Gen 4 Looks

According to Toyota, everything about its appearance is designed to fight wind resistance. Before the gen 4, I disliked the look of a Prius. When I first saw the new gen 4, I actually loved the look. Everything to me looks and feels like it is a part of the future.

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Are the looks more important than the driving experience? Why not test drive it and then decide whether the improvements outweigh your dislike of the looks?

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Well I bought the gen 4 eco two. It feels amazing, plus I got 300 miles in half a tank. The interior has great quality. I really like this car.

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I HATED the looks of the car when they revealed the photos last year... Didn't like the looks when I saw them on the road. It' was only after I looked at them on the lots, that I came around. I think the new gen looks better in some colors than others, but that's a personal preference kinda thing.

The looks have grown on me...

 

you drive a 2005 prius, and you want the gen 4 to look like a bmw, audi or mercedes?

 

I reckon the appearance is designed to be strange. At the very least, it gets noticed and people remember the car, even if they hate it to bits. They have been accused of producing boring looking mainstream cars for a long time now. I don't agree with every change they have made, but I personally never even considered a Prius before the Gen 4. The bizarre design, inside & out, is part of the reason I got mine. It's refreshing. I've even gotten used to the feeling upon entering the driver's door that I'm sitting on my toilet seat in my white bathroom

A 'normal' design doesn't stand out in a crowded marketplace where many modern cars tend to look very similar. Perhaps they chose not to consult traditional buyers of the Prius (who despite the changes, some existing Prius owners will probably upgrade to a Gen 4 anyway at some point) because they are seeking to grow the market by finding people who wouldn't ever consider a Prius before, because it looked too 'normal'? 10 years ago, if you wanted a really efficient car, your 1st choice would be a Prius. Fast forward to today, and you've got so many choices, not just the Prius. Just having great fuel economy isn't enough to differentiate your car from other brands.

In the US, I suspect it's a combination of the looks as you mention as well as low gas prices potentially suppressing sales of the Gen 4 Apparently, in their home market of Japan, the strange design has been very well received by customers.

"In a recent survey conducted by research firm Strategic Vision, 12 percent of respondents listed exterior styling as their top complaint with the Prius—against 8 percent for the previous-generation model. Current owners may also be less likely to switch to the new model. A recent Edmunds survey found that only 42 percent of current owners plan to buy another Prius, compared to 64 percent in 2005. In contrast, Prius sales are on the rise in Japan, something Bloomberg attributes to styling that better suits the tastes of Japanese buyers."
Source: Toyota Prius design, popular in Japan, not a hit in U.S.

Oh, I reckon Toyota are only going to get weirder in their designs. I don't think they will go back to vanilla designs anytime soon.

 

In Japan, PRIUS is the #1 seller.

I quite like it, and think it looks better than some other TOYOTAs - and it has world leading aerodynamics. It's preferable to some other companies which have boringly barely changed in decades and with little which could be called style (VW for instance).

The world at the moment with short-term low fuel prices is buying SUVs and trucks, have gone back to V8s (here anyway).

 

And is designed first and foremost for that market. Notice how their trucks and SUV's look "normal", they're designed for the USA.

 

is this the first complaint we've heard about looks? i thought everyone was unhappy with acceleration?

 

I've got no problems with acceleration - it goes plenty fa$t enough for me, and, if I'm willing to $ink the accelerator, it'll get up to $peed quite quickly enough.

 

i guess there haven't been any complaints then. oh wait, there's the loss of storage space.

 

The one thing my old car had better was more trunk space. Plus I could throw stuff on the back seat floor without worrying about air flow.

 

what it was?

 

Nope, not that either - it's got a bigger boot (trunk? ) than my last couple of cars.

 

I just bought my eco two last week. But if the price is right, I just might trade it in

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Downunder, we probably won't get PRIME at all. A Motoring Journal said "It appears quite clear that the ... Prime won’t be sold in Australia. Just a couple of weeks ago the company’s marketing chief ... the Australian market is not ready for plug-in hybrid Prius.

My comment - yes, maybe not as a 4 seater, no car sells here with only 4 seats, a few have tried and sold poorly.

There are no Government incentives for EVs, hybrids or PHEVs - or anything much environmental - down here.

 

Would u be able to order it for delivery from Merica?

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