What are your thoughts on the Gen. 4 Prius?

I've had 7 sightings so far.

 

Anybody have a 'thought' that the gen4 Prius is more exciting than gen3 (which I find awfully dull and boring)?

 

I managed to read up to 6 out of 13 pages in this thread before I thought I just really need to praise this car! I have only driven about 220 miles, so no actual fill up yet- no economy figure. However, I LOVE driving her, the comfort, cabin layout, 3 screen set up and HUD. I managed 3.5 miles on EV alone, I was told half a mile to a mile was the EV range! I love the look, think it is a beautiful car. I have been a lifetime diesel driver, and walked into a Toyota dealer to look at a Yaris Hybrid. We never even saw the Yaris, stumbled straight into the one available Prius in the showroom. Loved the interior, loved the exterior, loved the test drive - sold! Twice as much as we planned to pay for a car, but worth it - I feel happy again, after 2 and a half years of owning a Hyundai, what a feeling!

 

I saw a blue Gen 4 pass me yesterday - but only as we entered/exited a roundabout. Shame, as I planned to try out the original mini thing where you flash each other...I'll have to hope I spy the next new Prius coming towards me on a straight!

 

There was nothing about the Gen3 that I liked better than the Gen2. Had our Gen2 gotten wrecked, I'd have bought a Gen3, but not with great pleasure. The improvements were incremental, the overall interior layout less useful., the non-nav fluorescent displays ugly-nice person cheap. While the Gen2 felt futuristically minimalist, the Gen3 left me unmoved. All a matter of taste, I know, but as an effort to entice current owners to trade in/up, the Gen3 utterly failed for us.

The Gen4 is a mixed bag for us, as I've noted elsewhere, but what I cannot deny is the verve with which it goes about its business relative to previous generations. The aero-driven exterior has been tweaked with amusing flourishes fore and aft, and whatever one may think of the web of lines and planes that clutter the view from certain angles, I think it's anything but dull. I actually enjoy driving it as a car, not just an "electrified transportation experience", and while there have been a few compromises in utility, it's still a family-class car with a decent trunk and a lot more visual flair than an econobox. The interior is more than up to date and visually interesting, with beautiful and informative hi-res displays tastefully arranged, maintaining the "Prius different" vibe while feeling quite a bit upscale from the Gen3. I've just spent time in a 2015 Civic, and have to say that while the interior as a whole seemed more conventional, the dashboard displays seemed more videogame-like, reinforcing my appreciation for the balance struck by the Gen4 liftback.

So yeah, I'd say it's more exciting than its predecessors, and mostly in a good way. The jury's still out for me on how a lot of the styling details will hold up over time, but I think Toyoda did manage to get the less boring car he wanted.

 

Similar to my limited experience in the Gen 4 I drove Vike. I felt less cramped in the seat, and I liked the seat better than the Gen 3. Dash improved, liked the whole layout. It rode better, handled better, less pushback on the ECO setting as well. But to be honest, the first impression is not what a $27,000 car usually makes on me. Now ownership would make you smile more as the efficiency piles up rewards. But to be honest, I'd be hard pressed to pay that kind of money for that car.

 

When I'm cleaning the car I can't help but love the feel of every line and curve on the Gen 4. I really think the design has wonderful flow starting from front to back. It just feels right, even sexy.

 

Steady boy !

 

Which Continental tires are you talking about? The TrueContact model got high ratings from Consumer's Reports (including the highest rating for low rolling resistance), the tires have some sort of sound and vibration layer built into the tire, and the crowd sourced ratings on Tire Rack are good as well. Thinking those will be the replacements for the Toyo Nanoenergy 29's I have. I had the Michelins Energy Saver A/S on my traded in Prius C and they knocked the road noise down a bit compared the Ecopias I had on the car before.

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It takes just the right hit to in the right place for a crack to appear and spread. If the glass is stressed from its manufacture, it will split. I live in the Colorado mountains and the roads are sanded (heavy gravel is more like it, 1/8 to 1/4 inch grains) six moths per year. Windshields are pretty much routine replacement items here. I got a hit on my Suzuki this winter in the area that is looked through (thus legally requiring replacement). A crack appeared, but then only spread an inch and stopped. A few years ago a hit on the upper shotgun side behind the visor spread out in two directions over a foot. That seemed to have broken the curse of the pristine windshield. My former Prius c two years ago took a very loud hit at highway speed. I looked and could not see the bullet hole from inside. About ten miles down the road a horizontal split proceeded to spread out from the right edge over a foot foot in distance over just a few minutes. Turns out the hit was at the right edge of the windshield, and had the car been literally one inch to the left, the rock would have missed the windshield.

