What I don't like about the 2016 Prius

The Gen3 in my humble opinion, has much better looking brake lights. Instantly gets your attention.
The long vertical row of bright LED bulbs on the Gen3, is much more noticeable in day time/sunshine. Toyota went cheap on the Gen4. And I think it's dangerous.

(The big Cadillac SUV's are a great example of what LED brake lights should look like. Extremely bright.)

 

i think they went stylish, and they do look fab, but there must be a way to make them brighter for those of us with diminished...everything.

 

The "Z" tail lights look fab bisco, I like those, but they do not come on with the brake lights. It would be a huge improvement if they did.

 

mod opportunity?

 

Somebody eventually might do that.

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I just like big bright attention-getting brake lights. I'd like to see the brake light extend all the way across the rear spoiler, too. The rear end of the new Prius is so small...

I'm going to Disneyland.

 

i wish i could join you.

 

...but if I show up in my Prius, they might accuse me of stealing one of their "Autopia" cars.

 

i'll defend you! i'm not a lawyer, but i play one on p/c.

 

I'm finding that some brake lights are now so bright that they are a strain on the eyes and affect night vision when waiting behind them in a traffic queue.

IMHO, LEDs are enabling manufacturers to make new bad design choices and some are going overboard. I expect that sooner or later there will be rules for maximum brightness.

 

That's why I wear my sunglasses at night!

 

I have not read through all 35 pages, so sorry is this has already been said. The one structural design of the Gen 4 that I can't look past is the shape/angle of the windshield/A pillar leading to the front of the roof. It just looks to high and bubble like. The Gen 3 has a much smoother looking shape.

 

It is well known that bright lights are eye catching, which is why they are used to indicate changes in circumstances to following vehicles. However, to be effective in bright sunlight brake lights need to be extremely bright and conversely, at night they can be much dimmer while still being obvious. I suspect the tech needed to vary the light intensity appropriate to the ambient would be too expensive and/or potentially unreliable, i.e. a safety hazard of itself.

 

They got it right on the 2015 Gen3 Prius. I wish my 2016 had those tail lights / brake lights. (Maybe I can trade "down" for a new 2015. )

 

Where is that headlight thread? "Gen4 headlights have a big problem?"

Today was my first experience driving in coastal fog. And all I saw immediately in front of me was...
WHITE! Bright LED's reflecting off fog. I could tell that the headlights might be adjusted a little too high. Fortunately, I rarely have to drive in fog.

(I should have switched over to the Parking Lights. That dims the LED's somewhat.)

 

That's exactly what fog light were originally designed for. I remember when they were boltons fixed to the front bumper (fender) and usually with yellow or amber coloured glass. Together with being nearer the road that significantly reduced the glare reflected back by the fog. Not that I'm old, or anything.....

 

COAST CRUISER - "... Today was my first experience driving in coastal fog ..." - did you turn your headlights off when you turned your FOGLIGHTS on? I've seen many cars on the road in fog still with headlights on - which isn't how they're (hopefully) designed.

I haven't experienced FOG yet in the PRIUS - in almost all cases, standard headlights are terrible in fog and need to be turned off in fog, as they reflect back from the fog. Unfortunately, I've had a few cars with so-called FOGLIGHTS that most haven't been much good - for show only, I suspect. 2 VOLVOs (1974 and 1994) were excellent in FOG - the 1974 actually was intelligent enough to turn off the headlights when the FOGLIGHTS were switched on, they were a flat, low focussed light which didn't reflect back. Penetration wasn't long distance, but you're only driving slowly anyway. My FORD's foglights were hopeless, despite being mounted very low and being European design, too dull and not focussed low, just scattered random light around. Hopefully the PRIUS work well when I need them.

 

I think that the much brighter constant intensity tail and brake lights we are now starting to see are a solution in search of a problem so far as normal daytime driving is concerned.

Variable intensity rear lights rear lights as you suggested however could be very useful and wouldn't have to be continuously variable.

Separate Day and night modes would have some benefit and it should be straightforward to use the same electronics that switch the display brightness or switch between daytime running lights and headlights.

What I would like even more is a third ultra bright rear light mode manually selectable for when driving in fog. On the freeway, IMHO, this would do a lot to increase safety and would be of more benefit than regular front facing fog lights

 

Alan, my Three model doesn't have fog lights. I'm not quite sure how fog lights are supposed to work (in real fog.) My Camry had factory fog lights that didn't seem to help much, and the headlights came on with them. So now you have FOUR lights reflecting off the fog.

RCO made a good point. Fog lights in the past were yellow or amber. Maybe those worked better. In the future I will turn the switch to Parking Lights -- the LED's become dimmer and hopefully less reflection. (They appear to be even dimmer than the DRL's.)

 

Unfortunately, the sun visor does not have a slide out extension. The driver's side window is pretty wide and the small sun visor leaves a large chuck of the window uncovered. Frequently, the sun is between the B pillar and edge of the sun visor.
Does anyone have an remedy for this issue?