thanks for the comparo. The gen 5 looks so much better than the gen 4. And that's being nice to the gen 4 looks.
Toyota Canada has updated their site for the 2024 Prius and Prius Prime. Not sure if there any changes
Officially the dimensions are different, but the differences are so tiny that they're probably just measuring changes/errors and not actual changes to the body/chassis. Body length: -1mm Body width: -1mm Wheelbase: -1mm Ground clearance: -1mm Base curb weight: +0.01kg
That's cool. So, they have gone back to the regular August–August production cycle. How about Prius Prime?
It's kind of cute the way North Americans are convinced that something happens on a production line in Japan when the local dealers flip a digit on their website.
?? That is not a dealer website. It is Toyota Canada's website. 2024 Toyota Prius: Electric hybrid car | Toyota Canada Toyota Prius Prime 2024—Hybride branchable | Toyota Canada
So, the increase in price from 2023 to 2024 is less than $1,000 CAD—less for Prius and less for increasing trim level.
It’s like the level of excitement when the 2005 Prius was imminent. I like the gen 4 look versus the race car look of the 5. Saw a 2023 white prime last night in same parking garage with my white 20 prime. I wasn’t having any regrets as I approached my car. Everyone is different. In a world of boxy suv’s and trucks are the in thing, clearly race car looks are attractive to certain people but not all.
Please don't take my comment to mean I think anything is actually changing on the 2024. I was trying to be almost sarcastic with my 1mm "changes". I'm fully convinced the 2024 will be identical to the later 2023 cars coming off the production line. There have been a handful of parts lightly updated over the course of the 2023 run, so there will be extremely tiny differences between early 2023 and early 2024 cars, but those differences are not noticeable at all to the user. And half of the differences are software updates that all 2023 cars will get anyway. There are a few things I hope Toyota eventually does change, but I don't think those will come until 2025 at the earliest. Active ventilation for the wireless charger, a 120V power plug for the HEV Prius, dual climate controls for all models and markets, plus a few other things I can't think of at the moment.
That's how I felt, too, and several times I saw Gen 5 on the street, it looked like a lame Civic to me, owning a Gen 4 Prime myself as well. However, I am warming up to it, and I think it is a very good-looking car. That said, I don't think anyone who sees a Gen 5 Prius will care about it because there are so many good-looking cars and SUVs on the road these days, and a tiny economy car like Prius will not look like a Lamborghini to anyone out there with so many glamorous luxury SUVs around; so, the looks of Gen 5 are a moot issue to everyone except owners or potential owners. In America, bigger is better, and most people won't even care about small cars.
There are always some changes between model years, albeit they could be subtle. For example, 2020 Prius Prime introduced the fifth seat, which was a major change. Then 2021 Prius Prime introduced TSS 2.0, which was another major change. Then, there are subtle differences almost no one notices like ribs appearing on mirror covers of 2021, small changes in vehicle settings, etc. I also felt that my 2021 handled better than my 2020 did; so, perhaps it has a different steering box as well. And, when you trade in, the model year makes a big difference in $$$$ even if there is no visible change.
Hmm, things like that don't wait for a new model year though. The part is updated within the model year on a certain production date, and the old part number is superseded.
I know, I was just joking. But since the updated part isn’t available, I wonder if 2024 will even get it
The cooling fan on the charger in the Prime got a minor update as was just mentioned. I believe elements of the infotainment system currently have a different part number than the original units due to newer pre-installed firmware. Stuff like that. When I said tiny differences, I meant tiny. Often just revised part numbers. And sometimes it has nothing to do with the part's performance or being in a Prius. Lots of parts in a Prius come straight out of the Toyota/Lexus parts bin. Say Toyota wants to take one of those existing parts and use it in a new vehicle, but the part needs a tiny adaptation to make it work. The adaptation doesn't change anything about how the part works on any other vehicle it goes in. So Toyota adapts the part, gives it a new part number, and starts using it in all new production vehicles once they run out of the old part. The end user never notices the difference. Or maybe Toyota makes a change to the insulation on it's wiring. That might change the part numbers on all the wiring harnesses. Functionally there's no difference, but technically it's a mid-model year change. I do know there was a change in March that was big enough to split the parts catalog. When you search the catalog for 2023, you specify whether the Prius was manufactured between 12/2022 - 3/2023 or after 3/2023. I think it was the infotainment update that splits things, but it could be something else.