Featured Hyundai IONIQ - Prius competitor?

No issue with the above. As I have said (often) i'm not in the market so I have been cautious to not say too much. In addition, all I have seen are pictures. I'm curious, what are the "last two iterations?" Are you referring to the G3 and now the G4? I liked the G3.

I know this will sound argumentative, but the Aztek was "different." But more to the point, Toyota designs are heading in the wrong direction in my opinion. I very much dislike the Lexus with the "hour glass" grill; and the Camry with the enlarged "maw," but on the other hand, I really like the 2015 Avalon's appearance. Which, by the way bears some resemblance to several other large 4 door sedans.

The only reason I have followed this thread is because I might eventually be in the market for an EV. I can't afford a Tesla, and wouldn't consider a Leaf. I don't think I have heard that Prius was going to market an EV. I'm not qualified to evaluate all the features of the Hyundai, so that is why I have been interested in what so many (skilled) writers think.

 

You think the designs sold be made more bland, really?

 

I'm all for the interesting looking cars, not the lookalikes. Like it was in the 60s except we are now limited by shape so we have to make other things stand out imho.

 

i meant g2 and g3. i like all the prius, but that's just me. i'm more interested in what's inside. my list starts with mpg's and works it's way down to exterior at the bottom.
when you're buying a gasser, it's a little different. when there are 20 different cars getting 50 mpg, we'll have choices. today, there is only one choice.

 

No. Not "really." There is no correlation between beauty and bland, and being different does not make something more handsome.

This is a discussion that can have no conclusion, because we all see beauty differently. In my opinion, the Tesla (to name one) is a work of art. The form is very pleasant, and they have not resorted to design gimmicks. The Lexus LS 460 , on the other hand, with it's "hour glass" grille, is a design gimmick. The grille is certainly much larger than required for cooling. The design offers no protection from the slightest nudge of a car in front when parking, or when hitting a deer, and is tremendously expensive to repair. Different? Most definitely yes, and it is certainly not "bland." But neither is it attractive ..... in my opinion.

Manufactures from the early days of automobiles, have added fake air scoops, and non-functional holes in the side to create a sense of interest. Gimmicks do not inherently make something appealing, or attractive.

You can have the final word, then let's put this discussion to rest.

 

Well I was observing for the ioniq, not the prius. When there is not a tsunami where units get supported or government incentives in japan, the US is the prius's biggest market. But yes prius is likely designed with japanese first then US as design priorities. gen II had US priority, aqua japanese priority. My guess is ioniq will be US/China/Korea priority, as hyudai can't really sell in Japan.

For the ioniq yes I would ignore, Japanese prices. EU has fallen from the prices a few years ago, but here again, I don't expect it will be a great market for the ioniq or prius, because of import duties on cars. China with less than $4/gallon gas, I consider cheap for hybrid sales for the US, but yes I didn't really take into account "world". Many countries high fuel taxes still make gasoline expensive.

 

Saying the design won't be appealing is one thing, saying it is the "wrong direction" is quite different.

What market trend have you observed to draw that conclusion with?

I'm intrigued by the style discussion.

Volt gen-2 looks remarkably like a Honda Civic and a Kia Forte now, taking a step away from the previous stand-out approach. Hyundai is making Ioniq hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and EV all look the same.

What will people be drawn to in terms of looks?

 

I'll add that the mesh Lexus uses in their grill is large enough to let a rock fly through and pierce the radiator or A/C condenser.
I do like the early hourglass grill they have. When they kept a bumper cover there that divided the top and bottom halves.
As to whether it is a wrong direction, it really depends on sales. The sharp points of the current Acuras seems to have turned off their previous buyers.

 

john1701a - You said you were intrigued with styling discussions. The following quote was taken from the sister PC thread
Thread repository for ALL non-PriusChat 2016 Prius reviews, page 20

"How It Looks

Oh boy. The Toyota exec giving the presentation said the new design was “strikingly beautiful.” He’s maybe half right. I’ll give them ‘striking,’ but I just can’t agree to “beautiful.”

The new Prius keeps the fundamental triangular-theme of the old Prius, but marries that to this strange Space-Baroque design sensibility. The car looks like a futuristic car that was made out of alien bee’s wax and then left out under the hot suns of Tatooine. It looks melty and over-done, with strange, squinty headlights and the most serpentine taillights I’ve ever seen on a car. One of those taillight lenses, if placed on a stainless steel table, would look like what the doctor on your spaceship removed from your abdomen after an alien seed pod was injected into your stomach.

It’s weird. But, it does do two things very well: First, it makes it damn clear to everyone around you that hey, I’m driving a new Prius, and second, it has fantastic aero."

