What are your thoughts on the Gen. 4 Prius?

With the 2016 it's 50/50, models with/without a spare, fwiw. Still, could be a trend, towards nixing the spare completely.

Regarding your take on the 2016's styling, storage, I agree.

Reminds me (a lot) of the closing scene, of first Breaking Bad episode.

 

Maybe slightly offtopic but noticed that new Prius is not the best if looking at drag coefficiency. New Audi A4 Sedan seems to have 0.23 cd and Prius 0.24. Still bet that Prius runs longer with same amount of gasoline

 

The Audi A4 isn't bad for gas mileage, that is what I just traded in for my Prius. But my car had so many various problems over the years and it was a much bigger car than I needed, I'm glad to be rid of it.

 

i haven't bought an audi since mine went through the back of the garage while i had my foot on the brake.

 

Finally stop at the local dealer today to see the Gen 4 in person. I think it looks even better in person.

 

Anyone else think of the Volt/Ampera when seeing the rear of the Prius for the first time?


Side by side it wont be that bad hopefully, but it was the first thing that popped into my mind before I realised I was looking at the new Prius... (Was at the Toyota dealer for yearly Government-prescribed checkup of the Volvo (MOT/APK/whatchamacallit))

 

No:




Bob Wilson

 

My wife and I currently drive 2011 & 2012 Prius models and have followed articles introducing the new 2016 model with great interest and anticipation. We were excited to get a first look "in person" at an auto show last week. We sat in both the basic two not II and three not III (more standard features) versions on display.

Here are some of our initial impressions we came away with ("beauty is in the eye of the beholder" of course):

• Seat Fabrics: They seem to be an upgrade from previous versions; a little less bland.
• Windshield: It's a bit smaller/shorter. I don't think it detracts from your forward visibility. It seems strikingly similar to the view from current Civic models(which we've also owned). An added benefit sold to us was it provides more sound deadening than the Gen 3 models. Haven't test driven it so a test drive will verify that sales pitch.
• Dashboards: A bit different there. There now is only one Glove Box compared to the two offered on Gen 3 models. This seemed to provide must less utility, was harder to reach from the drivers position and requires a real lean and it's quite low. The Touch Screen is now flush rather than recessed and surrounded by hard shiny plastic surface. I wonder if there's a lot of glare with that but couldn't really tell as there was no option to power the dash up while on display. The dash materials on the new Two and Three vehicles are different. The new Three offered a 2-tone dash which was nice on the eye but also came with the hard-plastic glaring white center console/cup holders. It just seems off-putting visually and the sales person himself offered with a chuckle "it looks like a "urinal". His only defense on that issue was that you apparently have a choice to order a monotone black plastic center console piece. There another hard-plastic white piece surrounding the Shifter that's now placed on the dashboard vs. the center console.
• Insulation/Sound Deadening: The sales person says the new Prius has added a lot of sound deadening insulation forward of the interior and that combined with the new sound deadening wind shield and quieter CVT provide a substantially quieter ride.
• Rear Seat/Rear Hatch Utility: The rear seat provides a lot less headroom with the design change and this is a big disappointment! The pre-2016, Gen 3 we currently own provides lots of headroom that accommodates tall folks of 6'/taller with inches to spare. That has provided great back seat utility and comments from everyone we transport as they are supprised on how much space there is. In the new 2016 access to either the front or rear seats some a bit more difficult and in the rear seat, if you hit a bump or railroad track taller folks will be banging ther heads on the ceiling. You just seem more confined in the back seat with the lower ceiling and the lower roof line. A great loss of utility. Watch new new 2016 Prius commercial closely; the two guys in back look pretty crunched and it's no illusion!
• Rear Hatch/Trunk Utility: A lower/sloping roofline has also compromised the trunk utility. Although still sizeable overall it provides considerably less height for taller items you may want to transport. The retracting cargo area cover on the Gen 3's is gone with a flimsy one piece of cover attached to the hatch with strings with loops. That appears to be real annoying in reality when you go to hook/unhook it when transporting taller items.
• Summary: If you're looking for a sportier ride you might give the new 2016 a few more points but many of the "tried and true" current Prius owners will immediately notice a lack of utility lost. I feel strongly that Toyota thinks those wanting that same utility/functionality will be "upsold" to the taller/boxier Prius v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon)but Toyota will find we won't due to the drop in fuel economy that comes along with the v Toyota would have been much better off getting rid of the Prius c and replacing it with the new 2016 Prius and maintaining the Gen 3 height/utility.

 

just FYI, and I don't have a Gen3 to compare to but the four/four touring of the Gen4 does provide a retracting cargo area cover. Also, some versions come without a donut tire, allowing for more cargo space. It is obviously a trade off but not sure if the version you saw had a donut tire or not.

