Featured Hyundai IONIQ - Prius competitor?

yes the PHEV is available in UK/EU scheduled for release in US late this year I believe from the last info I saw

so if you want any info let me know or look over on the darkside

response in UK / EU is good for the PHEV economy seem very good, not got any on fuelly or similar yet so can't do a direct comparison to the plugin prius

 

making cars aerodynamic & getting great rear views in cars are competing interests. It's not just a competing dynamic of the Prius. As between Gen 3 & 4, that turns on driver specifics, their height, torso length, drivers seat position. It's almost as subjective as someone saying a driver's seat is or is not comfortable. One person will say the exact opposite. In specific conditions such as visibility out the sides & back, it's best to see for yourself.
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yep visibility depends on where you position the drivers seat, I have good visibility with the seat right back, but they wife has a blind spot caused by the windscreen pillar when she has it right forward

because I sit high up I find the passenger sun visor causes a blind spot, but the wife don't as she is shorter and looks under it

I tend to use these type of review to create a check list of things to check, rather than take the reviewers word for it so I make my own mind up on the subjective areas

 

Thanks to both of you. I may well get a a blind spot monitor in my next car, be it a Prius or something else. That would help, wouldn't it?

 

All Prius Liftbacks starting mid 2017 have blind spot monitor as standard equipment.

 

Got one for my v and liked it so much I bought another a month later for my wife's Avalon. It takes a few days getting used to as before you make that lane change you have to check two mirrors and even turn your head a bit. But I sure do think they help. A previous car had OEM part numbered user installable mirror glass that was curved and replaced the flat mirror glass (was called aspheric) and even worked with power mirrors and heated mirrors. That was the best.

 

Only for the rear blind spots. It won't help for blind spots caused by the A pillar.

Then Toyota didn't update their website to reflect that. The Prius One, Two, and Two Eco aren't listed as having it.
2017 Toyota Prius MPG & Price

 

According to our knowledgebase, updates by @Tideland Prius the features are standard on Two & up. 2017 Prius equipment

Thread 4G Prius Features & Specifications

 

Yes, I remember that, and it is because it is standard on the Ioniq.
Someone should let Toyota know their website is out of date then.

 

I believe is is technically a no cost option available on all the newer 2017s. The added features appear as a discount, making then free IIRC. I wish my earlier 2017 had those features.
Quote from Green Car Reports

At the same time, Toyota is adding a standard equipment discount on all other trims—Prius Two and higher—that effectively makes the Safety Package Plus no-cost standard equipment.
It adds a blind-spot warning system with rear cross-traffic alert and a parking assist feature that detects a potential collision while parking, and can apply emergency braking

 

TSS-P became standard for 2017, including the One. This includes the dynamic cruise control, auto braking, and lane keeping assist with pedestrian detection; these are all forward looking sensors.

Then the Ioniq arrived. It undercut the Prius on base price and included blind spot and cross traffic alerts.

Toyota opened up sales of One to individuals; it was fleet only before. You can't build one on the Toyota US site, but it is listed as available there. They also announced that blind spot and cross traffic alert, which uses rear/side looking sensors, was going to be available as standard. Previously, it was only available on the Four and up. But it isn't listed as such on their site like the TSS-P is.

So the website is wrong, Toyota changed their plans, or the lower trims with blind spot alert haven't arrived yet. Prious Ones are already on dealer lots for fleet sales. Putting a feature on a trim that didn't have it before will have a lag between when they start making them and when they get to market.

 

One of the things I don't like about my third generation Prius is that the A pillar seems very thick. When I get to a stop sign, I count to three so that I can see anything that was obscured by the A pillar when I stopped. Didn't have this problem on any previous car, Toyota or not.

 

problem is the A and B pillars are getting thicker for roof strength, most are also the higher strength steel to help as well,

there is a video of the Ioniq bodyshell showing where the different strength steels were used

I expect all car manufacturer do similar, I will see if I can find the link

 

My Gen 4 Prius is better than my previous car, a 2010 FORD Fiesta.

 

I seem to remember something about airbags in the pillars, or am I thinking about another car?

 

It's in several models. Part of the side curtain, I believe.

 

IIHS results are in for the Ioniq

2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid

2017 Toyota Prius

good overall, acceptable for headlights and child seat anchors

same as the Prius, except the Prius get a good for child seat anchors

slight difference in the side impact results,

the prius is good for the rear passenger but acceptable for driver leg and torso, with good for the rest
the Ioniq is acceptable for torso front and rear, with good for the rest

Ioniq has slightly stronger roof at 5.86 and the prius was 5.67

front crash protection is the same, but there is a note on the ioniq "with optional equipment" so you need to option packs to bring the ioniq to the same level as the prius

so all in all not much between them again

one thing to note is here in the UK all the options needed to make the ioniq match the prius in the front crash protection are standard, so the UK version is pretty much the same as the prius for this crash test

 

I am not sure it is a problem with visual acuity, but rather angular restriction. Models with the warn of traffic in the adjacent lane and also rear cross traffic help in that regard. That being said I don't feel at all restricted in my Prime, which also has the advanced features mentioned. I prefer the over the shoulder view for backing up, but I might EVENTUALLY warm to the back up camera. The problem with the over the shoulder view is that you can't see the rear cross traffic warning looking in that direction.Sometimes you have to back up way past the obstructing truck parked by your driveway to see the car that is about to hit you.

 

Given the average age of the drivers I see in Priui, turning around to look out the back may be impossible. My next car will have all the electronic assists I can find.