that'll likely be good enough to keep me in the fold.

While I clearly owe you no explanation (or at this stage even minimal courtesy, truth to tell) I'll just note that I live in a part of the country where cars last a long time, so I might well be pushing 70 before I part company with the car I buy next year, and I'm trying to be realistic about what will work best for me over the life of the car. As to your impatience with anyone who gives a thought to their potential physical concerns in the years to come (or chooses to "give in so easily" as you put it), I think Leon Trotsky (of all people!) said it best: "Old age is the most unexpected of all the things that happen to a man." Sooner or later we all have to pay the piper for the pleasure of the dance, and ignorance of that contract won't spare you from being handed the bill.

 

Happy birthday. I'll be 69 on the 19th. Life is good. We adopted our 5 year old grandson last year. It's keeping us young.

 

If you are only about 60 right now, that's hardly old.

As for the Generation 4 being lower, it's more for handling than looks. Toyota has always been known for inferior handling of its cars in comparison to many other makes (Ford, Honda, etc.) and they wanted to change that by lowering the center of gravity. I am certainly appreciating the effort they are making to improve the handling as I also never understood why they didn't care so much about it in the past. However, whether they will succeed in improving the handling will have to be seen and I am skeptical.

 

I sure hope the new design heads had some "ataboys" put away for this.

 

I find the v to be far easier in regards to ingress/egress than the Gen3, one of my immediate reactions after driving both. I find most Toyotas to be this way, but not the Gen3.

I find it hard to believe that, in 2015, cupholder design is still a work in progress. I've used the Contiga cops for quite some time now, so no handles to worry about. I sincerely hope Toyota has figured out that if cables and plug-ins are to be enclosed in a console, there should be a channel for the wires for, uh, actual use. Back seat passengers exist too, and should have something. Two USB or simply charging slots should be available.

I hope this model and the new suspension addresses driving. The term "sporty" is generally used to define a sharp-looking car, that really doesn't have the guts to be fun, but looks cooler. Maybe that's this Gen 4. Oddly enough, I think the front end of this new Prius shows how terribly wrong Toyota has been in their other cars. With the exception of the new Avalon, and Camry, I think their other cars border on the fugly.

 

So I say, "I'm pleased". Not that I love this car, but it's a step up in my opinion. I thought the flying buttress console was useless, unless you really needed a neat place to store CD's. They have wasted space, but at least it looks neater and cleaner. Not really a car for the masses yet, but at least not a step back.

 

My Gen 2 has a 12V outlet inside the console. It's the only one for the back seat people. I've been just slamming the console closed with the cable running out for years without a single issue. This is because the entire periphery of the console, excluding the hinge and the latch, is a channel. It doesn't seat down tight so the cables running out of there can move about freely and not be pinched by the console cover.

 

Happy Birthday!
I'll be 60 in another two months, but I don't think it'll make me any grumpier that usual...

 

i got $20. off yesterday for being 60. hey, at least there are a few perks.

 

Can someone clarify what "lower" means.

I presumed that the G4's overall height was lower. Is it "lower" to the pavement (ground clearance)?

My 2010 scraped on every dip in the road. The entry to the Toyota Dealership is permanently scarred where cars had bottomed out entering the dealership. Lower ground clearance is not going to work around here, where the curbs and gutters are recessed to handle surface rain water drainage.

 

Design is such a simple thing, but in order to implement it, one first has to recognize the need. Both your explanation and Toyota's design team seem to be perfectly in sync

 

Right, if we are talking about longer, wider, lower; lower here does not mean ground clearance.

 

Just speculating: the top of the car is a bit lower, and I believe the seats are lower too? But ground clearance about the same.

 

Also a different platform with lower center of gravity, so expect to sit a bit lower compared to Gen III.

 

Thanks Mendel Leisk and Sergiospl.

As I kept reading about being lower, I could not believe they would make it lower ground clearance.