Featured 2016 Toyota Prius Official Press Photos

Btw, thank you to Danny and other Prius mods and experts for bringing so much info and media here about the new Prius!

 

So is my 2014.

 

Sorry for the long post, hopefully Toyota reads it to find out what a thirteen-year loyal Prius owner thinks, especially about packages, if they want me to buy their new model.

Compared to my fondly remembered Gen I the Gen IV looks like a Maserati, so I don't have any complaints. I would have kept the Gen I longer than the four years I owned it but in 2006 they had the also fondly remembered $3,500 tax credit, so I sold the Gen I for 3/4 what I paid for it and got a Gen II Package 4. Maybe something's wrong with me but I still get the same kick out of driving it as I did when I bought it nine years ago. I love the giant digital speedometer which is right in my line of sight, with the neat mirror trick that puts the focus just past the windshield wipers, making it effortless to monitor my speed. Almost as good as a heads up display. When I bought the Gen I in 2002 I kept my then ten year old 1992 Camry wagon for hauling things, and I still have it but the Gen II has such amazing cargo space I rarely need to use the wagon anymore.

But what I really liked about the 2006 era is that you could get what I call super-convenience and super-safety features in the lower and mid-tier packages. Which in 2006 meant that with just package 2 (of 8) you got rear view camera and smart key on all doors, including nice little black buttons on the outside of three of the doors that I can push to lock the doors. In 2006 even most luxury cars didn't have those features except Lexus and a few others. I splurged and got package 4 which added stability control which was also a somewhat rare feature in 2006. All of this for just $1,800 above base. You didn’t get into the big bucks back then unless you bought one of the four packages above mine which had what I call luxury items like leather, fancier stereos and wheels, etc. which is as it should be.

I was unhappy with what they did in ensuing years where super-convenience and super-safety features moved up to the highest tier. I absolutely want dynamic cruise control on my next car, which should be in mid-tier in my opinion. I shouldn't be forced to buy top tier with walnut dash and Peruvian leather or whatever just to get dynamic cruise. And I really hope in Gen IV they have lane assist and parking assist in mid-tier packages. But I'm probably dreaming about that also as this is no longer 2006 marketing strategy where they were hungry for Prius sales. Or is it? I'll find out when they publish the packages. I am quite willing to pay for those features, even at slightly inflated prices, but I am not willing to be forced to buy luxury amenities in order to get them. If they insist that I have to spend $35K to get something like dynamic cruise control then I'll keep waiting and keep enjoying my Gen II.

 

I think it's an indication that the Prius is now accepted as a mainstream car and is developing its appearance to appeal to a lot more mainstream drivers. I remember having an early generation Honda Civic in 1979 that looked like an overgrown snail and sounded like a lawnmower but it delivered great gas mileage for the time. Look at the model now and compare sales of Civics then and now. The Prius is doing the same. I've never cared for the more radical Prius appearance anyway but we've always gone for affordability and dependability over looks. The new Prius will do just fine.

 

Hopefully dynamic (radar, adaptive) cruise control is part of a sensing suite offered as an option throughout the whole trim line. Honda is doing that for the 2016 Accord: from the base LX to the EX-L V6, you can add the Sensing option which has forward collision and lane departure warning, collosion mitigation braking, and road departure mitigation, adaptive cruise control and lane keep assist.

we'll see if Toyota follows suit above with Prius gen4

 

hopefully, toyota will offer one level only, with everything in it, for one low. low, low price. if they want my business.

 

I believe Toyota's Press day is Tuesday, right?

 

Very encouraging that DRCC and PCS is moved out of the Technology Package and into the Safety Sense package. Presumably Safety Sense will be available in multiple levels of Gen IV, or maybe even all levels. DRCC is a deal breaking feature for me so things are now looking more favorable for a Gen IV purchase sometime next year.

My opinion still holds for the other items in the Technology Package like Lane Assist and HUD. The Technology Package should be available in the mid levels not only in the top level like it is now.

Would be nice if Parking Assist is available. At night when in a hurry it would be a nice feature to have. If implemented correctly which apparently earlier versions were not.

Space for a donut under the cargo floor is very important to many people including me. I don't mind paying extra for the donut that's no big deal, just so that I have a place to store it. And they can still get their EPA score without a donut since it would be an option.

My one disappointment with Prius is that the great drag coefficient doesn't translate into a quiet ride due to sparse sound insulation, allowing the remaining wind noise and especially the road noise to intrude. I understand the reasoning as MPG is top priority. Assuming Gen IV is no quieter I will probably add something like Dynamat.

 

For me, DRCC is a must have for GEN4 just as it was on my 2012/5/ATP. Following the Las Vegas Reveal I'm sure I read somewhere that Full Speed DRCC would top out at 70 MPH - a very disappointingly low speed, indeed. I can't find that comment again, can anyone help? I certainly hope DRCC is effective up to at least 80 MPH.

 

There are a few angles where the body looks just ok, but other than that just looking at it makes me really cringe.

The back is hideous, so is the front, the side needs a lot of work. I just don't get it.

They wen't way overboard with this.

How can you go from decent to that effin hideous?

In other news, Jeep Wrangler sales have tripled in the last few years. Hmm, I wonder why???

 

They didn't. This one is much better looking than gen 2 or gen 3. I never got used to the weird roof on those two and I never liked the gen 3 bulky looking tail end. This one is much better. The only external things I don't like are the fog lights (actually the triangular areas around them) and the tail lights (they remind me of tears flowing down someone's face). But the roof, the tail, the front, the profile, the details and the overall look is substantially improved over gen 3.

Where they screwed up big time is the internals. The shifter area is a disaster, as are the loss of the big two-stage glove box and the under floor storage area in the back. The HUD could maybe make up for the bad instrument locations and lack of projection.

 

^^^^ I SERIOUSLY disagree with you. Its my opinion, don't stomp on it. I don't care what you think.

 

Well, I've shown the pictures to about 15 friends and family so far, of all ages (6-90) and not one of them has preferred gen 3 over gen 4. All of them have said they think it's modestly attractive. It's a four-door hatchback so it's never going to look like this:

http://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DSCF7251.jpg?1ac1b5

 

Well if it's really true they managed to get the cabin as quiet or even more quiet as a few luxury cars out there,I am willing to forgive them for doing away with the 2. glovebox !
We where the ones who complained about the Prius having a noisy cabin,so I appreciate them for doing something about it .
Even if it means having to put up with a few sacrifices.
I guess what we are about to gain is worth the price !

 

So what?