Never seen a Gen 5 on the road

@daisy555, will you still be opting for a Gen 5 Prius, with the new 2025 Camry HEV about to debut in a month or two? The new Camry HEV is a much better car than the Gen 5 Prius HEV, you know, and it is cheaper.

 

What makes you think that the Camry HEV is "much better"? I'm not saying that you are wrong, just that when you compare cars, it has to be HEV model vs HEV model and both of the same trim level. I've seen lots of comparisons where arbitrary options and/or flaws were ignored in order to make different models "equivalent".

Thanks...

 

2024 Camry HEV and 2024 Accord HEV are the highest-rated cars among all cars and SUVs in Consumer Reports (93/94 and 89/96 road-test/overall scores, respectively), rated higher than Geman luxury cars, Teslas, etc. (perhaps with the exception of BMW X5 and BMW X5 PHEV with the scores of 92/94 and 88/98, respectively). I thought the next-generation 2025 Camry would be even better.

 

I lost faith in Consumer Reports a few decades back when they gave the Prius lower scores than their competition. They put higher value on things that did not matter much in real life. But it's better than just doing random WAGs (wild nice person guesses).

Judging from the Toyota web site, it appears that the 2025 Camry will not be cheaper than the Prius of the same trim, but the power levels should be close to equal. The 2025 will not (according to Toyota.com) be a simple upgrade of the 2024 model.

An odd side note related to the title of this thread... I've been driving Toyota hybrids for 22 years and have almost never been the target of attention. We even went to the extent of waving to the other Prius during the early 2000s. It went something like this: Hey! Look, a Prius! Hi! (wave vigorously...No reaction...) Stuck up!

When I bought the Gen 4 2017 Prius Prime the most common reaction from people was disbelief that it was a Prius.

Fast forward to this month. I traded my gen4 to a Guardian Grey XSE Premium. Now move the location to central Oregon. I'm headed north and I've just merged onto I-5, slipping easily between an big rig and a big black pick up. The truck finds that it's necessary to pass me in the slow lane. Then he "Coal Rolled" me. Really! He shut off his engine, let the fuel build up for a few seconds , obviously waiting for me to close the gap as he slowed. The DRCC worked as expected, keeping a long gap between us. Then the guy appeared to hit his ignition because the diesel kicked in, engulfing the back of his truck with black smoke. We were far enough apart that there was no impact. The cabin filter was efficient enough that I did not even smell the smoke.

This was the first time that someone found my car to be threatening to his masculinity to the point that he had to challenge it.

On the other hand was my experience on a trip south. I accidentally cut off a car while merging onto I-5 southbound at Gustine. I mistook the blind-spot monitor alert as a warning about the big rig that I was planning to slip behind. I realized at the last moment that there was a Camry closely following the big-rig. He pulled out and passed both the truck and me, shooting me a dirty look as he passed. 20 minutes later he's slowed, and I pass him. Again I get the frown right up to when he finally reads the PRIUS on the tail of the car. Suddenly his scowl turns to a grin as he gestures and points at my car while identifying it for his wife.

I guess it's not like my dad's Oldsmobile anymore.

 

Wow, you got coal-rolled?? I don't think that guy liked and/or cared for your Prius! You've got to be very careful these days with road rage, regardless of what you drive.

Sometimes the color helps. I am getting less aggression with my blue (turquoise) 2021 Prius Prime Limited than I did with my silver 2020 Prius Prime XLE. Perhaps brighter colors like red and white are less aggravating for road-ragers—I don't know. There isn't really a Gen 5 color that I like, perhaps except for the black, which I still haven't seen in-person.

Now, here is a guardian-gray truck in road rage. LOL

 

Spotted the first 5 gen in my community. Talked to the owner, who had a 3rd gen earlier. She loved her 3rd gen and loves this new car, although she did note the lack of headroom and back space compared to the older gens.

 

I typically drive on right hand lane or middle, and around speed limit, so no problems on that stereotype lol. My wife likes being on the left, but she goes 85 mph so we've never had problems there either.

I've never actually done the Curb Your Enthusiasm wave, but would wave back if someone did. I do like how Prius line up, and I've taken pics before where I parked next to other Priuses (Prii, according to official sources hehe) and took pics

 

Where exactly are you getting your 2025 Camry info from?

The press and even dealers are predicting the new model will start around $30k. In line with the current hybrid. Are you expecting Toyota to not charge for the cost of the hybrid system?

What North American car comes with true fog lights?

 

My better ½ has a funny/similar/wave story;
When she was only 8yrs old, my father in law bought a Corona, mid '60s era. Mother in law was driving. She pulled up alongside another Corona & started honking & waving, w/ big smile. Other driver frowning at mother-in-law. 8yr old yells at mom, "we're in the other car!" (Mercedes)
.

 

The white is so so beautiful. My husband test drove one and it was in daylight and it was just so sparkly.

 

I've driven in 10 western states in the last two months and several more in the last year. Didn't see a single gen 5. Yesterday, back in Minnesota, I finally saw one in the wild. Unfortunately, the driver was in the center lane of a crowded freeway going 10 mph under the speed limit and significantly slower than the other traffic. As a soon-to-be Prius driver, I'm hoping I can help modify that stereotype of a Prius owner.

 

Maybe he was breaking it in? When I was breaking in my car (not the Prius), I kept going slower than the flow unfortunately. But yeah maybe not lol

 

Breaking it in? In the center lane on a crowded freeway? Embarrassing.

 

Here is my Prius Prime Xse premium it is a little over a week
If anyone is interested DVNT is having a know your car night
April 18th

 

I can not imagine driving a car without having a hatchback. For some reason I’ve never been a fan of the Camry. If they were coming out with a Corolla Hatchback hybrid in the US, I might wait for that. I really liked my Pontiac Vibe.

 

Check trunk/hatch openings for both Prius and Camry before you buy. Gen 5 trunk/hatch is nothing like the previous-generation trunks/hatches.

 

I know cargo space is smaller than previous years. I don’t want to lift heavy things out of a trunk and I like that the seats fold down to create more space in Prius.

Interesting that Camry comes with spare tire.

I’ve never been a sedan person. I don’t like how they look.

 

I'm the same way. After going hatch, I can't go back. The corolla cross is about as close to a hybrid corolla hatchback as we can get I think in Can/US. I don't believe its available in hybrid up here either. Just the cross is hybrid available. And it is similar in price to the prius and only slightly bigger in storage with a lot less power and slightly smaller passenger leg space. More headroom though.

 

I test drove the Corolla Cross Hybrid and it felt like I was driving an unstable boat. The weirdest sensation.

 

If you need a hatch with a large trunk, you could also opt for a small SUV like the RAV4 Hybrid, but it looks like you would have to wait for another year for the redesign.