Consumer reports 5 vs 4 is terribly out of context. Borderline dismissive. IMO

there's no link, could the wheels be noisier and lower mpg?

i gave up on cr long ago. their criteria is skewed

 

I just purchased my first new car a 2023. Their was no rating for the new Prius a the time.

One thing I have noticed after reading and checking consumer reports reviews over the last year is that the scores change a bit. One of the highest rated cars at the time I began shopping in 2023 was the EV6. Looking at old screenshots of rating for the EV6 from last year and comparing to the 2024 rating there are some significant differences yet I don't think the car has changed much. The road test score is down 4 points from 90 to 86, predicted reliability is down 36 points from 84 to 48 and predicted owner satisfaction is down from a 5/5 to a 4/5. It is nice to know though that they update ratings as they get new information or new cars are introduced into the market.

What they offer is quite unique among American automotive press companies. I find their podcasts very informative. I also like that their aren't car adds all over the place when I surf the site. It seems to me that they also have a strong effect on sales and seem to be quoted quite a bit by other media outlets. In addition their subscriptions are fairly inexpensive.

With that being said they are far from the only source of information when it comes to buying a car. I found YouTube, other automotive press, sites such as caredge.com, wikipedia and many more sites very helpful at assessing my choices.

My bottom line is that I don't think anyone is going to find the best care to meet their needs by just going to consumer reports and picking a car based on the cars total score.

 

I voted for the wrong one just so I could see if the respondents answers were as bad as the poll was... Lol...

Seriously, comparing Gen4 to Gen5 in a forum for Gen5 when you can no longer buy a brand new Gen 4? How does that make any sense at all?

 

What is the poll asking? 4 or 5....what?

 

There's a difference between a market comparison and a historical comparison.

 

Yeah there’s a dirth of “Gen” prefixes here, couldn’t fathom the thread title at first read.

 

Still can’t, package?

 

Editorial intervention:

Consumer reports Gen 5 vs Gen 4 is terribly out of context

 

Well, if you want a perfectly scored car form Consumer Reports ratings, then you should buy the Toyota Camry Hybrid or Honda Accord Hybrid. They both scored close to 100, while Prius scoring less than 80.

Gen 4 Prius and Gen 5 Prius are both good cars. There is no need to feel agony about why Consumer Reports didn't rate Gen 5 Prius much higher than Gen 4 Prius or Gen 4 much higher than Gen 3 etc. The score is rather high for a small car. Big cars score much higher.

So, I guess Tesla Model 3 owners are also bothered by why Consumer Reports didn't rate Model 3 much higher than Gen 4 or Gen 5 Priuses then.

 

Who the hell knows Lol. I chose LE because that's what I own.

 

Not according owner satisfaction ratings.

 

Prius, Prius Prime, and Model 3 all got 4/5 in owner satisfaction in Consumer Reports surveys, which is a very good, albeit not excellent, rating.

 

CR is a garbage publication. I don't give it any credence.

 

Well, to answer OP's question, if I were in the market for a new car, I would go with the 2024 Prius Prime SE PHEV.

If I were looking for an affordable, dependable used car, then a 2021 or 2022 Prius Prime Limited PHEV would be my choice, as it has TSS 2.0 along with BSM, RTCA, and all the other whistles and bells (some absent in the 2024 Prius Prime SE PHEV).

Once you plug in, you don't go back; so, I wouldn't go back to the Prius HEV.

 

I don't think I could replace our second car with anything but another prime too. But we drive it so little, it's a terrible financial decision and I'll probably end up with a 5 year old Prius or just a really inexpensive basic corolla at the time it dies for a few years. When our kids are older and need more double parent driving around support we probably will get something nicer. But the temptation is high