Will our original Gen 4 Prius exterior styling be viewed as...?

Compare it with some of the real ugly cars, and - PRIUS is mild. Plus - a lot of the form factor relates to aerodynamics.
or

 

I for one, love the gen 4 styling. In particular I love that I can easily tell, even at night, when I'm encountering another gen 4 owner - there is no other car out there with the tail-light styling. The more sporty look was a positive factor in my buying decision, but also, I was new to Prius at the time.

 

I voted in the last category. Fifty years from now there might be mention of how it was the beginning of the end of gas and hybrid vehicles.. but that is doubtful. It is a boring functional very reliable vehicle that will be mindlessly crushed when used up. (don't get me wrong.. I bought one and I think it is great.. but I've never "loved" it.)

 

i see it as classic, and would love to drop a phev or bev into it.

 

I've always loved the style of the Gen 4 and was one of the main reasons I bought it. I think their dumbed down attempt at normalising the styling of the Prius is a mistake as it has taken away a whole heap of its personality.

This is my first Prius and hope it will not be my last, I just hope they don't go all boring when the Gen 5 is released.

 

I agree with you I think the refresh that they did only made the car look boring, it really didn't fix anything. And I agree with other posters that the tail lights were quite unique. The other thing is that the color of the vehicle makes a big difference in the way it looks. I ran across a pearlescent White one the other day and I thought that that particular color accentuated the cooler looking parts of the vehicle and hid some of the more weird parts of the vehicle. I do not in any way since the new refresh looks better.


Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I see the original gen 4 styling as a future classic and avantgarde the moment. The restyled version seems a dull compromise, and is less attractive to me.

Also love seeing the tail lights at night, space ship like

 

Agreed - I rarely see them - but when I do, they're great - I think they're supposed to be lightning bolts.


I had a read of the specifications, and looked at the 2019, thinking I might upgrade, I'm not sure that I'll bother - other than styling, and getting rid of the wonderful white highlights, there is almost no change. No Apple/Android Carplay, same Safety Tech and it's still got the horrid foot-park-brake, and no Auto Parking in Australia.

 

I like both the second and third gen stylings, find them largely "purposeful", though third gen is sailing a little closer to the wind.

Fourth gen seems a strange ego trip by the designers, and/or their bosses. I believe the designers were sent back to the drawing board, told to make it more "edgy"?

When I see one on the road, my first reaction is that it looks somewhat diminutive, garish, jarring and cartoonish. I'm holding back, lol.

Then there's the interior...

 

I love white highlight interiors:

 

What the heck is going on there:



Something to entertain the front seat passenger? Make them feel "involved", lol?

I guess Toyota isn't the pioneer, in the symmetrical dash.

 

Sat Nav that only the passenger can operate?

This doesn't help - a speaker?


Or somewhere to put the speedo for RHD models - which never happened.

 

I've always thought the Prime had a great front end but the back end is just rough looking. Looks like lips and I can't ever un-see them.

 

I don't think James Bond would be caught dead in one...

 

To me it always looked like someone beat the 2016+ Pruis with the ugly stick a few times. Which was better than the Prime which looked to me like they beat it until the ugly stick broke. I have a 2010 Prius and had started looking at used 2015 models to bridge until the next big redesign, but the 2019 looks more like something I'd want to own, and now that there's an AWD version (I'm probably moving to colder climate locale pretty soon) I'm interested in a Prius again. Given the replies to this thread, that clearly indicates taste is 100% subjective.

'-)

 

I bought a 2016 prius four even though its ugly. Here in Oakland it seems highway drivers can't wait to get around me. Looking in my rear view mirror I can see motorists hanging head to side, looking for lane change, ..even if I am going with the flow of traffic or faster! I think its the tail lights. They are stupid. The mid cycle refresh looks a lot better. Good luck on the highway, everyone!

 

You were fortunate to miss this one. The AMC Pacer



Chop off the back and get this - AMC Gremlin



Stretch it and add 4 wheel drive - AMC Eagle

 

I couldn’t bring myself to replace my 2011 Prius with a 2016. The interior and exterior were just too outré for me. I think Toyota have determined there were rather a lot of us who made the same decision. I’ve come back to a Prius only because the design has been toned down.