2016 Prius - let's hear from buyers

What, you mean the post "It's hideous"?

 

Hey everyone, i'm back after a few weeks hiatus.

(I was busy selling my 2013 Honda Accord and that was a pain to sell with many dead beat buyers)

Anyways, I was driving the Prius and compared to the Accord, it was very quiet. Toyota did a number on the quietness and ridgedy of it. The Accord felt like the 3rd gen Prius, kinda floppy over bumnps, not really solid. I almost feel like I could AutoX with the Prius

 

I agree. Very smooth.

 

i hope what's his name sees this. (cycledrum)

 

Please keep us posted on the RAmat install, and DIY photos!

 

Got my blue Two ECO yesterday. The dealer actually treated me reasonably well, no messing around with the numbers. Just the usual strong sell on extended warranties. It's too bad that we get such a bad impression of dealers that we go in there extremely suspicious.

First impressions of the thing:
- Lots more window area in the sides, the new little windows at the front of the front doors and the enlarged rear quarter windows
- Backup camera is nice, though with the new rear quarter window it isn't as useful as it would have been on my Gen 3
- Black seats mean I may not bother with seat covers because they won't show dirt, just a blanket for the dog to keep her white hair off the seat!
- I miss the Gen 3's double glove box, that was a clever touch
- I can't think of any use for the raised lip above the glovebox
- Much less space below the floor in the rear, the Gen 3 had space there that was handy for storing emergency gear, jumper cables, stuff like that
- The luggage cover is a joke, does anybody know if the pricier 2016 Prius models have a rollup luggage cover that I might buy from parts and fit into the same mounting points? There is a depressed channel under the floor in the rear that looks like a slot to store one in (the Gen 3 had a slot there for its luggage cover)
- The climate control buttons are much better laid out than they were in my 2011 Gen 3 Two
- The displays seem unnecessarily fussy. The info they give is sufficiently similar to what was on my Gen 3 that I'll get used to it in time.

I hate the new car smell, can't wait for it to fade away!

[EDIT] I couldn't stand the look of the plastic wheel covers, so I took them off and discovered that the alloy rims underneath don't look too bad. At least better to my eye than the plastic covers. I did the same thing with my Gen 3.

 

How does the rear cargo behind seats compare to the Gen 3?

 

Congrats...

 

It may be a bit larger, but not massively bigger. I'm fairly sure the cargo floor is lower for the ECO, the regular Model Two has a NiMH battery which may be a taller than the Li battery in the ECO and the higher level models.

[EDITED to remove erroneous remarks about no well for a spare]

 

Yes there is a well for spare, check this thread, krousdb and I did the mod, he put a compact spare(donut) and I put a full size spare.
Compact Spare for Two Eco | PriusChat

 

Thanks Vince. I'll edit my earlier post. I was thinking about it more for additional storage than putting a spare in there.

Maybe it's just luck, but I haven't had a flat for >20 years. Certainly not in any of my last 4 cars. Slow leaks but never changing-a-tire-on-the-highway flats. So I'll wing it without a spare for a while.

 

Thanks I am really interested in the ECO. Congrats on your new purchase.

 

Congrats! The fours have a rolling cargo cover, that maybe could replace yours?

 

I have to agree here. We had a tire go flat on us a couple years ago on the road and needed a spare, but if we had a tire fix kit, we could have gotten back on the road and had the tire professionally repaired, too. That's the last time in a long time that I can remember having to change a tire.

I know it's not popular, but I am okay with Toyota's decision to go with the tire repair kit over a spare.

 

First week with my new 2016 Prius two.

I've driven around 300 miles, mixed city and highway and getting 61 mpg. I'm not intentionality driving for mileage, but having driven my last Prius for 12 years perhaps it's just how I drive now, plus I believe the added displays between the 2016 and my 2004 provide good feedback on how to improve mileage.

When I first saw the new Prius at the car show a few weeks back, my impression of the looks was YUCK for both the exterior and interior. I think that was because of the color and model on display because when I saw the Prius two in grey metallic with the black cloth interior at a dealer, I had a completely different reaction. After my first week I now like the look, though the rear is still a bit odd looking.

The biggest improvements I've noticed between the 04 and the 16 is that the ride is much quieter, the handling much sharper and the visibility much improved, particularly the redesigned A pillar. No longer do I need to bob and weave making left turns. I have not gotten used to the backup camera yet (hard to train myself to look forward while backing up I guess). It will probably take me a while since it appears to have a fish eye view and I still have issues judging distance and location of objects on the screen.

It also appears that the car is far more likely to switch to EV mode particularly during the warm up cycle and it is much easier to meet and exceed the rated mileage.

I usually drive in Eco mode and have not noticed a major difference between Eco and Normal modes, but the Power mode makes a noticible difference and I'll often use it to get up to speed getting on the highway. Despite being 12 years newer than my last Prius, the control layout is quite familiar, except for the shifter but I am getting used to that.

I do miss the storage above the spare tire and the storage area on the 16 does feel a but cheesy. That might be better on the models without the spare, but I often drive lonely areas without a hint of cell service and am not comfortable with replacing a spare with a repair kit. Besides, few of the features on the upgraded models seemed worth the extra expense, except perhaps the sun roof.

I have noticed that while highway travel is much nicer on the new Prius, much like the 2004, it is highly effected by side wind gusts. Perhaps it just seems more pronounced on the new Prius because the ride on the highway is so much improved

SAMSUNG-SM-T337A ?

 

We got 72 mpg today driving around town, which I was super impressed with.

 

Either you are lucky or I am very unlucky (I suspect the latter). I have had a number of flat tires in the last two decades and for most of them a repair kit would have been worthless. Perhaps that is because of the number of miles I put of cars on lonely gravel logging roads with little traffic and no cell service. Yes, my last Prius had far more experience off road than most SUV'S ever get.

Personally, I would prefer an option for a real tire than the emergency spares of today even if it meant a little extra fuel consumption.

If however all of my miles were on pavement, with cell service and near to civilization, I could see having a different opinion.

 

Four with ATP + PCP + Moonstone. Last lap: into NYC

 

did you buy it?