The entire article is interesting, and overall, complementary.

 

The slender, long, curve of the lights in back... will they be limited to offerings like Prius and Volvo XC90... or are they the start of a new trend? How long will people stick with basic light shapes in front? Will they desire something resembling modern or stick to old-school styling?

Beauty is most definitely subjective. We've known that for centuries. What Prius doesn't draw for interest, one of the other hybrids will. Those "ugly" comments of the past certainly didn't reflect actual outcome. How will this differ?

Misconceptions & Doubt of the past has faded. There's greater certainty of environmental & political trouble for not choosing new-tech now too. Toyota hopes to capitalize on that with a sleek looking family car... which is breaking new ground.

 

of course everyone's tasts are different - but when I observe the looks on people's faces seeing pictures of the gen4, it often evokes a look of consternation. I feel it too. The best/kind description to fit (for some) is that its a 'new' style. It'll take some getting used to .... as it took getting used to Priys adwiths the giant doll made of humans - singing hum hum hum hum.
.

 

LEDs have been around quite a long time but only a few manufacturers have done anything serious with them. And there are many possibilities but everybody is afraid to get away from conventional. You could say Toyota and Lexus are pushing the design forward at the moment more than any other big car company, while a few years ago they were just sitting in the back and playing it safe.

Just for my amusement I collected a bunch of cars that look very alike the Ioniq, at least to me:






Is it me or do the all look alike? Same designer maybe?
I found a few more look-alike while walking down the street but forgot the names....

 

We have styles like the pontiac aztec and toyota mirai that are almost universally disliked.

Then their is styling like the bmw i8 or tesla model S that is universally thought of as good looking.

The prius has been changed, and I think because of that clumsy vegas presentation, gave many of us on prius chat a bad impression. You can definitely see how designers tried to give the front a family resemblance to ugly mirai, but really the car didn't do that really bad disjointed air to water thing. IMHO the side or quarter front side look good, but that front view seems to be uglified compared to the gen III. The tailights look like a mismatch. Does it work? Some people will think it does, others won't like it. It is very subjective. IMHO it will sell in spite of the outside changes I'm sure some people will like the ioniq looks better, but may select the prius because toyota has been doing it longer and they like hsd versus dct and clutched hybrid motor. Still I think its better to give people the choice.

IMHO there is no excuse for butt face or the pontiac aztec styling. They make it out because people inside the organiztion are afraid to see how bad they are.

The prius new styling, eh, its not my taste, but really it was time for a change and its not bad enough for me to say toyota is clueless. I think people will get used to it, and many will like it, especially after they buy it.

LEDs free designers to give headlights, tailights, and fog lights a different look. They use less power too, and prices are coming down, so we will see more and more. That doesn't mean the designers won't do a bad design. I don't think the 2016 is a bad design, I just thought they could do better.[/quote][/QUOTE]

 

"bmw i8 or tesla model S" <- one is luxury sport sedan with borrowed design form Jaguar that costs upwards of 80,000$, other is sports car that costs 130,000$. Neither is hatchback.

 

Yup, they look alike.

 

Just a heads up to those who wonder how the hell European plug-in-cars get so high mpg, excerpt:
"The test cycle allows for a re-charge of the battery every 75 km."

I wonder if it applies to non-plugins too?

 

I think I posted the good looking cars, nothing wrong with being derivite. If you want unique yes aztek and miai, are unique and you never have to worry about others copying them.

As I said I wanted to post universally liked designs for the exterior. I also wanted them aerodynmic which both those cars are. IMHO the leaf, and i3 ended up ugly for the sake of looking unique. I don't think that should ever be a design goal.

Oh here is a picture of the tesla with the rear door open. The front trunk is where the engines are in the prius and ioniq. There isn't much to do with the exterior design that makes it expensive. There is a longer hood

No reason that the tesla design could not have been done in less expensive steel instead of batteries and aluminum. It is a good looking hatch design. I'm sure if you took the gen III prius and tried to make front and tail more like the model S, while widening the body only slightly to be the same as the gen IV prius, we would get a look that many more would have found attractive.

Prius wanted a narrorwer and taller design that said look at me instead of the classic looks..

 

All of you mentioning Aztek, it appears that it was a design trend about year 2000:

BMW X5:



Aztek:


It is probably something else that made Pontiac only sell 110,000 Azteks than design.
And by "only" Pontiac sold same number of those as Honda did S2000 models so not that bad a result after all.

 

Since we're talking about design trends and unusual tail lights, the tail lights on the Chevy Bolt are somewhat unique. I don't think there have been many pictures of them in full regalia.

 

I see a new necessity - dimmer's on the tail lights.