Is Gen 5 Prius really better-looking than Gen 4 Prius Prime?

If the new GEN five Prius has been called a Celica, we wouldn’t be having this thread. It’s only the name that’s causing the shock because Toyota is trying to change the image of the vehicle. I believe they went a little too far and sacrificed things that people who love the previous gen’s are going to miss. But I think Toyota in general did a good job with the 5. It just sucks that it happened to come out during the time that we are in right now.

 

6'5" .... jeez - that's as subjective as saying this or that is the best. Ridiculous.
In case this person hasn't noticed, 6'5" may mean the person has an inseam anywhere between 37" .... all the way down to 33". Someone with short legs (imagine disney's Goofy) will have to move the seat far forward making headroom insufficient. Long legs means they have to tilt the seat backwards and extend the arms. That works for knuckle draggers - sure. Short arms, not so much. Point being what's crummy or "best" is what's crummy or best for YOU. Trying to convince someone with a wholly different body type that it will be best for them? Good luck, carry on (oh btw, 6'5" here).
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In my opinion, GEN four has improvements over the previous generations and I believe it’s the best engineered of all the generations. In the way I see things that makes it the most beautiful.

 

Beauty is subjective, but I've always thought the gen 4s were weird looking, and not in a good gen 3 way (hides from gen 4 owners!).

So I'd say in terms of just beauty, the gen 5 is def more conventionally "beautiful" and "cool".

Saying that, I'm sure quite a few people prefer the quirky looks of the older gens.

Personally, I'm not as young anymore, and I actually like the gen 3 looks more, simply because they are easier to distinguish themselves from a crowd. More quirky looking, and thus "exceptional" in that sense.

But I'm happy that the Prius of this gen is winning all these awards, including design awards.

 

Because of the ridiculous wheel size the car looks airborne

 

Hey look! @Gokhan's little bro just signed up!

 

I love my gen5 LE FWD. Excellent power. This is my 3rd Prius besides also a CT200h and it is by far the best. Very quiet and excellent power.

 

Gen5 much quieter, much more power and better looking by far than previous Prius generations. Anybody that says difference is just jealous of the new look.

 

not really crowded, plenty of room

 

was even able to easily add a spare tire;

much more power and better mpg also

 

The annual sales stats are telling:

Toyota Prius Family Sales Figures | GCBC

screen grab attached:

 

Like the others, it was designed in Japan, and is following trends there. A US design likely wouldn't have the ugly little front plate bump.

Toyota rarely gives the US any cool colors for what they hope is less niche models. It is shades of grey with maybe a blue and/or maybe a red. We didn't get the gen5 Prime yellow, nor the gen4 IR reflecting lime green. I don't recall any color standing out for the gen3. The gen2 had tideland pearl(wish I got that), and the gen1 a color shifting light blue/green.

The new engine is using Toyota's newest tech. It is more thermally efficient than the 1.8L being replaced. The 2L is the smallest one they have for the Prius that wouldn't be underpowered for the car. The 3 cylinder 1.5L in the Aqua produces less power than the old 1.8L. The gen5 with 1.8L in Japan gets better WLTP rating because Japan doesn't use the high speed cycle. People would be disappointed in any EPA results.

The Scion tC was the replacement Celica, which was model that only really big in the US. Toyota could have used Celica for the Prius here, as with the Aqua/Prius c, but the name is less known than Prius at this point.

With its sales trend, we are lucky Toyota simply didn't cancel the Prius. The model needed a shake up in some way to reverse that. Globally, utility of the past gens would not help as there are now hybrid Corolla hatchbacks and wagons. Here, hybrid Rav4 sales had already beaten the Prius.

The gen5 is just a continuation of what they started with the gen4. The gen1 was the proof of concept for the drive train, with costs cut where they could. The gen2 was what the design team wanted for the gen1. Gen3 was a refinement of the gen2. The gen4 was the first step in making the model a mainstream design, with the loss of utility and sedanish profile with the false trunk deck. The angles and curves was because someoen felt a Prius still needed to look different. The gen5 cleaned up the gen4 sheet metal.

The gen2 and gen3 figures could be tracked to gas prices. The gen4's polarizing looks didn't help, but the increase in hybrid options fro others and Toyota was already cutting into Prius sales before it. The plug in option with incentives saved it. Toyota's 2023 sales reached prepandemic levels. The 2024 Prius ones should approach those 2018 levels.

 

I was in the market for a plug in hybrid. The previous gen Prius had very little range, so four years ago I bought a Honda Clarity, which has been great. Needed another car in the fleet. This time the Prius Prime had decent range all electric. If it had the old style body, would I have bought...maybe not...the previous gens were pretty ugly in my mind. The new gen definitely looks better to me. While not the only thing i look at when buying a car, I prefer a car that does not look like the bodywork was an after thought.

 

They WILL end up hurting profits? .... or they already are.
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But no hatch.

 

LOL, there is nothing geeky about the Gen 5.

I do see your exact car, Gokhan all the time and I do really like the color. But I hate absolutely everything else about the styling. I mean, the rear lights are almost offensive. However, I VASTLY prefer seeing any generation Prius to the giant SUVs and trucks all over the place.