Poll for your reaction of the Gen 4 - so far.

It looks SO much better in person. Seeing it there, I still hate how it looks in many pics, but I want one, and I couldn't say that before seeing it on the stage (and the Midnight Black one inside - that color is awesome! Black with a blue/yellow/green flipflop - it should glow in sunlight).

The rear grows on you in person. If I were to buy one, I'd probably pick the black, even living in Florida, as I then wouldn't have to paint the top of the hatch and the C-pillar to match the body color (my one peeve on the exterior - any other color, and I'd be headed to a body shop).

I LOVE the front, especially that they didn't let the Lexus Broken Maw take over the nose.

I can walk under the open hatch without stooping. It is the first Prius I can say that about, IIRC.

I can comfortably sit in the front passenger seat and the rear seats. Unfortunately, part of that reason is the shrunken dash and massive loss of storage (BOO!). Not that I normally am in any of those seats, but now I could be there comfortably.

 

I admit that I didn't even notice how high/low it felt when getting in and out of the various ones dozens of times, but I was busy either getting ready to take a pic, or trying to keep out of someone else's frame. My 06 is lowered about 1.5", so I tend to notice getting in/out of a standard height Prius, so maybe it IS lower, but it didn't jump out at me. Looking at the red one on stage, all I could think was "it needs lowering" ;-) Note that I am also getting on in years, so while I want the car lowered on its suspension, I do like a seat with a wide range of adjustment, as I tend to keep it just one click back from full upright for most driving. But I want the lower Cg for handling, and the 4G has it.

The passenger seat had no height adjustment that I could find, but at 6'3" I was able to sit in it without roof contact (in a sunroof car, no less - the frame is far enough to the outside to avoid normal contact). The driver's seat was nice, and you can sit up straight if you want.

If I were to buy a 4G with a sunroof, I could see myself mucking with fitting a power seat mechanism to the passenger seat, though, for the rare times I am not the driver, just to give me every bit of spare headroom. However, I didn't look under that seat for clearance issues, JonB or Tony would probably have to speak to that.

 

I agree, black or grey would be good colours for Gen4. Unfortunately, those are also the least visible in gloomy weather and numerous studies have proven increased likelihood of accidents so as tempting as it may be, not for me. Red is also okay but highlights the back, too much going on there.

 

To be clear, we own a Gen2 right now and I find it VERY EASY to get in/out; I notice Tideland offered a comment referring to the Gen1, which might have confused things a bit, but my own experience is only with the Gen2.

My concern with the Gen4 stems from comments by reporters noting that it sits quite a bit lower than the Gen3. That's not the sort of thing folks tend to mention if it's only a subtle difference. They also report that the cabin continues to feel open with good visibility because of the lowered hood, but that doesn't help with ingress/egress. I certainly hope that it's not as bad from my perspective as those comments would suggest, but I'll just have to see. I fear this might be an area where Toyota has compromised a virtue of their old design in the interest of achieving a look that they hope will appeal to younger buyers.

I'd mentioned the Avalon Hybrid before as an alternative, but we shouldn't forget the Prius V, which is intentionally more CUV/wagon-like in appearance and is likely to retain a higher, more upright, seating position even after its update. In the end, if we're not thrilled with any of the current options, maybe we'll just lease a Gen3 if we can get a good deal on it and return to the market in a few years.

 

I like the tray, but I'm not sold on the cupholder placement until I actually see it and can put my cup in it. We have no problem with the current placement, my cup is easy to get to while I'm driving and the only thing on the console is my elbow. I use a cup with a handle and many cupholders cause problems for me.

Since the USB and power outlet have been taken out of the console, I can see myself moving the stuff I have in the lower glovebox to free up the single glovebox for the stuff my wife uses on our trips. Again, I need to see for myself and certainly intend to as soon as they are available.

I am glad we didn't wait and bought last year though. The past year and 35,000 miles have showed me what's most important when shopping for a fuel-efficient vehicle and I think we'll really be prepared for 2017/2018 when we plan to trade. I can say that so far I see no compelling reason to upgrade earlier, though we haven't seen all the specs yet, or the car in person for that matter.

 

Right Prius V might be an option but I'm not sure I can wait that long. I mean with the hatchback being available in early 2016 and no schedule for the PIP or V we might not see them introduced until 2nd quarter and available as a 2017 model.

If, for some reason, I don't buy a Gen IV I'd be inclined to go for a CR-V or Rav4, especially if the Rav4 Hybrid shows some high mpg ratings.

 

The section between the 2 cupholders in the console retracts, I took a pic of it somewhere... I doubt the spacing is enough for handles on BOTH cups if they are wide handles, but for a single handle, it should easily handle it without interfering with a non-handled cup in the other spot.