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Road noise is all relative. Compared to my traded in Prius c, and my 2000 Corolla, my '16 Two Eco is quieter. Compared to my parent's '97 v6 Camry LE, it is similar. I do suspect and hope that the Toyos are indeed loud, and whatever replacement tire I get will make a noticeable difference.
The OEM tires on my Corolla generated thunderous road noise at speed. I shopped Tire Rack's website for tires that scored high for quietness in their crowd sourced ratings. The improvement was obvious.

 

I know Continental makes a lot of different models that could be used on the Prius. I'm sorry if I may the model name wrong, but the ones I had I think were called "Conti Pro-contact". I will say that the Continentals were way better than the yokohamas I had on my Honda. Didn't like those at all.

 

What sort of EV only range are you getting in the Gen 4? Though I've covered less than 300 miles, I've experimented by sticking her in EV as I've arrived at a town (hopefully at the top of a hill!). I have managed to get 3.5, 3.4 and 2.1 miles on 3 occasions, all in urban areas, so under 30 mph before the EV mode flashes off and a red petrol arrow appears. As the book said 0.6 - 1 mile EV range, I'm very happy! Tempted to go to the mountains at night and practice rolling down on just electricity, see what max distance I can achieve...!

 

They are very different cars. My gen3 (now my son's car) is a great looking car with performance and lowering packages and great wheels, and a sunroof with solar panel to power the minimally effective exhaust fan. I always enjoyed driving it...it handles exceptionally well on cornering and curves. The gen4 handles very well, although it is a bit higher off the ground, has a smoother ride. It has good acceleration, without hitting the power button. I dislike (actually hate) the interior console, which is reminiscent of a urinal...the white plastic. I'm impatiently awaiting the arrival of the appliqué that will ameliorate the ugliness of the white. My biggest complaint is with Toyota. What I wanted was a fully equipped Prius, a touring with a sunroof. I suppose that there is a weight consideration, but why did I have to get a Prius 4 and try to get it "pimped"...still waiting for parts?

 

It will go EV for as long as the descent lasts, unless it spins the ICE to control the speed of the car. Last fall I drove my Prius c 23 miles from the summit of a mountain pass down to where the road finally leveled out without the ICE lighting up even once.

 

Tzx4, that sounds like a world record right there! Will be hard to beat over here, highest pass in England about 400m - even if I go to Scotland, not going to be that much more! I grew up when '90s car mags such as "Max Power" were around, every time I see ICE written I automatically read it as In Car Entertainment....

 

Now you have me thinking. That particular road is likely one of the very longest continuous descents here in Colorado. It is about 945m of elevation change. I hope and suspect you do understand ICE is lingo for internal combustion engine . . . .

 

Ha ha, yes, after a puzzled few days in Fuelly forums, I worked it out...! Much as I like the stereo, cutting it off shouldn't have such an increase in efficiency as those threads made out...!

 

My thoughts... I was up early hours UK time for the Gen4 reveal and immediately disliked how it looked. Since then, most of my comments here have been quite negative. Its a pity because I think they achieved a lot technically. Now just this weekend, we dropped by at a dealer and saw it in person and thought it looked fine actually. Not great but not too bad either at the dealership. However, we were driving back and saw one on the road and absolutely disliked how it looked. So all in all, not very positive that at times it looks fine yet at some angles it doesn't. As a Gen 3 owner who keenly followed developments of Gen 4 on this forum for the past so many years, I was very disappointed to see that the car I had been waiting for years to upgrade was not what I wanted. Now as a Prius owner, why am I talking about looks all the time I hear some people ask. Well, it is important to me that a car I buy brand new and with the hope of keeping for a good few years looks satisfying.

Then Model 3 was revealed, I got up early UK time for the reveal and pre-ordered within minutes of seeing the car after hearing details. If all goes well, I see a car I can be proud of owning. I would not buy a car if I thought there were aspects I really did not like so no Gen 4 for me. Just called Toyota and discussed extending my warranty so hopefully, I can keep it till I get my M3.

 

makes sense. seems that toyota is not trying to appeal to current owners.

 

Evidently they failed, because the Gen 4 appealed to this Gen 3 owner.

In so many ways we are fortunate that people's tastes vary.