What are your thoughts on the Gen. 4 Prius?

After owning 3 Prius cars in the last 10 years, I switched to the new 2016 Honda Civic.

These Prius vehicles are starting to trickle in to dealers and I would need to wait another month or so before dealer stock would be sufficient for me to make a deal. So I began to look around for an alternative and found it in the Civic.

I wanted the latest safety technologies on my new vehicle (accident avoidance, blind spot monitoring, lane control, etc.). On the Prius I would have to invest in their Advanced Technology Package for an additional $2000. That would bring the cost for my Prius 3 to around an MSRP of $29,000. The Civic with similar equipment would be about $2000-3000 less.

My only regret is that I would not get the Prius great gas economy. But for the difference I would be saving, I could live with it.

 

civic is a great car. think of it this way, you're with 97% of the country. a less than 2 bucks a gallon, who cares?

 

Maybe the Civic Hybrid got better. I test drove a 2005 Civic Hybrid in 2005, when the Priuses were very hard to come by. I walked into the dealership planning to buy the car. After the test drive, I was uninspired, which was a surprise, since I was driving a 10 year old Protege before that. I decided to sleep on it, despite the dealer's best efforts. I then testdrove a used 2003 Prius, and it was night and day. I had to order one from Toyota of New Orleans (I lived in Tallahassee at the time) and pay for shipping, since the dealers in Florida were asking for a 3K premium over MSRP. I then test drove the Insight in 2010, and had a similar reaction. So I got a 2010 Prius. I didn't test drive a Honda this time, maybe I should have. I test drove a 2013 Volt. I just got my 2016 Prius yesterday. I'm sure you tried both before you bought, and hopefully that means that the Honda got better. Enjoy!

 

i think it was a regular civic.

 

Drove my 2004 to the dealership today to test drive a 2016. After test driving the 2016 we took a 2015 out as well. We drove all three cars on the same roads. As before the 2015 and 2004 we're so similar it was difficult to tell them apart. The 2016 on the other hand had lower road noise, much lower engine noise, much less body roll, much less harshness over bumps, was generally more responsive, and overall much better to drive and ride in. I was surprised at what a big difference there was between the 2016 and either Gen 2 or Gen 3. I'm still very disappointed about the loss of storage space inside especially under the rear deck, but I'm going to try to figure out ways to handle that situation. I may still wait a year or two to see if some improvements come out, especially e-four, but I'm not going to buy a Gen 3. The Gen 4 was simply that much better driving.

 

Not everybody wants to drive a car (Prius) with a George Jetson interior. But, Toyota obviously thinks that (most) people who are looking for a Prius want the space age 'different' interior.

I suppose Leaf driver's could say Prius drivers don't really give a crap about resources since their car only gets 50 something mpg while Leaf gets, what is it 90 something mpge. Or someone who takes public transportation could say solo Leaf drivers are resource waster. Or hermits that live off the grid in a teepee could say anyone who uses resources in any way is a waster. And so on.

So, what is 'the line' of who 'cares' and who doesn't? 40 mpg combined? 45?

Or consider this, if someone only drives 5,000 miles a year, should they drive any kind of a hybrid with $$$ hybrid battery?

 

I agree that Toyota is making some unfortunate style choices and allowing their perception of fashion to supersede, function, logic and good design but I think that most motor vehicle design is pretty awful in that respect.

I guess my line on mpg is where the Prius is coupled with planning my life in ways that reduce car dependence.

Why shouldn't someone who only drives 5000 miles pa drive a Prius if it fits their needs and wants better than the alternatives. MPG is not the only thing it offers. Amongst other things it's reliable, inexpensive to maintain, quiet in heavy traffic, and adaptable enough that its likely to be able to continue to meet peoples changing needs for far longer than most other cars. As for the traction battery, it has a long guarantee, it seems likely to last for 15 years and its cost is steadily falling. Compare this with transmission, clutch, brake and belt, maintenance and replacement on other cars over the same period.

 

That hybrid battery doesn't just allow for great millage, it also allows for great drivability. The Prius is one of the best drivable cars out there.

There is no lag in acceleration from a stop. Achievable in a manual clutch, but unheard of in an automatic. unfortunately i'm in a rental for a few weeks (ford fusion) and I feel like I'm missing the smooth acceleration of the prius. Trying to give subtle input into the throttle when starting out and the ford won't move until the RPMs generate enough torque to start moving. By then, the output is more powerful than I need to inch the car forward.

