Gen5 is out - what will you do?

a couple years ago, when we came home from florida after a few months, there was a big pile of white stuff on top of the inverter.
i cleaned it up and the car ran fine, but there was the smell of dead mouse somewhere in the hvac system.
i never did find him, but the smell went away after a few months. not sure what did him in.

 

Man.... The first Prius Prime is something very special. It is distinctive from the Gen4 Prius yet there are enough changes on the exterior for you to instantly recognize it is a PHEV.

These new Gen5 Prius and Prius Prime however are hard to tell apart. Except for a few differences in the interior and the rear badge, I wouldn't be able to tell them apart.

I am not sure that is a good thing. It is easier to manufacture for sure.

My current 2017 Prime has a lot going for it, strong battery, unique carbon fiber double bubble hatch !!! And the front has about 16 or 18 individual lights. It has a ton of lighting in the front.

The NEW 2023 Prime however, looks even more amazing! Solar/Moon roof options..... a POWER REAR HATCH LIFT (first I think for Prius) and 19 inch wheels. On top of 200+ HP and improved range. All very welcome features indeed.

The redesigned interior is very welcoming also. My current iPad like vertical display glares in direct sunlight and is wanting. I find myself rarely using that large display. I only use it to turn off the display.

Overall I may wait and see. Who knows? By the time I need to upgrade/replace/refurbish my battery, maybe I have options to go from the current 8kWh to the new 13kWh or an aftermarket version.

 

It's not really the first - the Gen 3-based Prius Plug-in Hybrid is the first, they just started using the Prime name in the US for the Gen 4. And, it had minimal trim changes from the regular Gen 3 Prius.

 

I like the original PIP rims. Distinctive, well done bare rims. Have a set, in the crawl space, and extra centre caps

Waiting for our 12 year old snow tires to at least show some signs of cracking, and/or get down to 6/32" tread depth. Might get new snow tires put on them next fall, in place of black, steel Corolla rims.

 

The new Prime is nice looking, and I like a lot the larger battery, but I like also my Prime which style is kind of unique - I can tell my car in a busy parking lot from 300 yards. So, all in all I won't go for such upgrade.

As a matter of fact, the real upgrade for me would be the AWD RAV4 Prime, given that I have to keep an old-but-still-valid RX450h for the only reason that it has fitted the towbar I need for my trailer. But maintaining two cars is much less expensive than buying a new one...

 

I had to stop at a local Toyota dealer and asked my previous salesperson about the 2023 Prius Prime. They have no information yet but think it will be here sometime in the summer of 2023.

In a meantime, after looking at the photos and videos of the glamorous new Prius, I came across this article. I agree with the point the article is trying to make. Yeah, I would never buy Prius just for the looks and maybe some performance bumps.

Autotrader -
The New Toyota Prius Looks Great. It’s Also Pointless.

The all-new Prius is more mainstream than any that came before. But, despite better looks, it doesn’t move the needle. That’s disappointing. It misses the point of the Prius.

Prius lovers don’t go shopping for a great-looking car. If Toyota had told us they planned to build a better-looking car with efficiency similar to that of the rest of its product line, we’d have asked why they would bother to waste the Prius name on it.
​

I am still thinking of trading in my current 2021 PP Ltd for an Escape PHEV. A Ford dealer I stopped by last week that gave me a very lowball offer for the trade-in got back to me... It is now up $4K more. I must do some serious number crunching...

 

the point the article is missing is that toyota needs to attract non prius lovers, and prius lovers who hate gen4 looks and have not moved on from their gen2/3.
if toyota doesn't find a way to increase n/a sales, prius will go the way of the horse and buggy.
hopefully, the new styling and performance will help.

edit; after reading the entire article, the guy is pretty jaded. anyone who thinks achieving mpg beyond the restrictions of applied physics is living in la la land

 

I kinda agree with your view. Toyota is desperate to find new Prius lovers to save the brand. But if that is the case, what is the name good for? Other car companies have done it in the past. Using the nameplate of the past iconic car brand, the new one differs from the past brand images. Does it really work to bring in new customers?

I used to love the no-flair economy small sedan look, reliability, and price of the Civic. The brand has diverged from that line quite a bit in recent models. Yeah, I get excited to see Type-R roaring down the highway, but I would not want to buy one for my daily driver.

 

I went from 2016 Prius to hybrid (e-Boxer) Forester. Now this upcoming Prius seems to be very attractive to me. Seriously thinking if I should trade or not. Of course these cars are very different and have their own pros and cons. In 2016 Prius I didn't like cabin noise coming from tires. Hopefully new Prius has improved on that area.

 

the name? idk. what should they change it to? maybe a different name would also bring buyers that just wouldn't buy a 'prius'

 

God, don't get me started on the Civic. Everybody who has one thinks they've got a Formula One car and drive fast and stupid where I live.

 

here too

 

I will trade my Prius PHV 2021 for the new one.
I don't really care for almost twice the power, but I can get solar and still have blind spot monitoring, beepers in the front and 360 cam? Count me in, I wanted that on my current one, but it sadly was not possible due to design and space constrains.

It probably would cost a big buck and I expect to get a loan, but I do believe it will be worthy of my time - range, new OS, built-in dashcam, solar, bigger boot, better efficiency, liquid cooled battery, digital mirror, better CVT tuning, MyT tracking with charging, GPS tracking, heated seats for the rear (even if my kids are still too small to drive without child seats), hold function, driver attention ... beeper, eCall (hopefully won't ever need it), can pair my personal and work phone - dual Bluetooth etc.

In my eyes and for my usage, it seems pretty much perfect and the second I am able, I am putting my reservation.
I was waiting for bZ3 to hit the Europe, but this one make a tiny bit more sense for my usage.

 

I will continue to use the Avalon until it spontaneously disintegrates. Then I'll start looking for another vehicle. The Prime and the Chevy Bolt would be two I would consider. If I don't have any kids left in the house by then, then maybe an Aptera (as an only vehicle?). Ironically, if it happened today then the hybrid Sienna would also be on my list but probably out of my price range. Or I might not get any car and just keep babying the old cars along, including the ol' 1985 VW diesel that just won't die. It's immortal.

 

I also ordered a 2022 in March – did you place yours with Waterloo Toyota? Was told I'm #5. If I get it in the next year I'll be happy.

 

I ordered one, a 2022 XLE awd, in August and the day after the 2023 reveal called the dealar to ask to be placed on that waiting list instead. To my surprise he said they were just allocated one similar to my original order. After some thought, I told them ok i'm still interested in the 2022. At my age the better accerleration and allegedly better looks isn't enough to sway me toward the 2023 yet. I'm skeptical that I will like it and may just decide not to get a Prius but I am looking forward to test drive when it arrives in a couple weeks and hopw I do like it!

 

If the gen 5 has wireless AA and wireless charging, and if it has similar performance to my Camry hybrid, and if I don't need to pay for anything monthly, I would seriously consider a gen 5.

It would need to be good for the occasional long trip.

A Prime could do all my daily driving on EV power. That would be cool .

 

Prius hybrid is still ostracized by many until gasoline prices spike. Toyota is keeping Prius alive to offer a quasi affordable high mpg vehicle. American drivers tend to dislike aerodynamic shapes and seem to love brick shaped vehicles that resemble Kenworths and Macks. I never considered the G2 or G3 bad looking. This extremely good looking G5 has the potential to lure a new crop of drivers to the Prius brand, as long as the pricing remains somewhat sane. I will most likely move from our trusty G3 to a G5 when availability increases. I don’t do dealer mark ups. So we’ll see what happens.