 

i think toyota is counting on gaining many more first time buyers than lost current owners. let's face it, 98% of the country has always considered the toyota ugly, so, they won't know anything about the loss of utility from previous generations. time will tell.
anyway, the markets muddied up with more offerings than gas prices will support.

 

Not sure why I'm not seeing many of them in the Boston Area, because I do see a fair share of alternative vehicles like the Energi, a bunch of Teslas, a lot of Gen IIIs some Gen II.

I came upon a stop light and noticed this odd vehicle and what came to my mind was "Oh, wow, the Gen 2 Volt." But a smile crept onto my face when I took a closer look at the lights.

Wow, Toyota must have done it's job because I thought, "No - that's the Gen IV! Whaaat?" I only got to see the back and a little bit of the profile before zooming off. But wow...I thought it was a Gen 2 Volt because of its Sedan look, but it's uniquely Prius.

And I must say, from the rearend...it looks better in real life ! HAH

 

Ha...

I have a new game in parking lots, it is called park next to the Prius, it is fun. The other day, I parked next to a brand new Volt that was parked next to an older Prius. Compared to the Volt, I definitely liked the look of my car better but hey it is all about preference.

 

I'll tell you what I think of the gen4 Prius, not because I'm going to buy one, but to compare against the gen3 Prius.

Gen4 Prius really does offer a good and proper driver and front passenger seat position now and the whole interior design is pretty sharp. Yeah, the white console is unusual, but that's easily changed. If I dug the bit small for me seat cushion, wanted a hatchback and a somewhat smaller car, I might give it a go.
Gen4 really has improved a lot over the gen3 Prius which I own and absolutely think is a steaming pile of cow dung that, btw, will be sold private party this year.

 

What don't you like about the Gen3 you own? Just wondering..

 

No sense repeating all, but just wanted to make the point that the gen4 interior IMO is vastly improved and shows that Toyota put a serious, collaborative effort into it whereas the gen3 interior blows: Floating bridge console and cupholders placement are a joke and the front seats are too high. Blech.

 

I walked by a gunmetal gray '16 Prius w/17' rims yesterday in Stinson Beach yesterday (anybody here?), and not taking a real hard gander (somebody was inside), its general presence reminded me of a 7th-gen ('99-'06) Celica GT, extended into a 4-door.

Not particularly my thing, but not necessarily a bad thing by any means. Kind of like the Mazda RX-7 (FD) being reborn (kinda) as the RX-8. Not that I'm implying any direct comparison with the RX-8; just a parallel in domesticating a more-niche, relatively sportier car into a higher-utility car with wider appeal.

 

Looks and feels cheap?
From what I've seen it's an improvement.

And really? You can climb up the Prius trim levels, but The Prius has NEVER been sold as a "luxury" vehicle. Niceties are the difference, in things like Softex seats, or seat warmers, but overall, The Prius priorities are in Hybrid Synergy Drive.

I don't own a Gen 4 Prius. But the suspension is improved. The double wishbone rear suspension I suspect costs Toyota more to offer. So criticism that they've gone cheap I think unfounded. If Toyota had gone cheap or wanted to go cheap, they would of left the rear suspension unchanged.

If you want (and can afford) a Tesla? GREAT. I'd get one if I could afford it.
Lexus Hybrid? Also a great machine. However....

The Prius has always been the Hybrid for the masses. Sure it pulls some buyers from the same pool, but it's never really been designed to compete in the refinement arena with either Tesla or Lexus.

You "sat" in a Gen 4 but now feel confident in calling the Gen 4 MPG claims a gimmick?
Long term ownership and feedback will define the reality of The Gen 4's MPG capabilities. Once we have an ownership base that have owned and operated them for 6 months to a year, I think we can start to pin down realistic expectations for mileage for The Gen 4. So far new owners and first adopters seem pretty satisfied with this "gimmick".

Again Prius has ALWAYS been a MPG leader in it's class. If it's a gimmick, it's never been one Toyota has had to defend. Gimmick has come from claims made by Ford and Honda. Generally, the feeling is, Toyota is pretty conservative with their MPG claims for The Prius.

 

The new cruise control is really great for some of the stop and go traffic here in the northeast.
In some cases, it never had to come to a complete stop, just crept along with the leading car, and resumed went traffic picked up.
When it slows because the car in front has come to a stop to turn left or right (don't you just love those people who signal and stop at the same time), the cruise usually emits a warning, and then disengage's with the warning that there is no forward traffic. You then have to click resume, to re-engage the cruise.
It also works well in the 20 mile per hour zones, keeps a decent distance.