Granted there are drivability characteristics for which I think the Prius completely fails:
1) Inability to see front edge of hood from within the car (Mini Cooper was always a breeze to judge the 3D placement of it's corners.
2) Low and distant chin that often scrapes on driveway entrances. Approach angles in the Prius are a joke.

 

why the anger and bitterness? it's just a car.

 

In the market for another car for the family and took a look at the 2016 Prius. Seats were the most immediate difference - much better than our Gen2. Styling is interesting - I can see the love/hate relationship people have with it - I can't shake the feeling that since Toyota has seen so much Prius market share slip away to other manufacturers, they decided to take a bit of a risk by adding more aggressive design elements inside and out to make the car more distinct (e.g. the rather concept-car-like dash). I like how the "arch" between driver and front passenger has been done away with, favoring a lower-profile console. Overall, I like the car and think it's a step forward.

However, I can't help but feel extreme hesitance towards buying another Prius as Toyota service has left us with a bad taste in our mouths repeatedly over our term of Prius ownership. Ranging from plain old incompetence (put the wrong oil in our car. Three times between two dealerships. really?) to consumer-unfriendly practices (replaced all the nice $5-each pop-up OEM/factory fasteners that hold the upper plastic radiator shield on with cheap single-use ones), I'm really not sure I want to own another car where I have to do a thorough inspection of the car every post-service visit and fight them to put the car back together properly (one dealership decided it was fine to leave the cover to the fusebox unsecured).

I can see why the dash is polarizing - in my opinion it's a quite a lot more concept-car-y (especially the white-on-black) than most other vehicles on offer today (this includes our Tesla, by the way). It's more sculpted and prominent than on most other cars.

People buying driven by gas prices likely already bought one in the $4/gal interim.

It's funny you mention how the lowness of the car is an issue - as someone who regularly drives a lowered car, I feel like the problem of steep driveways have actually gotten worse. It strikes me as a reflection of SUV-centered thinking in designing so many driveways (I've sort of mentally been keeping track how many driveways have actually become steeper in the past decade or so after being reconstructed in the areas I frequent). Some places seem to have the unfortunate combination of deteriorating revenues and increased tolerance of poor road maintenance levels (who cares if there's poorly patched potholes! everyone has an SUV!).

If you're going to get a Civic, might as well get a Type R (until it gets stolen at least). Interesting to see that the Type-R engine is going into less raucous trim levels.

 

I interpreted your post as - 'if you don't buy a Prius (or other hybrid, plugin, etc...) you are in the other 97% ers who say 'hey gas is cheap, less than $2 , I'll buy what I want, who needs a 2016 Prius (or other hybrid, etc...)'

... and I don't like that type of attitude.
A whole lot of people don't buy a Prius because they just don't like the darn car, it's unusual interior and quirky looks. Same for other trunked hybrids and plugins that cost a bundle, have small trunks and oftentimes not even a damn pass through or little port-hole in Camry and Avalon hybrid.

Average Joes and Janes will flock to hybrids and plugins when they offer the best overall value in cost,performance,utility,looks,etc...
And unfortunately for advanced technology vehicles, they are just not nearly 'there' (But, 2016 Prius is closest)
Now, for Tesla with its hot looks, amazing utility and drivability, some will wait and pay BIG BUCKS to get one because it is DESIRABLE.

My very good friend sincerely PASSED on any Camry and bought a 2016 Accord sedan V6 top of the line Touring Black on Black 2 weeks ago and she loves it. She had a 1989 BMW 5 for many years and could make the jump to Honda, but could not make the leap to Toyota / Camry and its overly utilitarian styling and drivability.
... And no, I don't actually want an Accord at this point, doesn't electric parking brake/brake hold feature. Who the heck would not want to simply press a button at any stop light, give their foot a rest and simply hit the gas the go again? Show of hands? No hands.
2016 Prius could easily have the electric parking brake feature and automatic brake hold, but ooops, Toyota didn't think of that one. Our friend above got that feature in his 2016 Civic and if an EX or up, Lane Watch camera, another Great feature.

 

i thought you were serious.

 

I am very excited about the Gen 4.

What puzzles me..... , this often expressed idea: "now that gas is so cheap, who cares about fantastic gas mileage?"

Huh?

The Gen4 easily beats anything out there if the metric is energy cost per mile. Partial electric/full electric cars aren' t even close in this regard.

