Never seen a Gen 5 on the road

Last I heard Toyota says its ability to produce has gotten better and it expects to push a lot more inventory in 2024. Prius had a great Jan and Feb even with supply constraints, and I am hoping it does manage to sell 50,000+ this year, up from 30k+ last year. Toyota expected only 35k sales this year.

 

West Coast deliveries may get better - what with the East Coast Port Bridge being destroyed recently.
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My experience in late '23 was that the inventory showed lots of cars in our general area (within 200 miles maybe 30 or so) here in Kansas, but every one of them was on hold for a buyer. If you didn't talk to the salesman the day the car hit their list of allotted vehicles, someone else had it reserved. When I called the dealership I bought from, the salesman said they had gotten their allotment that morning and he would check. They would be getting 2 cars the end of October/beg. of November, and one was already on hold. My car was the other one. When I asked if he could hold it for a few minutes to bring my husband on board, he gave me 15 minutes to get back to him. He had the deposit on my credit card in less than a half hour.

I just wonder how many of those cars on the Toyota list are already spoken for. Of course that was 6 months ago, so times change.

 

I don't know how many are reserved or bought but definitely not all of them. There were already plenty of Gen 5s for sale at the dealers here in October if you were willing to pay for a three- or four-thousand-dollar markup (perhaps you could negotiate it down to two thousand), and the markups must have gone down to $1,000 or less around here now. It is the good old new-generation rush. It always ceases after the devoted buyers get theirs.

 

Might not have changed that much at this point.

I actually went to a nearby dealership today (near Orlando, FL) that showed it would have 3 incoming, and the salesman I talked to said all were already presold, and that the Prius were normally pre-sold before they came in.

Saying that, more than half the inventory in spreadsheet allotments are "allocations" so maybe Toyota is gearing up production.

 

There weren't any in stock anywhere around here, and many dealerships were charging $1000-$3000 premium (convenience fee) that I refused to even discuss.

 

I am a scientist/engineer like you, and I share the same sentiments about looks vs. functionality as you do.

I saw a silver XLE or Limited under bright sunlight today. I have mixed feelings about the looks. From some angles at certain lighting conditions, it looks very elegant, and at other times and other lighting conditions, it looks "meh."

Today, it looked "meh." While I appreciated the modern design, which most OEMs seem to be adopting in their new models these days, the 19" wheels looked pretentiously large, the shiny black rubber trim all over the car felt like an eyesore, and the lines in the back and front didn't seem to be made in the most aesthetic way. Moreover, it still looked like a Toyota. It didn't impress like a fine sports and/or luxury car. Regarding the silver color, it is less impressive in bright conditions, creating too much contrast with the trim. Nevertheless, I appreciate the modern design features. Unfortunately, the design features that are considered modern now typically get outdated by the next generation.

 

Later today while driving the Turquoise Jewel, I saw a silver LE, and it actually looked much better than the silver higher trim. Matte black rubber blends in more nicely and the smaller wheels and black wheel covers look nicer than the pretentiously large aluminum wheels. This silver one was a lot dirtier than the silver one I saw earlier, but the dust actually not only hides well but perhaps even makes it look nicer by reducing the contrast.

At this point, I crossed out the higher trims if I ever get a Gen 5. LE/SE looks nicer, rides better, and gets better fuel economy/a longer BEV range.

 

Think I'm up to 4 different gen5s at this time. Blue, red, and silver. None of the colors stood out to me as exceptional. The blue and silver don't seem much different than the hues Toyota has been using for decades, and I've been comparing all reds to Mazda's lately.

 

Couldn't agree more! I was looking at my 24 Prime SE today, and trying to spot the shiny black accents that were referred to earlier. Surprise, they're matte, and they do look good! Not to mention you're not saddled with the (undesirable IMO) 19 inch wheels! I relegated my stock 17s with their black covers to winter duties with my X-Ice, and put decent rubber on my Borbets for the warm seasons. SE for the win!

 

The silver on the prius prime has quite a lot of metal flake. Compared to older silver toyotas, while not as flat as that weird putty "nardo" paint that seems to be more popular lately, the older silver paint is very bland.

I havent seen a silver 23/24 corolla or camry since I noticed just how much metal flake is in my car up close, but it really is very sparkly when you get up to it.

The *only* design improvement missing is the light bar and the nicer headlight assemblies with the turn signals using the full boomerang. That's literally the only visual aspect of the higher trims I wish I had. The 19 inch wheels really are a headscratcher for me since at the end of the day, even if it does have a sportier styling, the prius is still an economy focused car. The 19 inch wheels being that much more expensive, and that much easier to damage when driving in a city is a big drawback

 

I like the gloss black trim on most of the paint colors, but I have to agree that the silver looks best with the matte trim from the LE/SE. Haven't seen a white Prius yet to compare.

 

Saw a white gen 5 on the road on way out, and later noticed that a dealership had a supersonic red XLE. They were supposed to have a Prime too, but it's gone it seems. Location is Central Florida. The white one was only the second gen 5 I've seen (the other was also a white)

 

I think you are right. I saw a parked higher-trim white Prius Prime yesterday. The first thing I noticed when I was walking by was the giant, enormous wheels, which I guess makes the car look aggressive and is perhaps a good thing. The glossy black trim actually looked good with white.

This was possibly the very first Prius Prime I saw. I've seen a lot of Priuses, but I think this Prius Prime with its clear taillights and differently styled aluminum wheels was the first. Its wheels are more aggressive-looking than the Prius wheels, and the clear taillights add to the aggressiveness.

 

Yep, that's me being aggressive in a Prius! Well OK, maybe just looking aggressive. It is *still* a Prius.
I really wanted the higher trim, but it still bugs me I had to sacrifice 10% of EV range and about the same Hybrid MPGs with those fancier tires. I'm not quite annoyed enough to change them out though, at least not yet.

The way I explain it to folk is sometimes I drive the car based on its looks, but mostly I drive it based on the badge on the back.

will

 

I saw two today. The first one was a white LTD and the second was a silver LE.

My impressions on the looks are mixed. The car looks goofy from certain angles, especially from the back diagonal with its cutouts and overly tapered rear window. It wouldn't be the car of my choice if I were shopping for a car for its looks. To put it another way, I wouldn't buy a Gen 5 Prius/Prius Prime for its looks.

The white looks yellowish/grayish in daylight and does not impress. It looks better in artificial light.

 

If you check it out, you'll find no one buys the Prius for its looks, especially & primarily - the earlier versions. It's an economy car for crying out loud
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I was shopping for a "greenie", not impressed with most of what I saw (and drove) until this. The blue XLE spoke to me. Lol!

 

That looks like a red gen 3 to the right. Nice coincidental pic .

 

A 2010 or 2011