Featured What ever happened to the GR Sport Prius?

sounds like it was a one off marketing play, never intended for production:

toyota-prius-gr-modified-24-hours-of-le-mans

 

I have a 2018 Prius+ GR here in the UK (Japan Import). I love it

 

Sometimes I get confused about to whom these vehicles are being marketed. But on the other hand, I see who buys them. I don't know about in other places, but for some reason here in Colorado Prius drivers have largely been the ones to drive around like maniacs, passing me and everyone else whenever they get the chance, usually with a large Thule cargo box on top. I understand that people with money want to have the best of both worlds, a tire shreading sports car that also saves the environment at the same time, or three worlds (family/stuff hauler), but at the same time I don't really get that mentality.

On the other hand, I kind of love and hate the GR lineup. I mean, I'd love to drive a sporty car like a GR Corolla, but only if I could do so on a race track. Driving around like a maniac (or like a typical Prius driver in Colorado) on public roads who has to show off by flooring it at every light that turns green and speeding everywhere they go just seems immature. Then again, I don't think people who have the money to buy brand new cars have ever experienced getting their only $160 speeding ticket for going 9 mph above the limit realizing that's all the money they have for food for the entire month.

Which is why both the wife and I miss our old fun-to-drive cheap econo cars we used to own. RIP fun econo cars, it was nice while it lasted.

 

I wonder how accurately we remember those cars and their capabilities. I today drive a mid-sized SUV hybrid which has about the statistical 0-60 time as my first BMW 2002 or my first Porsche 914. As for the fun factor, part of that was shifting and faded as car makers shifted to automatics for convenience and standardization and fuel economy reasons. Only one of my grandkids has driven a stick shift car and that in Germany. Soon how many sticks will we see except at car auctions for the wealthy. I'm not sure I have driven one in the last 40 years. Certainly not owned one.

 

It's things like shifting a stick-shift that put a smile on my face. My most favorite cars didn't have much more than some 50hp, but driving them was engaging. Nowadays everything is automatic, from shifter to temp control to rearview mirror dimming. And if the car does everything for me it takes out every reason to drive the car except not having enough public transportation.

Whenever I get a chance to drive my mom's stick-shift Chevy Sonic or any other manual car, I do, and still really enjoy it.