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

2001 was the boxy sedan.
2003 was the sleek lift back.

However, I corrected my post. It wasn't out in North America until 2004, so the one I had in Canada was a 2004.

 

i can't see where you are, but in n/a, 2001-3 was a sedan. 2004-9 was gen 2 lift back.

2010-15 was gen 3 and 2016-22 was gen 4

 

Agreed. That's the same ranking I have.

 

I haven't even driven my Gen 2, but I like it's practicality.

 

I'm on earth, like my description says!

Seriously though, yeah, I'm in Canada, and I had a 2004 not 2003. However, the 2nd gen was first manufactured in 2003 and came out Sept. 2003. I'm not sure what model year they called it in Japan. I got mine in Feb. IIRC.

BTW, despite its ugliness, I might have kept my 2001 if only the seats folded down. But they didn't. Lame.

 

i wanted a gen1 desperately when i learned about them. wasn't able to get a prius until '04, and a 14 month waiting list.

 

It seems some people go by manufactured date and others by the model year. I saw this a lot on Nissan Leaf forums. The first model year was 2012, but the first ones manufactured were 2011. So then you had people saying "no, that's not a 2012, it's a 2011" and others saying the exact opposite.

For this reason it's probably best to specify "2001-2003MY (model year) Prii" so as to distiguish it from the manufactured date.

For an example, I own a 2013MY Avalon Hybrid, even if it was made in 2012.

 

in europe, their generations start a year earlier than ours. can be confusing

 

I guess I got lucky. I lived in downtown Toronto at the time, there was a Toyota dealership less than 1 km away. I walked in one day in 2001 and they had one lightly used 2001 on the lot, so I got it.

BTW, to my surprise, that thing was a chick magnet. And a dude magnet. EVERYONE was coming out of the woodwork to ask me about this strange and ugly car. There were random women on the highway waving at me and giving me the thumbs up, and various female acquaintances asking to go for a ride in the car. There was also an instance of some guy creepily following me around in a parking lot for about 5 minutes before finally stopping and asking me about the car.

 

Wha? I don't get it. Are you being serious? You have a gen 2 Prius but you don't drive it? I'm confused.

 

Yes. I bought it for cheap but found out it has more problems than I initially thought. The engine block is damaged, the HV battery is throwing codes and has dead cells, the 12V battery also won't hold a charge, it needs a new wheel bearing in the front, maybe two, the windshield is cracked up, the front lights don't work, and I busted the hatch handle trying to open it. I've fixed a few things on it, but haven't gotten around to fixing everything and am wondering if it's worth the effort.

 

I was talking to a neighbor today and a 2023 Prius went by. I said look at the new Prius. She looked and couldn’t seem to see anything or find it. Not being any kind of way against it, it just blends in. Which with Prius hate still a thing, might be good.

 

I think most people truly cannot believe the 2023 is a Prius. Our friends and our family separately thought it was a Tesla when they saw it, and while I personally think it's more attractive than any Tesla, Prius was truly the last guess they would have made.

 

I agree. Car companies have largely tried to keep the original car shapes from 100 years ago. The gen 2 Prius tried to follow a new form factor, one that serves a purpose that not only makes the car more efficient, but also more practical.

I don't see more sedans, pickups and SUV's as being something to get all excited about. But vehicles shaped like the Aptera or the Cybertruck get my attention.

 

Unequivocally yes. To say different is to be in denial. I owned a Gen4 Prime and I thought that one looked pretty good. Much better than the regular Gen4 Prius. Gen4 isn't even on the same level when it comes to power, or styling. Only thing better is the utility, and even then that's only a small advantage. You're not fooling anyone if you say Gen4 looks better, it only comforts you at night when you sleep.

 

Model Year is a US thing. In most of the rest of the world, the year attached to a car is the year it was assembled in.

 

It's the FINAL face-off between the G4 and the G5 replete with smoke effects and song!!

 

I remember when I was younger the first time someone said they got a brand new pickup that was the following model year. I thought they must have had to spend an extra amount of money to get it.

I think model year helps differentiate between feature differences, because it would be kind of hard to stop building one version of a vehicle right on December 31 and then start the other on January 1. I guess we could go by "the Prius that was built from September 2000 to June 2003" or "the Prius that was built from August 2003 to March(?) 2009." As you see, there were Gen 1 and Gen 2 that were built in the same year (or Gen 3 and Gen 4 if you include the 1997-2000 Prius in Japan).

Anyhow, I think I just confused myself. Did the new century and millenium actually start in 2000 seeing how there was no year 0? Technically the new millenium didn't start until January 1, 2001.

Hi. My name is Issac.

 

All trims look the same, right? Glad to hear someone thinks the rear end view looks “pretty darn good”. : )