4th generation coming 2015!

Its funny how the term Reliability has been watered down to confuse the masses with Perception, Initial Quality, Quality, and Customer Satisfaction Surveys. Car Brand Perception should be restated as Car Brand Deception as it has nothing to do with the Reliability of a Car Brand. Although CR has a large statistical database to draw their conclusion, AutoOnInfo.net is much larger and CR tracks AutoOnInfo.net pretty much in their reliability results. Toyota and Honda stand above all other manufacturers, but when you look at the number of vehicles still on the road 20 years later, only one brand remains: TOYOTA!

 

SNEAK PEAK! The 2015 NEW 4G TOYOTA PRIUS!!! | Stage 10 Productions Inc.

 

SNEAK PEAK! The 2015 NEW 4G TOYOTA PRIUS!!! | Stage 10 Productions Inc.

 

Gah, that's simply hideous. It's like someone mated a Mazda 3 with a CR-Z.

-Iain

 

I would be very surprised if it looks exactly like that. I think they will keep at least a little of the current iconic look.

 

I agree. At least they got the front grill right. Same oversized, obnoxious, grill on many current model cars today.

 

Here's what your front grill looks like to an aerodynamicist:

All I want is a completely smooth, front, with no, forward facing, pocket parachutes. If you need cooling air, suck in only what is needed under the front bumper and exhaust it out 'gills' inside the wheel well.

Rats! Now I'll have to make one to show you what I mean.

Bob Wilson

 

Gaads. If that's really it, count me out. How horrible.

 

I like the profile and 3/4 rear view pics. It just seems that the front has waaaaaaaaaaaay too much going on. The front grill reminds me of a baleen whale with no bumper. And all the aerodynamic sculpting of the front cowling seems like everything is just hanging on below the midpoint and forget about parking lot bumpers just waiting to crack all that plastic. There is a big difference in the environment of the street vs. a wind tunnel.

 

Hello all. I have been off-line for a long time. I have no issues, so I just sort of lost interest in priuschat.
My G3 (2010) has performed so well for 70,000 miles, that I am thinking about replacing it later this fall. So I returned to priuschat to see what the rumors are for the future. In my situation, from what I have read, I suspect I will get a 2014 and pass on the G4. I am not too crazy about the artist drawings (the big grill that seems to be more design than function). 60 mpg would be nice; but lithium chemistry will need improvement before I am interested. The G3 has come close to being ideal for me (comfort, ride, performance and fuel efficiency) plus, I like the appearance. The HSD has been flawless. Absolutely, no issues.
If I had not hit a deer and slightly altered the alignment of the front sheet metal, I would not even consider replacing the G3.

 

I would really like improved aero's as well. Get rid of the rear view mirrors (replace w/ small cameras and lcd's inside. The mirrors are almost as bad as a parachute. I really wish some car company would offer a truly aerodynamic car (boat tail and all).

 

Thank you Parodox .... I agree. But so many new cars (as mentioned earlier) have the enlarged "maw" that just does not appeal to me. I like the sculpted sides.
I did not mention it, but elsewhere I read that the G4 "may" be on the Corolla platform, and thus slightly smaller.
One other point I did not mention .... I hope (I think even the 2012 corrected the problem) I need for the front end to provide a bit more ground clearance. The 2010 is so close to the street, I scrape/hit the road whenever I pull into a drive. Here in the mountain west, where rain is infrequent, street drainage is via the street curb, and it is normally heavily sculpted with a dip.

 

A bit off topic, but I am wondering if any of you that have a lot more knowledge about battery chemistry than I, see any parallel in the earlier Volt fire problems with the lithium batteries, and the recent grounding of the 787 aircraft, alleged to be because of the batteries?

 

That "dip" in front of the windshield of the proposed design made me wonder how the aerodynamics would work... perhaps someone who knows the science of aerodynamics could educate me - it looks to me "abrupt" and that the airflow would "jam" in that spot and then go up unless there is something with the front of the car that causes airflow to hug the front... hard to tell not seeing a three dimensional model.

I crew on racing sailboats and keeping the "slots" clean and smooth and the telltales flying in unison makes a difference in boat speed... then there are all the lines to tweak the sails to get the most out of a breeze... when we were shorthanded, we came in third of five boats in the spinnaker fleet and we were not flying a spinnaker and one of the two boats did not have a performance failure (spinnaker dropped in the water, called "shrimping")...

Still love the Gen III liftback shape and hope that Toyota keeps it as an option.

 

See My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - Lithium ion batteries suspect in 787 fire. Per My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - Lithium ion batteries suspect in 787 fire, Dreamliner is using lithium cobalt oxide, which is apparently quite volatile and no EV uses them.

Re: Volt, see Case closed: NHTSA ends Chevrolet Volt fire investigation. Many more details at NHTSA Statement on Conclusion of Chevy Volt Investigation | National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Some discussion at Lithium ion/Boeing 787 | PriusChat, but although I'm not following this topic closely, I'd say the discussion at MNL is better, given that a former airline pilot is on the thread (but he's not familiar w/the 787's systems), at least 1 EE and a bunch of folks familiar w/the various li-ion chemistry variants.

 

Blech. Looks horrible. That is Toshi's idea of an appealing car? Funny he says Toyota is willing to steer away from the masses in 4th gen. That would be brilliant - take the top selling hybrid on the planet and ruin it.

Still, 4th gen needs just the right shot in the arm. It's too cutesy and a little dull with all the hard plastics and the massive floating bridge console.

I don't know what they ought to do with the car's shape. Should they break the smooth hood/windshield line while keeping the Kammback?

btw, it won't be a 2015 model. 2016.

 

I will be looking to replace my current Gen II in 2015, by that time, there should be a couple of manufacturers that will have some autos worth looking at! I think this should be at least on my list!