And, why it is easy for me to choose the new Prius over the Volt 2. (though, I think the Volt 2 is very nice looking)

 

puzzling is an understatement. but it reflects most americans attitudes toward fossil fuel: keep it plentiful and cheap so i can have what i want when i want it.

 

Can't wait to get my 2 Eco. 70MPG for intra-city driving
should be easy.

Regards, Steve

 

me too!

 

I took another sit in 2016 Prius Three because I want to see where Toyota has come with the car.
Although the driver's seat (bottom cushion **) is not quite enough for my taste, I can't fault the new Prius driver's seat: It is a high-quality design for the car.
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** I ruled out the 2016 Civic (including top end EX leather seats) today because its driver's seat bottom cushion is 'not quite enough' for my tastes either (legs very long insist on deep seat cushions and a nice fit), New Prius driver's seat bottom cushion as good as Civic's and the Prius seatback/ width / shoulder support is better than Civic's (IMO).
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The Prius driver seat position is vastly improved. Seat now goes low enough so driver can feel down in the car. Steering wheel position very good. Steering wheel had nice size, shape and the Softex cover feels good.
Armrests now very good. (In 3rd gen Prius, seems as though seat and door panel / armrest designers didn't communicate, but I think they were off base not allowing the driver seat to lower enough like it now does).
Dead pedal improved, now larger.
The white tray not so happening.
The light and mid Gray color scheme nice.
Front seatbacks very good.
Wow they really allowed front seats to slide back far making for scant rear seat legroom if front passengers won't slide forward, but probably reasonable front, back space balance.
Front passenger seat has been brought down into car where ought to be. Previous generations awfully high front passenger seat for tall ones.

Prius Front passenger legroom / footwell was very good **
** Current 9th gen Accord sedan's front passenger footwell is pretty scant making for curiously short max legroom. I don't know what is under the Accord's front passenger floorboard, but wow does the floorboard reduce front passenger legroom.

Door and dash materials looked and felt nice in new Prius.
The small, low glove box ok but not great.
front sunvisor was a pain, doesn't extend from the rod to block sun in mid-upper side window. This would seem a low-cost addition for high customer appreciation. My Viisormates work, but they aren't an elegant solution.

I didn't take a test drive yet, but I would do so to see where Toyota has come with Prius. Already ruled it out for other reasons, but I'm sure puhlenty of customers are going to partake..

 

So I'm coming from a 2008 Prius and here are the following thoughts:

Loves

Full speed cruise control - It makes driving on the road a wonderful experience and significantly reduces the amount of time you spend thinking about speed. The car seems to even out start and stop motion and keeps the car moving a lot better, although it does leave a big gap.

Blind spot monitors - These work great and it's nice when you're considering making a lane change being to quickly see the indicator lights in your peripheral vision.

LED Lighting - Wow the LED lightings looks so great and illuminate the road beautifully. Plus the bulbs are designed to last the life of the vehicle and will reduce maintenance. I hope toyota continues to put LED bulbs everywhere until there is not a non-led bulb in the vehicle. So I never have to change a bulb.

Cup holders - I think the cup holders are better designed and hold the drinks a lot more solidly.

Ride - The ride feels more secure and quiet. It's a pleasure to drive although I am not a car person and really didn't mind the 2008 at all.

Glass Cockpit Center Color Screens - I love the new speedometer/odometer/dual panel. I think it's so nice how much you can configure and display different information on it and how the steering wheel isn't in the way at all like in a conventional dashboard. It looks great and works great.

Gripes

Entune - Lack of decent apps, clunky navigation with no 3d view. This is the thing I hate about my Prius and the top reason, I would consider buying a different car as I would prefer to have manufacturer intergration/reliability in a head unit. It feels like it's from the pre-smartphone era. Desperately needs android auto/apple car play.

Tire repair kit - I drive a lot of miles and not being able to slap on a spare is ridiculous.

White drink area/console tray - horrible design decision. After only a few days there were obvious dirt marks. This is difficult to keep clean and ugly. The dealer wanted to sell me an cover for it for $400, when I bought it. I figured I'd be able to find a better deal later on.

Lack of Storage compared to 2008 - I miss the storage crevices and multiple glove boxes of my 2008 model.

 

The MSRP on the Console/Shifter Applique Kit is $199, per my Prius 3 window sticker. Is the dealer charging an additional $200 of installation or is this a different accessory.

 

Toyota should hand those black covers out for free. Porcelain white, piano black, neither appeals to me.