Ugly is in the eye of the beholder (stealing someone else's line). The worst looking, most cartoony car I've ever seen was this, the Suzuki X-90 Google Image Result for http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Suzuki_x-90_red.jpg/800px-Suzuki_x-90_red.jpg I swear to god that this was going to be the first hyrbid vehicle but Suzuki chickened out at the last second. I can envision the big, metal wind up key that would mount on top of the trunk so you could "wind up" the car and it could travel 2 or more miles using the wind up motor. I seriously picture Goofy (of Disney fame) driving this same car in all sorts of Disney cartoons.....
When the Honda hybrid Civic came out, DH and I circled one at the dealer's lot, and just couldn't quite get into the styling. When we decided, almost on a whim (OMG) that it was time to find me a better commute car, the Prius drew us like an electromagnet. There was absolutely NOTHING about the styling that we don't like. We bought the one we test drove. Two days later.
While I agree with you what makes the x90 look OK is to park next to a RAV4 which I am not saying looks bad, just it has similar proportions. We have a short wheelbase RAV4 for wife's car.
Twins separated at birth! Pat, for the RAV 4, in your minds eye (or photoshop's eye) remove the back window and cover and replace it with a trunk (or "boot" is what I think you call it), and VOILA! We've got the same car! Ick.
I was going to reluctantly bring up the RAV4 but you saved me the trouble. I find it hard to take that body style seriously. I'm not saying it is ugly, but it sure is ugly (oops - did I say that out loud?)
Egads. I have to agree - out of all the ugly cars posted to this thread this one is clearly at the top of the class! It's uglier than the Aztek. Kind of endearing in its own way though...
A nice lady in the parking lot asked me if Toyota was planning to make the Prius in another style, rather than the "Gay, Whacked-out Spaceship". I loved her comment and I now use it to define the Prius body style although I never thought it looked particularly gay (whatever that would look like). I think the body is cool and Toyota was brilliant in putting the hybrid technology in a unique body rather than hiding it the way Honda did.
The Prius looks pretty darn good with Leo DiCaprio driving around in it from the pictures I've seen (albeit Leo would look good driving any car)!
To my eye, the Prius has a radical body that has grown on me. I've tinted the windows and I'll get black alloys, but the shape is cool. It connotes to me the old Supras with the spoiler up at the top of the back window. If it was as wide as Camry and had some bigger wheel wells that were properly filled up, then you'd have a totally cool looking vehicle. As for the comments about form and function, I don't buy it. The early 80s Trans Am had a CD of .32 - the lowest for a production vehicle of the time. I can't recall if any major manufacturer has produced a 4 door with any similar CD. The features of the front of the T/A look nothing like the Prius. Regardless, the 2008 has grown on me.
I'm not sure I see your point... You're correct, the Prius is not Toyota's best selling car but they do sell extremely well. I would also venture to say average days on the lot that the Prius has the lowest, or one of the lowest, in the Toyota lineup.
It seems a bit silly to get on a site where people love Prius and then put it down! Are you a glutton for punishment? If you don't like the looks or ride of the Prius get something else. To ask why Toyota didn't it differently is a waste of time... besides which it has been hugely successful for them. I love the way my Prius looks. My next door neighbor has a Civic hybrid and it is boring. My friend's husband has one and he hates it and can't wait to get rid of it and get a Prius.
I'm a little unclear as to what you're suggesting, but my point in bringing up the T/A was to say that there are different ways to reduce the coefficient of drag. Did the Prius have to be so thick in the middle - nope. The designers could have streamlined the look to maximize cd if that was their ultimate goal. But that's not what their ultimate goal was. BTW - my kids, groceries, or the dog would find the back seat of the T/A roomy enough. My wallet would need to be custom fitted right by the gas tank, too.
we all got our opinions on styling of prius, personally i like it a lot, in comparison with other vehicles today its unique. im not sure if many people notice, but the Ford Focus looked like it borrowed a lot of styling from the NHW10/11 prius, and no one really says anything. Similar front lights, window shape and stuff. also in regard to drag coeff, my parents had a rover 820 ( called sterling 825 ) in the USA, it had a drag coeff of 0.27, and a honda 2.5 liter v6 this was in 1989.
I have mentioned this on this forum several times. Manufacturers who think Prius is beautiful enough to copy Nissan (Maxima profile but with boot and long bonnet) Citroen (C4 profile) Ford (Focus in profile) Mazda (Mazda 3 profile) Form follows function. Functional requirements for design team Must carry 4 people in comfort 5 at a pinch Low drag Look sexy Minimise space on the road Hatch back with room to carry stuff. Flat boot floor I think they hit every target.
hey dont be sorry... no need. i personally know several people, including the person i share my life with who thought the Prius was, at the very least, "weird looking". all have changed their minds. you are not alone. for many, the look grows on them...
My suggestion, and obviously I didn't make it very well, was something like even if the TA has the same CD, the Prius has more interior room.
I originally thought the Prius was downright ugly. I was a die-hard Honda fan, and I'm sure that influenced my thinking a bit, but I didn't care for it one bit. I was first attracted to the Prius for its technical merit; kind of like a smart ugly girl, who gets better looking the longer you talk to her. The look started growing on me as I pondered the potential purchase. By the time of my test drive, I was hooked on the looks. Now I love the look of my little black beast. Tom
