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

Since styling is the only thing I can react to, I can't say I'm excited about the 4th gen. I actually thought my 2G was a good-enough looking car...definitely on the "cute" end of the spectrum but at least it was coherently cute. The lines may not have been exciting but they flowed pleasantly enough from one end to the other. I was happy enough with the 3G design since it wasn't that much of a departure from the 2G, and I found the "flying buttress" attractive enough (though I haven't owned one so I don't know if it would have functioned for me).

I can't say any of that about this new one. There are just so many creases and independent design elements that my eye can't piece together when I look at it as a whole. It's as if they took the 2G as a starting point and then added things to it until they ran out of room. I can only hope that it will look better when I see one first-hand, as I'm sure I will eventually.

I'm more positive about the interior design. I do not like that they put the primary instruments so far from the driver, although I imagine I could get used to it with time. (Although, should I really buy a car that I know I'll have to "get used to?") Otherwise the cockpit looks sufficiently functional. I also like that they appear to have put some work into the seating.

The real test will be whether or not they've provided enough adjustment to the seat and wheel that I can get comfortable. That was a big problem for me with the 2G and it's the one thing I really wanted them to fix.

 

I like the front end but the back end is really messed up. I'm glad we bought the '15 Prius three and we will probably drive it for 8 to 10 years.
I read somewhere that the styling in the Mirai hydrogen car would influence the new Prius so that partly explains why I don't like it. Personally I find the Mirai is totally screwed up styling wise - makes me wonder why Toyota would use that approach to introduce a new hydrogen fueled car. Even if I could afford it's $55k plus price, and hydrogen was a really proven and efficient fuel source, I wouldn't buy one because they are just plain UGLY.
If they pick up that kind of styling in the upcoming Camry redo in 2017 and the Avalon in 2018 then I will be off to Ford or Hyundai to replace my '09 TCH.

 

Waiting for the 2017 Prius v, might be an option for me. Also my brother loves his Outback, and the refreshed CrossTrek hybrid seems worth looking at.

It also occurs to me that my dislike of low driving positions has only intensified with aging. I always felt that way. I was just remembering my second car and all the stuff I did to it. With a big box of parts and a 4bbl manifold I bought at the junkyard, I assembled from it one perfectly working Carter Thermoquad and replaced the 2bbl. The power boost was incredible, but now my values are different, partly because I'm more aware of environmental issues. Anyway, I was 19 at the time, and I also raised the driver's seat about an inch.

I loved the "BMW i8 Exits" video! It reminded me of a few years ago when my wife got interested in Mini Coopers. After trying the passenger side of a few models while she checked out the driver's side, I was in pain! Those cars are test1cle mashers. The seats have high verticle bolsters projecting up from the seat sides, and simultaneously there's very little head room at the door frame. Like the guy in the video, as I lifted myself in or out, my head was craned down, as the masher crushed into me from below. (The saying, "Between a rock and a hard place" comes to mind.) Even though the car was going to be mostly for her, I insisted there was no way we were getting one of those!

I think the problem must be that car manufactures dictate, "it's more important that short people be able to drive at all, then that tall people be comfortable." (Yes, that's understandable.) Now if I were really tall, I guess I'd just be used to being uncomfortable in lots of situations, ducking through doorways, and so on. But since I'm just somewhat tall, finding myself uncomfortable surprises me.

If I can put the seat back as far as I'd like for my legs to be comfortable (usually not possible) then I get a sore neck and shoulders from reaching out to the steering wheel that's then too far away. Shorter cars with semi-reclined driving positions make this problem worse.

One of my favorite features should be a telescoping steering wheel, but again, I've discovered the throw of the telescoping option is usually mostly in the direction of allowing the wheel to be WAY too far away, so very short people can fit in with the seat all the way forward.

 

I was hoping that replacing my Gen 2 would be a no brainer. I'll be in "wait and see" mode for this model. The Gen 4 looks like a Pokemon on wheels, but my decision has to be based on technical details also, which we have few of at the moment. I really would like to have the all wheel drive option for snow, but if the Gen 4 has less clearance, not sure if that will be a benefit.

Toyota just keeps screwing up the Prius interior more with every generation. The Gen 3 flying butress console was a total non-starter for me. I really like the upper glove box on the Gen 2 because that's where I keep my toll tag. It works right through the glove box without having to mount it on the windshield. With the Gen 4, the tag probably has to go on the windshield again - would be nice if Toyota would make a small electrically transparent toll tag box on top of the dash to keep it out of view.

I also like the generic center console of the Gen 2 - I don't want a lot of specialized cell phone electronics that will be obsolete in a few years. I don't like the Gen4 drink holders in the console either. In my Gen 2, I use them for other things - not sure if that will be practical in the Gen 4. Also hoping the white dash components on the Gen 4 are optional.

The shark fin antenna on the Gen4 pretty much guarantees weak radio reception.

 

all they needed with the gen II was to make good use between the front of the console and dash. but noooooo.

 

What's wrong with the storage drawer and flip-out cup holder?

 

^ Telescope? Do you mean steering wheel adjustment?

 

That's how I took it. I'm short, but even for me, the telescope doesn't come out enough to make it comfortable.

