Is the Gen 4 Prius better than the Gen 3 Prius?

I have had a gen II a Gen III and now a Gen IV. My wife drives the new 2016 Prius and gets 10 MPG better than her 2008 Gen II. (about 54 MPG in town/stop and go - I do about 63 MPG on the freeway at about 55/60 MPH) The 2016 has a better suspension that is both smother riding and hold the road better.

 

We have a 2009 Gen III and now have a 2016 Gen IV. I would second xpcman's comments. About 10 mpg better economy. The ride and road handling is also much improved. The gas tank is also a much larger capacity which increases the range. The interior is a little bit tighter fit but manageable, only a small decrease. I do miss the glove compartment space for storage of trip essentials. The electronics/display is much more advanced in the IV.

 

We have two 11's and a 16 -- the Gen 4 is better in every area. Funny -- the driver who gets the best MPG can't match the MPG with the 16 that he gets with one of the 11's. Our 11's are fives w/o the tec package and the 16 is a 4 touring.

 

quieter, smoother, more comfortable seats, better mpg's, no flying bridge...

 

I test drove a Gen3, a Gen4 and a Hybrid Corolla (Auris?). While the dearest of the 3, I bought the Gen 4.

I probably would have bought a non-hybrid Ford Focus if I only had a Gen3 or Corolla to choose from.

 

Fuel economy: advantage G4
Ride: advantage G4
Handling: advantage G4

Storage: advantage G3 (G4 loses one glove box and the whole storage tray under the rear deck)
Adding electrical accessories: advantage G3 (G1, G2, G3 all have the 12 volt battery inside; G4 moves it under the hood where you may need to wire through the firewall to add new interior circuits)

-Chap

 

Had a gen2, have both 3 and 4

Gen 2 was body tunable, great fun
Gen 3 is not body tunable, it's a bit of a boat, but better mpg's
Gen 4 is already well body tuned with no braces (yet), very peppy (stronger traction battery), again better g's, its superior just Ike my latest S7 edge phone.

 

Gen 4 is quieter, smoother, comfier, quicker, more fun to drive, and gets better gas mileage.

 

It was my understanding that the Gen 4 fuel tank was actually smaller. 11.3 gal (vs 11.9 in prior models)


Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

The G4 also deletes the centre of dash 12 volt outlet IIRC.

 

11.4 according to the manual.

 

I had an 11, 13 and 15 and now a 17. I basically agree with what everyone has said. I've gotten used to having only one glove box and no under cargo storage. The only thing I really miss about the 3rd gen are the headlights. The overall look from inside the car and the way the high beams worked was much more to my taste. My favorite thing about the 17, bedsides better mpg, is the radar cruise control. I can't imagine ever driving a car without that now.

 

I had to look in the manual on my 2009 and it does list it as 11.9. That said I don't think I have ever gotten 9 gallons in it at fillup. Most of my fill ups are between 5 and 7 gallons. We have had it since it was new so we have lots of experience. Our 2016 we got in September so not as long a history. Still we have had two 9 gallon fill ups in that brief time. Our experience has been we can get more fuel in the Gen 4 despite the capacity rating. Add the greater fuel economy and it has a much greater range.

 

We certainly all hope the G4 is better than the G3 ... most of us are confident that it is a technological achievement..

However, the G4 has two serious reasons why I cannot consider purchasing one:
The appearance .... a personal decision ...
and more significantly .... ground clearance. 4.9 inches is insufficient clearance to avoid constant grounding. Here in the mountain west, we have no storm drainage, other than gutters alongside the road. My 2010 Prius grounded frequently even when I was keenly aware of the problem, and slowing significantly whenever crossing a drain (such as turning from a main street to a secondary). The asphalt directly in front of the entrance drive to the local Toyota dealership is deeply scarred and gouged from vehicles grounding.
When I traded my 2010, the front, bottom-most (airdam) was broken, ragged and loose. I could be mistaken, but I believe Toyota corrected the situation after the 2010, then reversed the trend with the G4.

 

Have you taken the G4 for a test drive in those situations. I'm not in country, though - but my previous car (FORD Fiesta) would scrape regularly, and I had to take speed-bumps and driveways at an angle, but my G4 I've never scraped yet in 9000km.

 

I know our previous Civic has a "South American" version, raised maybe 1/2".