What kind of feedback have you had for the looks of your Gen 4 Prius?

maybe you should get some of these decals
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I have gotten 8 thumbs ups from 6 Prius drivers, one from a Camaro, and one person who walked up to me and said he liked it. The guy in the Camaro honked and made a thumbs up. 2 Mercedes drivers smiled at me in my car as I was bringing it home from the dealership.

 

Honestly, the gen 3 is close to being one of the worst looking newer cars I have ever seen on the road. At least the 2nd gen was modern revolutionary design for its time. The gen 3 only got heavier and even less sharp looking than the 2nd gen. I think Toyota did a fantastic job on the 4th gen design. The new design brings in the younger crowd too.

 

"Little"??

 

I get reactions all over the place, really.

Some people say it's ugly, some say that at least Toyota tried this time around (my initial reaction), some say that it's weird enough to be interesting, and some (usually not car enthusiasts) think it looks really good.

It grew on me over a few months. It's worth noting that I like the clean, purposeful design of the Gen 2, think the Gen 3 is mediocre and bloated styling wise, and the Gen 4 reminds me of 1950s-1970s Citroën insanity.

As far as the Gen 4 being little... Keep in mind that while it's a European midsize, our compacts have grown to nearly European midsize, and our midsizes are huge... And then there's crossovers, SUVs, and pickups.

 

"Ugly nice person!"

That's the one & only comment I got from a person I've known for 27 years. Doesn't mince words...

No other comments, stares, looks... Perhaps people are afraid to say anything when they notice the 6'-4" Shrek-like creature driving the car.

 

Not in person, but I shared pics...

"Wait, THAT'S what Priuses look like nowadays? I dig it."

 

I don't hear that sentiment about the Gen2 all that often, but I strongly agree. I found the Gen1 a rather boring quasi-Echo, but the Gen2 "jelly bean" was clean, uncluttered, aerodynamic and space efficient and nothing more - I just loved it. My first thought on seeing the exterior (only reinforced my first time behind the wheel) was "Finally, the car I would have expected for the 21st century is here." The Gen3 doesn't look radically different to my eye, but the difference I notice is all gingerbread - extra lines, extra creases, extra trim. I'm not quite as negative about the exterior as you seem to be, but the interior was another matter - the first time behind the wheel, hemmed in by the flying buttress and seeing the craptastic EL displays that replaced the Gen2's tidy full-color touchscreen, I knew I was never going to buy that car.

I love the Citroen reference - both the styling and engineering of those cars have long brought a tear to my eye. I was stunned to see a Citroen SM (the last model they brought stateside, but what a finale!) at a local car show a couple of years back, and chatted the owner up for a bit - turns out the secret to keeping it running had been securing a case of the proprietary fluid used in the car's deranged web of hydraulics. I hadn't thought of it before, but yes, there is something of the DS, SM, CX, et al in the Prius line, and the Gen4 resonates with their audacity most of all. I've liked our Gen4's looks well enough, but y'know, now I think you've made me love it a little.

 

That's basically the response I get too.

I live in a 3 flat and the upstairs apartment is full of 3 guys--2 of which are obsessed with cars. One drives an Infiniti and the other a motorcycle. They're both spoken to me multiple times about how beautiful the Prius is and one of them really likes the white (I would have rather had blue or black). It's quite funny to me in a way.

I also drive for Uber/Lyft and took it out for the first time last night. Everyone loved it and the trend of responses was "Prius has really stepped it up"

 

Ok, I just came back from a ride in a Tesla that I won in a raffle at a local small-town Jazz/Eco festival. Great fun and an amazing car.

Unlike in California, we still don't see many on the road out here in Massachusetts.

Anyway, after peppering the owner with the usual questions I asked him if he had experienced any surprises since he bought it. His reply: "That no one ever came up to him to ask about it"

I knew exactly how he felt!

A decade ago I sadly came to understand that after reaching a certain age I -- like most men -- became literally invisible to young woman. I am starting to realize that as a proud Gen 4 owner for 6 months, I am also probably invisible to 99% of my fellow motorists.

 

In the past couple of days I have had (only based on pictures - dark grey version) from friends:
"it looks like batman's car"
"cool"
"elegant"

The best of them all, from the 20 year old trainee we have at work:
"nice ride! really cool car - looks sporty and aggressive".

And that says it all.

A friend of mine who for a living is a journalist and does car reviews for companies' fleets, doesn't like the car at all (well he likes to drive fast and likes his German torque and HPs full blown cars; he is German ; and thinks that his Skoda Octavia sedan is a beautiful outstanding car...I raise an eyebrow or even two... ), but he told me the 2 days he had it to test it, everybody was looking at the car while driving around (he had a red one).
One of his comments was also "I cannot believe a car like that has only 122 HP - it cannot be! it should have at least 150!", and I didn't even think to start explaining that HPs don't equal performance, and that the Prius' primary objective is to save fuel, while still being a regular car, not a racing F1 for German highways (where there are always traffic jams, btw...).

Let's see what other comments I get in the following days with mine

 

Finally got my 2016 Prius 4, with ATP and PCP in pearl with moonstone. Took the train from Baltimore to New Jersey, just outside of Manhattan to pick her up. All I had hoped for and more. Saturday was with family and they all expressed surprise at how well they liked it. My daughter has a 3rd gen V and son in law has a 2nd gen with 256,000 miles. When he saw it, he immediately wanted one for himself. While taking a drive with my 8 year old grandson, he asked if it was a star wars car. I guess he noticed Darth Vadar, lol.

Loving the DRCC, unbelievable that I can set the cruise on my morning commute about 6 miles out, and then not have to touch the brake or accelerator on three different highways, ramps and all, for the next 25 miles. Incredible! J

 

Enjoy! It is quite a car indeed.

 

That's why I want the ATP on my Three. Plus for the long trip we take a couple of times a year down the East coast from VA to FL, anywhere from 14 - 16 hours depending on traffic.

 

I have a Prius in blue crush metallic; I am indifferent to the color. Everyone has said they love the color, though. Also, they have said "nice car", without specifically mentioning the styling. The tail lights remind me of Cadillacs from the 1970s...cool.

 

Welcome gwav64. I had the same impression of a Cadillac, even some of the more recent models at least from the back. I think it's the long vertical tail lights.

 

Welcome gwav64. I had the same impression of a Cadillac, even some of the more recent models at least from the back. I think it's the long vertical tail lights.

 

2 people in my street came over and told me the Prius makes them want to vomit. Then another neighbour walked over and requested me not to drive my car onto my drive, but to reverse it in. When she looks out of her window across the street, she can't stand seeing the crazy rear lights.