Never seen a Gen 5 on the road

If I needed a new car today, I'd get a fifth gen prime, but I can't seem to find one available anywhere in the US. Any leads?

 

Said it looked ordinary. As in like the rest of the sedans on the roads I see here. Toyota started making the gen4 more sedanish in profile, and they completed the job with the gen5.

 

Yes, it does indeed look like nothing special or even noticeable. In fact, I would say it is quite unnoticeable. I didn't know why you mentioned Teslas. I think Model 3 is a lot better-looking than Gen 5 Prius.

 

Im wondering if thats actually a good thing towards a more timeless design. Something thats still nice too look at in 10 years.

Looking at many new EVs, these seem to be in their puberty experimental phases. Looking cool and quirky but might be terrible to look at in a few years. I feel the same for most of the other new Toyota cars and their design language - P5 excluded.

 

In ten years, Gen 5 will be pretty obsolete with its TSS 3.0.

 

That's why I like it. It kind of looks like a concept car that became the G2, so it's harking back to 2000s Prius design, but it's also a rather "80s vision of the future" look. While actually also fitting in with current designs without any particular gimmicks. I can see 40 years of concepts in there.

As someone who always thought the G2 was the best Prius, with G3 and G4 messing up interior and exterior in turn, but always kind of wished it could be a bit more sporty/concepty like the original Honda Insight coupé, the G5 is ideal. It's kind of what the G2 always looked like in my head - I never understood how anyone could think it ugly - but apparently others can see it now.

G5 has ditched almost all the remaining original even-before-they-made-it-a-hybrid "Project G21" Prius body concepts - in particular the practical high driving position, but that was never something that I was after - and there's endless crossover cars doing that now. C-HR or RAV4 gives you that option. And G4 had already lost of some the body concepts anyway with the TNGA unification.

Main thing I miss is the G2 interior. Everything since G2 has been a step backwards in interior design, restoring all that unnecessary junk in-between the front seats. Buttons and sticks on the floor? Really? If only they'd reverted back to the G2 interior concept as well as exterior. At least the display's back in front of the driver, so halfway restored to G2-ness.

 

Ironic, as just last night I was walking up to my freshly washed car after leaving a restaurant and thinking to myself, this car's looks still floor me. Never have I ever experienced this with a car I've own. 5 months and still being dazzled.

This pearlescent white is so impressive in the way it accentuates the G5's lines! When the silver comes out at night...

 

When searching for mine, I used the Toyota website and expanded my search parameters out to 150 miles. I think they allow out to 500 miles. If you are willing to go farther, use a zip code for the city/region you are looking. As soon I saw a new listing, I would contact the dealer via their link. They always respond quickly. The frustrating part was being told the vehicle was already sold, But I kept at it and found one about 60 miles south of where I live. Put a deposit down on the actual car and less than two weeks later, drove it home, Whole process took me about six weeks.

 

The Model 3 is almost as common as Camries here.
It is an aerodynamic sedan.
The Gen5 is an aerodynamic sedan.

 

They're not even close IMO. M3's have a tired design. Tesla driver almost went into the ditch the other day craning his head to hard stare at my parked car as he drove by.

 

Except, the Gen 5 Prius is an hatchback, and it looks even less sedanish than the Gen 4 Prius. Moreover, the Gen 5 Prius is considerably less aerodynamic than the Gen 4 Prius, too.

I think the ordinariness of Gen 5 Prius has to do with its conservative, minimalistic design. For some reason, some reviewers really like it. I guess some people prefer conservative designs.

 

https://www.raillynews.com/2023/06/the-new-toyota-prius-was-awarded-the-red-dot-design-award-with-its-dynamic-design/

"Introduced to the market in its 5th generation, Prius has hybrid and plug-in hybrid options. However, the New Prius also managed to make a sound with its completely renewed design. Toyota's iconic wedge shape evolved elegantly and modernly in the 5th generation Prius. This dynamic design made the Prius win the prestigious 2023 Red Dot Design Award.

