2016 Prius in Review

Sonata, Accord and Camry (and Passat) are substantially bigger cars than Prius - only the Camry is available here in Australia, and I'll agree - I would have considered it if the boot was bigger with folding rear seats. But with any purchase, you need to buy what suits your needs. My back seat hasn't yet been used in the 6 weeks I've had the car, so my needs are different - in fact the seat has been folded down most of the time.

(Sonata never came here, Accord came for a while and they only offered the premium version 50% dearer than Prius or Camry, and have dropped it).

 

How are you assessing the comparative rear seat leg room?
In General
To meaningfully compare the backseat leg room you need to set the front seats so that the knee room in the front seats is the same.
This means comparing with the front seats set so that their seatbacks are at the same slope and the clearance in front of the drivers and front passengers knees is the same. Note that in general the driver and passenger sides are not the same.
Comparing with the front seats pushed right back is meaningless as the front seat travel is very different between cars including the different Prius generations.
My Experience
I'm 6'2" with long legs and my sons are 6'3" and 6'4" so this is a big issue for me..
The Gen 2 was of no use for my purposes as the front seat legroom was inadequate for me to drive the car with any degree of long term comfort.
The Gen 3 is OK for me as I can set the front seats so that the seatback slope is comfortable and I have about 1" knee clearance front and back on the drivers side. The passenger side has a little less clearance on the passenger's side but is still OK
The Gen 4 also seems to be OK (checked it on Monday) but with a bit less total clearance than the driver's side of the Gen 3. I had to set the Gen 4 seats more stops forward from the back position because they have extended the available seat travel.

 

Did you get three Touring or Three with adv tech? I need to replace my 2006.

Looking at 2016s and deciding between 15"tires like my current model or going to 17s.You like the ride on the 15s better?

 

Just bought my new 2016 Prius 3 last month, traded my Gen 2 and couldn't agree more with your review. I did not notice that about the hood in front of the windshield wipers, that's cool! After a week I put on the door edge guards, not sure if that's what's going on or if it's that the temperature has been less warm here, but my MPG decreased from about 70 to about 60 (approx. 600 miles on the car). Or maybe it's that I filled it up for the first time myself and used regular unleaded with ethanol added?

I adored my Gen 2 except about the fan controls being in the menu so I'm delighted it's now a physical button up or down. We rented a 2013 for a week and hated it; the cockpit felt claustrophobic and blind spots were everywhere. I said I wasn't going to get a new car until Toyota redesigned the Prius. So a month after I saw the 2016 in real life I owned one and so far I love it. The visibility is outstanding and the interior feels spacious. The seats are wonderful. Love the 2 tone.

I was one of those who was disappointed with the loss of the hidey-holes from the Gen 2 but decided, while "moving out" of the car, that really they mostly served to store crap. Ha ha! (Although I think I left $20 in the secret drawer, rats.) So my one complaint with the 2016 so far is that if you use the door map pockets to store maps, they are about 2" too short to then also hold a water bottle. So the maps have gone back in the glove box, which I actually found is holding more than I thought it would; the owner's manuals (all of them) plus a stack of about 5 maps, plus extra napkins, a pen or two, tire gauge and dog poopy bags. In the center console I have a few accessory charger cables (love having a USB plug! the Qi induction plate is useless for my Apple phone), a coin purse and a small microfiber cloth for dusting the center screen and console.

I spent a lot of time playing with the many info screens and reading the owner's manual and I like being able to customize them though it would be a hassle for renting one I think.

Oh! I should also mention that the luggage area, while missing the "underneath" storage (which, again, served only to store crap, I found a raincoat I'd forgotten was in there for years), is actually several inches wider and a few inches deeper. That's perfect for us because now our dog crate slides in rather than needing to be angled and then laid flat.

So far I am a delighted new Prius owner! And I LOVE having a moonroof, woohooo!

 

Congratulations - what colour is she? Yes, Ethanol mix could reduce the fuel MPG. I agree - the storage isn't brilliant - but the stuff I took out of my old car, I probably didn't really need to carry all the time. How can one person need 2 umbrellas?

 

After waiting more that half a year, my custom ordered Prius came in.

 

Congratulations!

 

How did you custom order one? I've been told be several different sources that Toyota doesn't do custom orders.

 

Congratulations! What did you order?

 

Just picked up a 2016 Prius 3 Touring. Lots have changed since my '06. Now i have to update my signature too.

 

congrats! all the best.

 

I just picked up same.Have been struggling with lower than expected mpg.What did your Three Touring getting on first tank?

 

1st trip was 529 miles and 51.3 mpg

SCH-I545 using PriusChat mobile app

 

I have seen here not to buy the extended warranty from the dealer and to buy it here. Where should I buy it?

 

Take no notice of your first tank - fill it up, then start checking. For some reason, new car's first tanks give odd figures (going on my last 3 cars). Plus, take your average over a period of time. If you can, same outlet, same pump and fill to first click for consistency - not always possible, but if you can.

 

I would add also that one can Google tips for pumping gas, several tips to get the most gas for your buck. I've been around a long time and never actually knew some of the stuff I read. For example, pump gas on cold mornings, run pump at same slow rate using notch on gas nozzle and more. Never fill up with gas where a truck is unloading gas at business.

 

Very good review. Alot of data about the car was presented -thank you.

 

A great review, you covered alot.

 

well done!