The designer of the 2016 Prius speaks out on his decision of the final design

Nothing ever good comes from management sticking their fat fingers into design...

 

I like the new design,but btw who knowes how the design looked they dumped !

 

^This probably, it has been leaked a few months ago along with this one (apparently the base for what is now 4th Gen):


Or is that blue one a coming PiP? Who knows....

 

Reminds me of:

New Pokemon Prius.


Lady GaGa the cat:


Bob Wilson

 

Those must be some good drugs...

 

Shame that they decided to go with the "aggressive" design. The blue one seems like much more of a logical evolution to the previous Prius generations. Honestly the design they went with just looks like a ricemobile. I get that they're trying to change the image that the Prius holds with most people and expand their market. But it just ended up as a case of form over function.

 

Don't a country's auto designs often reflect their culture? I would expect the Prius to have Japanese design elements and I say "good work." The car looks very nice to me. I feel that the company should be proud of their accomplishments both in terms of engineering and appearance.

 

best car they make, and i like a lot of them.

 

I like the new design, it's quite edgy and not copying anything on the road. The blue one from up above just seems like a cross between a volt and a civic. If people are to believe it should look even better in person.

 

I see sales have dropped like a rock! (2010... 509k worldwide, 141k U.S.; 2016 ytd 30k U.S.) Has Kato lost his job yet! We would have been in the market for a new Prius... but not now. Were these guys former tennis shoe designers?

 

	Model	16_05	16_04	16_03	16_02
1	Prius Liftback	9389	8923	8130	7169

The rock is falling up.

Bob Wilson

 

hard to pin the blame on design. gas prices might be having some influence.

 

It is funny to me because the only place I have seen hate for the new Prius design is here. Granted I haven't read many reviews of it, but as a first time Prius owner whenever my wife and I see an older one we both say something along the lines of "man those old ones are hideous." I recently got "outed" as a Prius driver to my group of friends. Of course that resulted in everyone going out to the parking lot to look at it and make fun of me. Most of what I heard was along the lines of having to give up my guns, will I be able to see over a deer strapped to the hood, etc. But when anyone mentioned the design the response was all positive. I'm pretty convinced that the only reason previous Prius owners hate on it is because they want to convince themselves that theirs is better. Myself... I wouldn't say that I like how the gen 4 looks, but it is an improvement over the Gen 3.

 

If you check out cleanmpg.com you can see the Prius 5 and Prius C really got hammered year over year.

One thing great about having both a 2010 and a 2016 Prius parked side by side in my driveway for the past 4 months is that having even a moment of buyer's remorse after reading some of the negative review is about as likely as getting a flat tire from running over a porcupine.

 

For me, another first time hybrid owner, I love the fact that not everybody is warming up to it quickly. I love driving a car, that not everyone else has. I love driving a car that is a little unconventional, stylish, futuristic, and getting killer gas milage!

Previous Gen owners are likely to hate... and that's fine. Everyone is entitled to there opinion. What a boring world it would be if everybody liked the same thing. I say... WELL DONE Toyota!!

Eventually, this car will become the norm. I am happy (and thrilled) to be an early adopter!

 

A 2010 owner, I was really looking forward to the 2016 reveal, wanted very much to like it, but can't.

 

why not?

 

You don't have to go that far:


Just because year-over-year is 'easy' doesn't mean it tells us much useful information about the market in a timely fashion. Equally limiting, month-after-month has limited utility because it is such a small sample set and weather as well as selling days has an effect. This is why I prefer looking at the last four months to see developing trends.

Personally, I think Toyota has been 'asleep at the switch:'

1. No Estima for 10 years - the hybrid minivan could have set the stage and complimented the Prius V which is a Prius wagon. Because of the flat floor, the Estima and Prius V are ideal plug-in platforms.
2. Needing technology refresh:
   1. Camry - competition is coming on strong
   2. Prius c and all of their non-2016 Prius need upgrades.
   3. Offer RAV-4 and Highlander with sliding door option.

Bob Wilson

 

I see some trends in this table. A comparison between the first 4 months of 2015 vs the first 4 months of 2016 is particularly interesting. Mich more can be found at cleanmpg.com.

 

Exterior styling, outlandish head and tail lights, steeply sloped beltline, plastic wheels, Darth-in-the-dash, the "commode". You know: the usual suspects.

I do like the new 12 volt.