Consumer Reports Prius Prime Review (Aug 3 2017)

Interesting review on the Iconiq. Seems it doesn't live up to the hype.

 

What hype is that?
The most hyped feature in reports is the fuel economy.

 

Seems there's more to a car than good fuel economy.

 

Take their reviews with a grain of salt.

Case in point: as an old "salt" way, way back, I bought a 1980 Diesel Rabbit based on CR's review (look it up) that it was THE #1 car; Reliable, and great MPG etc. What was NOT TO LIKE??? Plenty as it turned out. Guess what? That car was a DOG and cost me so much in repairs, not so great (compared to the gas model) economy...this was my last VW after owning several 60's and '70's Bugs. Look up the reliability of that car NOW!! It wasn't just me, that car SUCKED for everyone! Yeah, hindsight is great, but you just have to be smart and think for yourself.

 

Yes, but it what way were those other attributes of the Ioniq hyped up? It is an economical daily driver of the car, and other reviews have not sold it as being markedly better than other similar cars besides fuel economy. The handling, noise, ride, comfort, and controls on the CR chart are all subjective tests; individual preference is a factor. Which is why CR uses symbols instead of numerical values.

With that in mind, the Ioniq and Prius are pretty close. If handling is a priority, the Prius will likely be a better choice; seat comfort, the Ioniq. The long braking distance of the Ioniq is a negative, but that could have more to do with the tires than the car.

An annoyance, CR mentions that the advance safety features are only available on the top Ioniq trims. The car they tested was one of those trims, and price paid implies that the car has them, but CR doesn't confirm it or not.

I learned to drive a manual in one of those Rabbits. Friend bought it second hand. It was the first owner's first car. Along with tinted rear windows, he installed a 5 speed in it. So he might have fixed or improved other areas of the car.

 

From what I read, there is more cabin room in the Prius and more head-room for front+back passengers, but also the back-seat is more comfortable in the Prius... also many folks on this forum claim to like the very comfortable front-seats on the Prius, with lumbar support... so not sure how much more comfortable the Ioniq seats are?

 

Perhaps it is trim-specific, but my Trim Two seats are not comfortable for long trips. The ride is much smoother than my 2008 Corolla, though.

 

Choice is good.

The Ioniq SEL driver's seat has more adjustment options. You have to move up to the Three, perhaps even the Four, to match it in the Prius.

 

You and I have vastly different points of view on the Iconiq and Prius reviews. Gas mileage is the same, handling, brakes, and noise level are worse. Transmission is not as smooth. These are not subjective tests, as you say. The results are measureable. The Prius is CR recommended, the Iconiq not. In summary, the Prius is a better car. There's another thread on the Iconiq in this forum. Lots of hype and wishful thinking there. Take a reread. No surprise to me though. Hyundai doesn't build better cars than Toyota. Never has.

 

If the results are measurable, why not print some numbers? A decibel meter for noise should within CR's budget. Same with a slalom and skid pad for handling. CR can be clever when it comes to measuring somethings. How about apply that cleverness to some off these car test's and give us a number? All we get instead is small colored circles that show a car is better than another in some criteria, but not how much better. These are qualitative tests, and a buyer with slightly different priorities and preferences can reach different conclusions.

Duh on the transmission not being not as smooth; it is a different type of transmission. There are some people that actually prefer shifting over the drone of a CVT. Otherwise manufacturers would not be putting fake shift points in their CVTs.

My question wasn't about which company was better, but what hype of the Ioniq was there going around that it isn't living up too? I don't recall anyone claiming the Ioniq was going to dethrone the Prius, just that it was a serious contender. That it is. Forget the reviews, just look at Toyota's reaction. With the Ioniq's arrival, some features available only on the Three and Four were moved down trim, and the Prius One was made available to the general public. Toyota didn't make this decision on third party reports alone.

 

... and then there are very negative articles like this surfacing up:
If Current Trends Hold, the Toyota Prius Won't Be America's Best-selling Hybrid in 2018

It saddens me to quote sentences such as this: "The steep rate of decline experienced by the Prius in 2017 is no surprise", "For another, there are new Prius competitors, such as the Hyundai Ioniq [..]. But the Prius’s rapid slide — sales are down by a third so far this year"

"Yet even in comparison to prior portions of this current Prius’s era, sales are tanking. Only 39,146 copies of the Prius were sold in the first seven months of 2017. Year-over-year, monthly Prius volume has declined in each of the last 15 months."

The article is TOO negative if you ask me...

 

i had a late 70's rabbit, put me off vdub ever since.

 

Yes but back then all cars were pretty bad.


iPhone ? Pro

 

true, but even my valiant was more reliable.

 

That slant six was bullet proof!


iPhone ? Pro

 

well, i did have to do a valve job around 75k, but that was par for the course in those days.

 

Thanks! The site "Truth About Cars" has been on an anti-Prius jihad as long as I've seen them:

So I added this to their comments:

We gave our 2003 Prius, 172k mi, to the housekeeper so she would have affordable, reliable transportation. We replaced it with a BMW i3-REx, a plug-in hybrid with dynamic cruise control and collision avoidance and drove 18k miles in the first year. About 90% were electric miles which with home charging cost ~$0.25 per 10 miles. It gets 40 MPG on the highway.

We replaced our 2010 Prius, 73k, with a 2017 Prius Prime, another plug-in hybrid with radar based, dynamic cruise control and collision avoidance. I drove it 1200 miles home following highballing trucks and got 58 MPG. Around town, EV also costs ~$0.25 per 10 miles, like the BMW i3-REx.

Recently retired, cheap miles are all that matters. EV miles at a steady, $0.10/kWh, are about 2/3d the cost of variable $2/gal gas miles. Furthermore, local businesses offer free charging, ~$0.25-0.35, to attract EV repeat customers. These free charges account for about 1/3 of my electric miles. No one is offering free gas to shop.

Plug-in hybrids give cheap, EV miles and gas to go cross country where the Prius Prime is exceptionally efficient. Prettier than sheet metal art, the saved greenback dollars in my wallet can buy a burger.​

I have no expectations of changing minds but opening them to the idea that efficiency is its own reward. The comments follow a familiar pattern of accusations:

• 'green' -> point out they are cheap to drive keeping greenback dollars in my wallet
• 'ugly' -> unlike sheet metal art, the pretty dollars in my wallet can buy a burger
• 'slow' -> faster than towed trailers, delivery, semi-trailer trucks, and vehicles pumping gas

Bob Wilson

​

 

Strictly speaking, a Prius does not have a CVT. The Prius hybrid system simulates the effect of one. Do the above concerns about the drone of a CVT apply to the Prius hybrid system? Unlike with a "real" CVT, there are no belts or chains in a Prius drive; is that relevant?

 

I'm a CR subscriber, and I put more faith in their revues than any from any car magazine, as for mileage, their Gen 3 Prius mileage matched mine, and Their Avalon Hybrid mileage matched mine, so I'm guilty in that I drive hybrids like a regular car, so does CR.

 

In one respect, I can sympathize because there is a normal distribution of mileage. Just when we look at fuelly.com or the original Greenhybrid, the distribution suggests CR is one standard distribution low for efficient cars. Inefficient cars, no problem suggesting there is a problem. I don't doubt your personal experience but rather a poorly documented protocol that seems to penalizes efficient cars.

Bob Wilson