The 5ft tall dude on here who had to return it for a refund due to poor visibility/safety issues was...
He simply did not know how to make the necessary adjustments. My wife is 5'1" and has not problem whatsoever!
If Toyota made the Prius to scale 10-15% bigger. Instead of it being a compact, making it a mid size car would be more appealing. Same exact shape and design, just bigger. The Prime should be the base standard for all Prius cars with a 70 mile battery range. That would cause people to seriously consider their EV options. Toyota hit a home run with the Gen 5 Prius. But it was a solo home run. Better 0-60 times, more range and bigger based on the same exact shape would be a grand slam for Toyota.
Unfortunately there's no free lunches in this world. Bigger would decrease range and performance without a significant increase in cost. What you're asking for is a $50k+ car in 2023/24. Instead, I got what feels, in make ways, like a small luxury sports sedan for $27k and change. This isn't a manufacturing home run, it's a miracle IMO.
The December 2023 issues of Car & Driver compares the 2023 Honda Accord Touring to the 2023 Toyota Prius Limited. The Accord is 15" longer, 3" wider and 1" taller than the Prius. It weighs 300lbs more than the Prius. 0-60 for the Accord is 6.5 compared to the Prius 7.1 seconds. The Accord is a hybrid as well getting (Combined/City/Highway) 44/46/41mpg vs the Prius 52/52/52mpg. The Accord won the caparison test with a MSRP of $38,985. Described a delicious, luxurious, driver friendly sedan that happens to be a hybrid. The miracle would be the original Acura NSX and later the Honda S2000 that had 240hp with a naturally aspirated 2.0 liter engine. That is 120hp per liter. With the Prime, people care less about fuel economy in the Prius because their trips are shorter which makes the MPG less relevant. What I am asking for in what you call a $50,000+ luxury car is the Honda Accord Touring for $39k today.
Unfortunately this forum is broken again so I can't share a photo. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words and the new Accord looks like a$$. Here's a link: 2023 Honda Accord Debuts Hybrid Updates, Google-Powered Dashboard Tech - CNET Last time I checked, it was the Prius that got Motor Trend's car of the year award. The Prius also won many other coveted awards. The Honda is nothing more than a base hit. But if that's your cup of tea, enjoy!
There are a lot of forum members here who have had several or many Prius' throughout the last 20 years. The Prius is the most reliable Toyota car. A high roofline that blends into the rear hatch accommodates cargo space and headroom for taller drivers and passengers. Larger tires and wheels reduce fuel economy compared to increasing size and dimensions to scale of the current 5th generation Prius. You will not hear me object to 18-19" wheels simply because efficiency gains were sacrificed for increased performance. Nothing wrong with that because the 5th generation Prius fuel economy is equal to or a little better than the 4th generation Prius. Motor Trend gave the SUV of the year award to the Chevy Trailblazer EV. They paid for those calipers in my opinion. Maybe Toyota paid for the Prius to be the car of the year. I doubt it because the most popular vehicles today are SUV's. I should add AWD should be standard as well on the 5th generation Prius. They call the Prius the snowbird for a reason. That was without AWD, that was only available in Japan until later in the 4th generation Prius. I know the auto industry is finicky. Peoples tastes change in a short period of time. Since people are hung up on the luxury aspect of cars. The interior dimensions of the Prius should be similar to the cabin of a BMW 5 series. That is the sweet spot for comfort in my opinion. The Prius is a world car but a Japanese car first. They make cars more compact for the Japanese market. So I guess my critiques of the 5th generation Prius would have little value. In Japan, the Camry only sold 6000 units in 2022. The Prius is a big seller in Japan as well as the US market.
I have the LE. I think it's the perfect Prius all things considered (including price). I have 95% of the fun for none of the added cost or fuel economy penalty. I have achieved a documented 70+ MPG's over a full tank of gas. I believe the 19's to be unnecessary. If you can qualify for the Prime rebates, and can actually get your hands on one, then I'd pick the SE. I believe AWD to be TOTALLY unnecessary. I recently drove in some fairly heavy fresh snow conditions, with my STOCK tires inflated high for rolling (39/38), and I had high confidence! The traction AI is phenomenal. I can't say enough about this car. I still feel lucky to be driving one after 7 mos. It's an engineering marvel to me. And Soooooo much fun to drive!!
He did make the adjustments and it put his seat so high up that it was too close to the roof which obscure his view in a worse way, especially the blind sides in the rear corners of the car. Compared to his 2017 plugin it was a deal breaker and he returned it. Besides, if I asked your wife if her husband always wrongly says she has no complaints whatsoever, she'd agree with me.