And the retractor mechanism has an air spring on it - when you press it down again to raise it back up, it slowly lifts back into place. A nice touch (though I'm sure the NA beancounters would have a shitfit about it if they could save the 10 cents it probably costs for that mechanism in bulk).

When we travel, I use the largest cups that will fit. The ones I can fit in my 06 might not fit in the 4G. But I wasn't about to pack them just in case I wanted to test it ;-)

Found it. Note that many cup handles will probably be up higher than the front inset anyways.

20150908_215143-trimmed by talonts posted Sep 10, 2015 at 3:46 PM

 

Thanks. Right now my handle faces toward me and my wife's toward her. I'm not so concerned about them fitting, I'm more concerned about being able to grab it with my right hand while driving. I could be wrong, but I believe the holders are 1 in front of the other like they are now, but much lower. If that's the case, then my handle would probably be where the key fob is in the photo. If that's far enough in front of the console, I can probably grab it easy enough. I can always get a cup without a handle, but having a handle makes it easier to grab multiple things when unloading at night. Certainly will not keep me from buying the car, just as the current buttress didn't keep me from buying the 2014. It's just one of those little things I'll need to see for myself.

 

My cups refuse to get into something that looks like...

 

Retracted.

......I'm trying really hard to wait until I see one in person.

 

Just idle rambling - Skip if you are not into rambling.

What identifies "sporty" and "youthful?"
Is a characteristic of being "sporty" created by: Appearance? Performance? Handling? Sound? All of the above?
Or is it created with sculptured panels? LED lights?

I am a senior Senior. Way beyond being youthful.
I'm trying to understand what make the G4 ----- more Sporty? Youthful? Thats what the magazines are calling it.

Would a Porsche be "sporty" if went from 0-60 in 7.5 seconds?
Would a Prius "v" be "sporty" with a loud exhaust, and bedecked with LED lights?
The Hyundai's all have sculptured panels. Are they "Sporty?"

When I see a new Corvette, the one word that comes to mind is "Wicked."
When I hear a new Mustang accelerate, the sound makes me think "WOW."
When I see a chopped and channeled 32 Ford, I don't say anything. I just admire the spectacle.
When I see the doors open on a Mercedes 300 SL, I think "Classic.

What makes the G4 "Sporty" in your mind? (Not an argument. I'm just interested in your opinion._

BTW. My second car is a bright red, BMW Z3 Roadster - I'm not too old to appreciate what real "sporty" is.

 

I can hardly wait to see it and drive it. Other than the "bone china" accents I find the new interior really appealing. The overall shape still says "Prius" but the exterior changes say to me "this car is more than just a fuel miser".

 

it's sporty, only compared to gen III. for people who are going to buy another prius, some wanted 'more sporty'.

 

Sporty does not equal sports car. Sporty is an adjective. Just about ANY car can be "sporty" with simple additions. The IRS alone says this car will be sportier than previous gens. The lower cg says it louder. This gen should take far less work to be "really sporty" and stress aftermarket tires.

 

Please fire the designer. This thing is so ugly. I'll stick with my generation 3. Even if it could do 60mpg you would not see me near it. Please tell me its not a pius.

 

I've always considered "Sport" or "Sporty" in the automotive sense, a light, minimalist 2 seat fairly small car that would have enough power to accelerate briskly and have a suspension set up that makes it an agile performer on twisty roads or twisty tracks. A car that would as directly as possible communicate the road to the driver. Not many of those being produced much anymore. Colin Chapman had good ideas that defined "Sport" or "Sporty" as it pertained to cars. Unfortunately "Sport" is a term that has been so wildly stretched by car industry advertising departments to make the term meaningless.

Merchandisers have been doing that for a long time... paint a stripe or stick a badge on a vehicle and make it a sports car or sports truck. I loved when they came out with the Dodge Caravan Sport. One of many weird Sporting automotive oxymorons. I'm surprised we don't see commercials for special edition Sport Semi-trailer trucks. Or maybe I've missed it, if there is? I wouldn't doubt it. I have seen stripes on 'em.

So now we're getting a "Sporty" Prius Hatchback. A four door hatchback family car. Another great merchandising strrrrrrrrretch.

 

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What? You don't like designer stuff like this???...

 

I wouldn't be waiting either - we might just lease a current Prius v (a Gen3 hatchback seemed less likely as we discussed it - we REALLY hate the flying buttress), though we might just wind up with the next-gen v after lease-end if it turns out the Gen4 hb doesn't suit us.

I have little interest in the RAV4 hybrid at this point. I'll admit the idea piqued my interest until I saw the NX hybrid's 35/31. Different strokes of course, but unless by some miracle the very similar RAV4 gets WAY better mileage (how?), I've no need to pay a premium for a CUV that improves on the Prius v in no way that I care about.

 

It looks like a gen 3 that's been in a oven and its melting. Awwh my eyes cant look at it any longer.