What are your thoughts on the Gen. 4 Prius?

Overall I'm pretty satisfied so far, i mean i didn't expect as lexus refine quality for price I paid for this car, actually enjoying driving this car more around town than my Rx350.

 

My husband has an RX350. It's nice and all but I prefer my gen3.

 

I saw the 2016 in person, it did not look as good as I had hoped. Unlike the Gen 2 & 3 where the design of the car flowed from the front to the back, the Gen 4 looks like there was a design team for the front half, and one for the rear half. The interior, the cars were locked so I could only see through the windows. I applaud Toyota for getting away from the bland one color interior, but I think they went too far with the center dash, and console design, along with pattern choice for the seat inserts. Between the new futuristic design, competition, and low gas prices Toyota is in for a real challenge. This maybe why I still see adds for the 2015, and none for the 2016

What do you think?

 

a lot of people don't like the 2016 design

 

As a previous GEN 2 and current GEN 3 owner, I sat in a GEN 4 today, made a thorough inspection and will simply say "MADE IN CHINA" best sums up my experience. The improved 58 MPG is a merely a gimmick (BUT WERE SO EAGER TO BELIEVE!) to disguise the fact everything about this model LOOKS CHEAP AND FEELS CHEAP AND WAS LIKELY DESIGNED AND MANUFACTURED with "MARGIN PRIORITY #!". I suspect this model cost significantly less than a GEN 3 to manufacture and it was deliberate. MARGIN, MARGIN, MARGIN = PROFIT, PROFIT, PROFIT for Toyota. Ignorance is bliss for any first time buyer of the Prius....be grateful unlike this disappointed former Prius fan. Needless to say, I'm holding on to my GEN 3 Plug in for the long term as it's likely the LAST PRIUS I'll own. It's been a good 8 years, FAREWELL TOYOTA PRIUS. DEAR TESLA OR LEXUS HYBRID I'LL SEE YOU SOON...

 

I have a gen 3 which IMO looks great, so I might me biased, but I think gen 4 looks horrible, inside and outside. I guess they tried to appeal to the European market where cars are apparently supposed to look aggressive and edgy these days, but they failed miserably.

 

Thanks for honest opinion, but why so much hate, it seem like your yelling while posting this using upper case...oh by the way, for $23k car, 62mpg-65mpg average with my Eco, go ahead beat that with your refrigerator handling performance wall hugging plug-in Prius.

 

i have to disagree with the profit motive. while opinions vary on the design, toyota has put way more into the 2016 than any other generation.
besides all the technical improvements, you get much better seating, insulation, mfd, lighting and suspension. those do not come cheap.
reviews have been over the top, including the interior materials over previous gen's.

 

Profit is one of many goals, certainly not the highest priority... not by any means. The major improvement to body-stiffness and upgrade to rear-suspension is obvious evidence of that.

Reaching a wider audience is a high priority. Wanting to grow the market should be obvious. You don't do that by blending into the crowd. That only works for sustaining.

Growth requires change. Not all current owners will like that. For that matter, furture owners hoping for subtle generational improvements won't either.

Toyota decided to take a big step with gen-4.... which I just happened to see for the first time in person yesterday. Having started with gen-0 (the original only available in Japan, but a select few shipped over here for observation) and upgraded each time a next-gen was offered, I can tell you the comments online are nothing new. It's par for the course. This was expected.

What we don't know is how potential customers will react, those on the showroom floor curious about the new Prius. They are who will make a difference.

 

What does wall hugging mean?

 

So will you be buying a GEN 4?

 

Yes & No.

It will the plug-in version, which means a torturous wait while others get their regular models.

I'm really hoping to be among the first again. Wish me luck.

 

Have a hunch you're an employee of Toyota and possible work in a marketing capacity...the scripted emphasis on intangible features is a dead give away. BTW, why is performance and handling a recurring discussion point with the GEN 4. Folks, this is a Prius....seriously, let;s get it together!

 

your thinking of yourself, (understandable) toyota is thinking of the entire market, like any manufacturer. there are plenty of choices for those who find it too disagreeable to stomach.

 

on the way out from my dealer's parts counter. It was in the showroom so I didn't start or drive it.

It was a Two, Blizzard Pearl, sandstone interior, and it did not have the white console. Still white shifter panel and steering wheel greebles though.

I like the interior, and the instrument panel, a lot. (Disclaimer, I didn't start it, so I didn't have to look at the polka-dot speedometer background I keep seeing in pictures.) The back end of the car, viewed from behind, I like less than I thought I would.

The shifter panel does bug me, not just because it's white, it's Just Ridiculously Big. There's nothing there but a shift lever (already, like, three times as big as an electronic select lever would have to be, though who am I to talk, still driving a Gen 1 with it's imitation-actual-shift-lever) and three pushbuttons all far too big for their importance. (Ok, Park is pretty important, but you only push it when you're stopped, so you could still afford to look at it and push a smaller button.)

I think there's an opportunity here for somebody to design and 3D-print another panel that would fit there, using a smaller shift selector and three smaller pushbuttons compactly arranged, and use the rest of the space for another nearly-4" LCD display for some fun purpose....

-Chap

 

that would be cool.

 

I like it for the same reason I liked the previous generations:

It's a vehicle that has had a lot of thought put into it, tons of development and it's unique. It feels to me like a dedicated vehicle for the purpose.
And those that complain about the build materials - I would rather have advanced tech under the hood and price tag of $25k then some crappy engine and wooden interior. If they really have improved it as the reviews say - it's a pretty great feat of engineering to make a car that is hybrid AND nice to drive AND costs as much as it costs.

For comparison, I think that Prius 2016 has pretty awesome interior at that price point. Look for example at the Dodge Challenger that goes up to $64,000 and has THIS interor:


For the price point I really do think that Prius has an elegant, minimalistic and quite futuristic looking interior.

 

I'm nit-picking here, but I absolutely hate the way my Gen 2 console opens to the rear. I have a rotator cuff injury and dread having to reach into the storage area, especially while driving. I'm right-handed, which makes it even worse. I was thinking about un-doing the hinge and just having it lift off to get at the contents. Glad to see they fixed that in the Gen 4, since it opens to the passenger side. I read a post where they mentioned it wasn't good for the passenger, but I can't remember when a passenger in my car had to go in the center console storage. I hope they kept the dimensions at least as large as my Gen 2. I sat in one at the dealership, but forgot to check that. Like all others, I'm not happy with the elimination of the upper glove box.

 

my wife uses it quite a bit as a passenger, but i don't think it will be a burden. the passenger has more flexibility.

 

My choice would be the 2016 Prius Eco 2 mpg is better than a motorcycle and price point would be $22,500-23,000. More room than the Gen 3 Prius and better mpg as well. The Prius is probably the most trouble free car you can buy. No drive belts to change, spark plugs last well over 100,000 miles, I know as mine had 106,000 miles on our 2010 Prius and those spark plugs could go another 100,00 milesr.

So far our 2010 Prius with over 136,000 miles is the most trouble free car we have owned. Original traction battery, original 12 volt battery as well and 50 mpg average, 45 mpg winter, 55 mpg summer.