Appreciating the striking design of the Toyota Prius at first glance, the Red Dot Design Awards stand out as one of the largest design competitions in the world, with around 20 thousand applications annually. Innovative designs have been crowned in the categories of 'Product Design', 'Communication Design' and 'Design Concept' for more than 60 years at the Red Dot Design Awards.

After the evaluation of all applications by an international jury consisting of 43 members, the new Prius was awarded the title of 'Best of the Best', the highest award in the 'Product Design' category."

Impressively inaccurate take as always @Gokhan. Mr. Consistency!

 

I think the gen 2 was good for cargo and had good windows in front. Never thought the display and interior were so great. Gen 4 is way better imo, in every way, inside and for driving too. I had trouble reading the display in sunlight on the 2. Even in 07 when I got mine, it was considered a strange looking car, and got a lot of hate out on the road. Funny, it looks better today. See them all the time tooling around. See very few gen 5, which makes sense I guess as they are in high demand with short supply.
You younger folks think time goes on forever don’t you. If I don’t get cataract surgery in five years no more driving. Puts a different perspective on what a car is and what for. It’s not that important other than to get from a to b. Have to go admire my new 5 year drivers license I just passed recently.

 

I dont think that matters, the TSS 3.0 will still work fine in 10 years.

I still did not get my P5 yet and my current car is like 8 years old with an old fashioned radar adaptive cruise control. It cannot do all the bells & whistle but does exactly what its supposed to do - some things even better compared to a tesla vison only.

Thas a very good way to put it.

 

Before I ID it as a Prius I thought it was a new sedan. The lower roof line makes the profile much closer to today's typical sedan than previous generations.

Toyota called my 2005 a sedan on the window sticker.

 

Technical definition of a sedan is that the passenger compartment is separate from the luggage compartment.

The rear door of Gen 5 is considerably narrowed in comparison to Gen 4, but it is still an hatchback. Seeing these comparisons makes me rethink if I should trade in for a Gen 5.

 

Everyone who sees my car compliments me on it. This includes all age ranges and genders. Repeatedly I hear “That does NOT look like a Prius” and at least two have asked me if it was a Tesla.

I don’t know what’s wrong with some of you when it comes to car designs. It’s especially bizarre to be extolling the virtues of the truly hilarious silly-looking Gen 4 while you’re at it. Like you may literally be the only person on the planet with this opinion.

 

I saw a G5 Prius today, at the local Costco, the first one I've seen, as far as I know.

I've been out of the Prius market for some time, since I bought a gas guzzler in 2015 (a Mazda 3 sedan that's giving me an average of "only" 37 mpg for the last 8 years). I've recently been kind of thinking of getting a new car, so started looking at what's available, starting with EV's. Then I read something about the G5 and it's expanded electric-only range, and it's the new favorite. So I wasn't really looking for G5 Prius until recently, but I don't recall seeing one before. It looked good from the front, but I didn't have the opportunity to walk around it. I didn't realize it was still that rare, until reading this thread.

And yeah, my area is absolutely littered with Teslas. I see many of them every commute. This looked absolutely nothing like a Tesla.

 

I agree about the color. It is much better than I thought it would be. Last night we had a garage door repairperson out here doing some serious maintenance on our 18 year old garage doors and their openers, and he asked me if I liked my Prius. It was out of harms way in the yard, and I told him I loved it. He had had a non toyota hybrid back a few years ago. Really nice young man. We talked about mileage, and he actually knew something about the gen 5's. First comment from a virtual stranger. He described it as "sleek."

 

Tell it to Toyota. They're the one that put HYBRID GAS/ELECTRIC SEDN on the gen2 window sticker.


If Porsche can call a four door sedan a coupe, guess Toyota is free to call a hatchback a sedan w/ cabin connected trunk.

My comment was merely about the profile of the cars. The new Prius is a hatchback that looks like a sedan in shape.