What are your thoughts on the Gen. 4 Prius?

One of Tideland Prius' first comments upon seeing the all-new Prius last November in Vegas was ... 'seems like the steering wheel might be farther away than before'. or something just like that. Yeah, he was right.

Tons of driver legroom available (and headroom), but who can use that legroom and still reach the steering wheel without straight elbows? Skip the T-rex arms comments cause my arms are like my legs .... long.

Are any moderators or whoever else without some clout giving feedback to Toyota?
15 years since the Prius started selling outside Japan and the steering wheel STILL does NOT telescope enough. At this point, that's just LAME.

 

rav 4 hybrid?

 

Hmmm, no mention of Full Speed DRCC in RAV4 HYBRID. If the DRCC cancels below 25 MPH, not interested. That means driver has to babysit gas and the brake in stop and go traffic, and there's a LOT of stop and go traffic in SF Bay Area.

Here's my list of Prius deal breakers in order of priority -

1) Don't need liftback / hatchback. rather have a trunk. easy, secure, hidden storage. but if 2,3,4,5 were good, I might live with hatchback
2) driver seat cushion just doesn't agree with me. my best guess is it is really made for those with much shorter legs than me. the seatback is great, but bottom cushion no good.
3) center armrest is too high. puts my right hand right at the 3 o'clock spoke which is awkward to grip. need center armrest inch lower
4) want electric parking brake with BRAKE HOLD feature. Don't want to babysit brake pedal at each and every stop light, nor flip it into neutral if on level ground.
5) steering wheel a little far away still (yes, pulled all way out)
6) steering is so loose, especially at parking lot speeds. like more connected steering feel.
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7) rear seat legroom not so great in Prius.
8) very little space to hide little things away in Prius: no storage bins, glove box small, no under floor tray in back.
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It's the best Prius to date, but too many negatives to me, no go.

 

what car covers all that for you?

 

If Honda had a Civic Hybrid or Accord Hybrid (not IMA, but the MMID system) ready to go when I was buying the Prius, I would have looked long and hard at those vehicles!

Have you considered the new Accord Hybrid? It has some incredible specs and looks nice. I just wouldn't want a car that big, and the Prius is better equipped for the price.

The Prius works for me because I actually prefer hatchbacks and I like a smaller car (easier to park, fits in my garage nicely).
I'm only 5'7" 170 lbs so I find the driving position and seats very comfortable for me.

 

2016 Civic

1) 15.1 cu ft trunk
2) driver seat cushion wider, less tilt, fits better for me
3) center armrest lands my right hand at 4 o'clock for good grip on steering wheel, not spoke
4) has electric parking brake and brake hold feature all trims
5 ) footwell seems little deeper than Prius, hence steering wheel in good position
6) steering has better connected feel, even at very low speeds

7) Little more rear seat legroom. I've put Civic front seats all way and more foot / legroom than Pri. Skosh more headroom too.
8) Civic has somewhat of a floating bridge console, there's some semi-hidden storage there. bigger glove box than Pri.

9) and Civic has sun visor on sliding rod. TOYOTA, WHY DON'T YOU HAVE SUN VISOR ON SLIDING ROD? such a simple thing. The sun visor was very useless this morning on freeway. Had to take hand off wheel and block sun with my left hand. yuck.

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I turned in the Three Touring rental with 58.x MPG. Am I willing to give up 20 MPGs? Yes.

On plus side, the Prius ride quality is really good, smooth, handles bumps so well. Pretty darn quiet too.
I can tell it is well-built. materials quality is good.
View out the front really good. Expansive view now.

 

Going to pass on Accord Hybrid:
1) compromised trunk space and NO PASS through. Deal breaker
2) No electric parking brake, no brake hold feature. have to babysit brake pedal all every stoplight.
3) Expensive - $30k sticker price for base model. Loaded Civic Touring is $27.3k
4) .....

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I could see the gen4 seat very comfortable for 'well under 6ft' individuals. Still, it's a personal thing.

My guess about Prius seat bottom cushion is front part of cushion is elevated to support thinner part of thigh towards knees. My legs hang 6 or 7 inches over front edge of cushion, so thicker part of my thigh is on that elevated front edge and it just mashes up into my thighs. no go. Power seat would but too many no gos on prius.

 

let us know when you buy it. i hope you don't miss your prius too much. all the best!

 

Will do and you too.
Umm, I don't miss my 2011, wish I did, but, oh well. If I wasn't interested in Prius and this new Prius, I never would have looked or rented, but tried pretty hard to see if it would work.

This morning I dropped off some donations at a thrift center. Lady there was pretty taken with the 2016 Prius 3 Touring in Blue Crush. I told her it drives nicely.

 

Who told you DRCC cancels below 25 mph? I use it in stop and go driving all the time. I just tap the accelerator after a full stop. Your arm ends up at 3 o'clock? are you 7 feet tall? My arm ends up at 5 o'clock!

 

Let me clarify things, please.

Bisco said "Have you looked at Rav4 Hybrid?"

I said, yes, but Rav4 Hybrid has no mention of FULL SPEED DRCC like the Prius, therefore Rav4 DRCC will shut off below 25 MPH.

I am 6'2" tall with long arms and legs. I can rest my RIGHT ELBOW on center armrests AND grip a steering wheel. When I do this in the 2016 Prius, my hand ends up, in its most natural position at 3 o'clock, right on the steering wheel spoke. I can grip the wheel near 4 o'clock, but my hand is a little twisted at that point. The center armrest in 2016 Prius is "fairly high up" in my opinion.

 

Re-read the post. I was referring to Rav4 Hybrid which doesn't have full speed DRCC.

No, I'm 6'2" tall and with elbow on center armrest in Prius, my had most naturally falls at 3 o'clock on steering wheel, right where the huge spoke is. Center armrest is pretty high in m opinion.

My good friend bumped her right elbow all over center armrest in a 2015 Camry rental. She wasn't so impressed with other things either. She finally bought her 2016 Accord V6 Touring in January. Coming from a 20 yo BMW, and Audi before that, it's best she steered away from Toyota. She's happy with her new Accord.

 

My Avalon doesn't "cut off".

 

2014 Hybrid Limited

 

Are you saying your Avalon Hybrid Limited's DRCC can bring the car to a full stop behind another car, or track the car ahead at speeds below 25 MPH?
Or you are saying the DRCC stays engaged, but you have to manually brake to a stop ....

 

I rented the 2016 Prius twice, one day each and made a list of several deal breakers and ruled it out. I figure that looking for deal breakers and trying to rule a car out is much better than overlooking gripes cause they'll come back to haunt after purchase.

I got super lucky and rented a 2016 Civic EX turbo, paid only $80 , have had it since Thursday and will return Monday. I'm trying to rule it out for possible purchase, but each day it's getting harder to do so. Not finding anything worth ruling it out.
I'm over 250 miles into this tank and the gage is 39.x MPG **

** Not 56 mpg like Prius, but 39 way better than 25 I'm getting in old Accord