 

This doesn't bode well for anyone like me at all (6'2" and a bit leggy). What fdf said above describes my problem perfectly:

The seat on my 2G didn't **quite** go back far enough for my legs to be comfortable and even then my shoulders and neck would start to hurt. I could make due during the first couple of years with the car but the effects got worse and worse over time. But setting aside the fact that I'm becoming old and broken, how hard can it possibly be to give the steering wheel enough reach for a tall driver? I did sit in the 3G and it was clear that the telescoping action went, if anything, the wrong direction for me.

Just the same, I'll sit in one for myself whenever I have an opportunity.

 

Or a little space for a some cooler when on long trips, or a lady's purse? My wife usually has to reach around or open the rear door for that when we go out together.

 

Wow, that's not much, but I'm not surprised to read brick's comment, "if anything the wrong direction." But what leaves me really wondering is, I'd think most of the cost of making the steering column telescope is in allowing it to move at all. Surely the marginal cost of making it telescope a significant and useful amount must be very small, so it seems crazy to make it telescoping, but then only a smidgeon.

My parents had a '77 Chrysler New Yorker, and it had a great telescoping wheel. I want to say 6 inches, but whatever it was, it was a lot, and it was plenty. My mother slid it (and the seat) way forward, and I slid it most, not even all the way, out.

Before I bought my '07 Prius I read, probably here, that if you liked the seat, great, but if not, you'd be out of luck, since the seats aren't very adjustable. Fortunately, I've always found the '07 seat quite comfortable. Recently I've thought a bit of projection into my lower back as lumbar support would be nice. But while I first wrote that off as my aging I think it might also be the seat wearing out. The passenger and driver seats might have identical cushions & backs, and since the passenger seat has had very little use, I was wondering about swapping. Anyone done that?

Although the seat doesn't go back as far as I'd like, I perceive that if it did go back more, the reach forward to the wheel would be so much worse, so I might not even put if further back. The salvation to one of the very few things I'm not thrilled with is my being able to cock my leg a bit to the right. I've never tried a Gen 3, but if the flying bridge got in the way of this critical bit of knee-space-to-the-right, that would be another problem, so I'm glad the flying bridge is gone.

The first factory-new vehicle I owned was a '96 Ford Explorer, and my second favorite vehicle ever, only to my Prius. One of the few things I didn't like about it was the wheel not telescoping out. Since my wife almost never drove it, almost immediately, I installed an extension kit in that extended the wheel out 3 inches, which was wonderful! The kit was made to mount a particular brand of aftermarket steering wheels, so while it secured to the column just fine, I had to do some re-tooling in order to remount the stock wheel (with air bag, cruise controls, etc) that I definitely wanted to retain.

If I really don't like alternative makes & models, and I could find a similar extension kit, I still might buy the new Gen 4. Anyone ever heard of such a thing?

 

Keep in mind crash protection and air bag placement is a factor in steering wheel design.

 

I feel much the same. We skipped Gen III due to the flying buttress. I don't mind the looks of the Gen IV but looks aren't all that important to me. We do like our Gen II except it has 154K miles and we'd like one with zero miles. If we could buy a new Gen II we'd go for it in a minute. We like the console of the Gen II, cup holders, 12V outlet under the dash and another in the arm rest, etc. Gen II also has a spare tire which is uncertain in the Gen IV.

I too would feel more comfortable with a 4 wheel drive due to the hills we encounter every day, 40-50 inches of average rain, and the potential for a day or two of snow every few years.

Really all we are hoping for is a Gen II with better mileage (although we've been quite happy with 45-47 mpg average), a bit more cargo space, and the rest they can leave alone.

The dash and console of the Gen IV do not appeal to me, certainly the white accents are horrible. I do agree that in general each new model gets worse.

 

nothing, they were good, but i thought the empty space in front of them could have been put to better use. unfortunately, they then proceeded onto the bridge, which was a step backwards, storage wise. i've given up on toyota's cabin design, the camry is just as bad and the avalon is horrible.

 

At least the Avalon did not have the flying butress. I would have bought the one I test drove if the back seats would have folded down. Even though the cost was higher and the MPG was less, I still felt more comfortable in it. To me, the downfall on the Avalon is the back seats not folding down. Sorry about getting off topic.

 

In LA, Prius is the iPhone of cars, as everyone seems to drive one. I don't think it will make a difference how it looks. It will still be the most popular car in LA. I know people are resistant to change and Gen 2 & 3 owners are feeling that. I remember a friend of mine who totaled his Gen 2 and he was complaining how much he disliked the looks of Gen 3 (!!). At the end, change is actually a good thing, as the looks of Gen 2 & 3 got rather obsolete and boring. Having a Gen 3 next to a Gen 4 will be like having a CRT-tube TV next to a flat-screen TV (statement made with some exaggeration).

I personally really like the looks of Gen 4. I would have to see it with naked eye but Toyota has done an excellent job by opting for a stylized and radical design rather than the typical boring design (such as the current-generation Camry, Corolla, etc., and pretty much everything else) they are famous for.

 

Yep, mine's got 132k miles, but I don't think I'd have any trouble stretching it out for another 100k if I wanted to. Will just have to wait and see what the Gen 4 really looks like (looks, technical, options, versions etc) when it comes out. On Toyota's website, there is hope: "Prototype shown with options. Production model may vary."