Useful does not mean it can't look nice, or heaven forbid, cool. Strapping ugly on top of useful means someone's not in a good mood
Actually, it often does. Panel vans are incredibly useful. Buses are incredibly useful. There's a reason for that. A rectangular volume is a great way to store things and people. Removing bits to make it "look cool" makes it a less useful space. Ugly or pretty means absolutely nothing in cars to me. Cars, for the most part, aren't attractive looking devices anyway.
I think we've pretty much covered styling then. It's nearly unanimous that the Gen 4 is ugly and useful
Maybe Gen2 or Gen5, but Gen3? no way! Very disappointing though. I am glad I didn't hold out and bought C.
A useless option, at least for me. G3 is not more attractive than G2. Better in some ways, worse in others.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. - Margaret Wolfe Hungerford I think the word 'beauty' is used to express the appeal one sees in something -- whether it's based on the visual, functional, or whatever. I also think an automobile only needs to make its owner feel good about their purchase regardless of the reason.
Good designs tend to also look good, now, and down the road. Garish an' trying too hard speaks of corner-cutting and misdirected effort.
Why is this even an either or choice? There are cars out there that manage to be both pretty and useful. And just because someone prefers to have both doesn't mean they are shallow, it means they are just trying to get the most bang for their buck (duh). Even you guys if given a choice of the same exact useful car in both ugly and pretty form, would go for the pretty version.
The 4th gen delay supposedly came about due to executives saying to go back to the drawing board, improve the appearance, lol.
Are you kidding me? If price is not problem then go for the Model S tesla, GM-volt etc. etc. If it is then stick with the 3rd gen Prius. Oh and if you really wanna be annal and it has to be new but "exactly as useful" as the Prius, ie. same hatchback space etc etc then wait for the Hyundai Prius fighter.
Volt is too small and has too small a gas tank, Tesla has no where near enough range and takes way too long to refuel when on the road, if you can even find a place to fill it up.
Then go for the 3rd Gen Prius as already mentioned. Or go for wait for the Hyundai Prius fighter. As I already said, they are the closest to your narrow definition of what is useful.
The biggest fault I have with the G4 has nothing whatsoever to do with looks, but rather the removal of most of the inside storage. The lower glove box is tiny, the upper glove box is missing, the under floor storage in the cargo area is gone as is the little cubby on the side of the cargo area. For those reasons, I've been looking at G3's, but they are so similar to my G2 that I've decided just to keep my G2 (2004) and maintain it for the foreseeable future. There are places I've already been in my G2 that you couldn't possibly get to in a Tesla, and almost every week I carry things and people that wouldn't fit in a Volt. If it's not at least as useful as my G2, why would I buy it, even if it were cost-competitive?
Looks like you already have your solution. I'm also blessed in that I don't intend to replace my G3 daily driver for the next 5 years or so, and my Sienna minivan is good until a hybrid Minivan or SUV (CRV or RAV4) comes along.
The 2010 to 2015 style is modern, sleek, efficient and just down right "cool". The new style is a cross between an 80's honda and a 50's studebaker.
