Why I'm Not Upgrading To A 2017 Prius

Automotive design often seemed "top driven" to me, ie: the designers are well insulated, beavering away: creating higher and higher tail fins (way back when), or Lexus maws that cannot be faulted. Prius seems to be slipping into that slope, has gone from a "cheery" utilitarian look to all angry/edgy. Where little things, like the second glove box, were deleted to preserve the dash "sculpture line" (Danny, in discussion with a US Toyota rep).

I kinda like the Venza looks, but seems even they're succumbing to the Lexus maw phenomena. do not know...

 

I own a 2011 and 2013 Prius. I didn't buy either because of the styling or it's a good looking car. I fell in love with my 2011 because of how much money in gas it saved me. So I recently added the 2013 PiP to my household. The Prius is practical and basic transportation. Not many people buy it because it's a stylish car.

 

Although it's still not a knob or lever like on old cars, so you still have to look to see where the air is being aimed.

 

My mother is 68 years old and about 5'1". She used my prius for about a week. She seemed to enjoy it, no mention of the hatch being too high for her and I know she took it to the grocery store at least once. She's not the type to load things in the back seat so I expect it got loaded into the back. There must be more to this story about your wife not being able to reach it than you're telling us.

not that anyone cares but my mother was interested in the Prius when she was down in Denver but it seems like after having it for a bit of time she wasn't as impressed with the mileage. I suspect the greater distance she travels at higher speeds turned her off it (and really the car doesn't excel at 80 mph for 100 miles which is her typical drive if she's going anywhere). She's still looking for a car to take some miles off the Tundra she drives daily but it's likely to be a Civic instead of a Prius. My mother likes the styling of the 2016+ Prius while having many negative things to say about the earlier Prius style. She said she'd rather I had left her the SRT Charger though.....

 

I have read so many post on PC where one person scorns the looks of the new Prius, and others have nothing but praise. And, I suppose that is normal and good. We all have our priorities, and varied taste.

I wonder (without knowing) if it is a generational thing?
I attended a car show this weekend. There were very few younger people in attendance. Several of us 'old guys' got to talking ....we were excited about so many of the fine examples of automobiles. It reminded me ... in the 50's, a beautiful car was my #1 priority. It took precedent over just about everything else.

I still love to look at a beautifully customized 1940 Ford, there were several gorgeous 1957 Chevy's, 2 AC Cobra's (replica), and so many other custom cars with beautiful paint, excess chrome removed, new interiors and etc. One of the guy I was talking to mentioned that younger people do not care about cars .... they are more interested in electronic gadgets, cell phones and devices.

Has aesthetics become a lower priority in todays age?

 

i must say, the new prius looks better in person than in pictures to me, not sure why. i think it might be because you can take in the totality, and appreciate the lines in 3d.

 

I'd say no, but I'm sort of on that millennial cusp so what do I know? I want nothing more than a modern car with fins. The previous Chrysler 300 almost had fins, I haven't seen a 2017 in person yet but from what I've seen online it looks like those may have gone away. At any rate, I blame the crap styling of most modern cars on the EPA and the safety freaks. Apparently if a pedestrian jumps out in front of me now my hood is supposed to be shaped in a way to gently caress them rather than throwing them into a high enough somersault so I can get underneath them before they cause any more damage. Clearly not every modern car looks like crap, but the best sellers do. Fiat / Chrysler is the mainstream company that does the most with style (about 90% of what their cars do is make a statement, only 10% is functional) but since they get shit milage and have crap reliability you don't seem them as often as say the Corolla. To try to put some style into modern cars the designers have found a new gimick, the LED accent lights. But without those lights the majority of modern cars just look terrible.

A friend of mine came to this same conclusion a few years ago so he bought a 1949(ish?) Ford truck. Boxed the frame, put a LS6 under the hood along with some modern transmission, custom airbag suspension. Seats out of a cadillac, modern AC, modern stereo.... the thing is a modern two seater car but with a good looking body on it. I think he has the right idea.

 

You mean like this Prius v "Firebrid"?


From The Hybrid Convertible Project Prius v | PriusChat

 

Similar idea, but it's my understanding he's mounting that body to a modern chassis. My buddy did the more stereotypical (and more sane) route of improving the old chassis then attaching modern components to it under the body.

The Prius-V-mashed-into-a-firebird guy is crazy btw

 

You're just jealous because he has the Engineering talent, resources, & patience while the rest of us just dream.

 

You speak the truth.... although I have to say I've never dreamed of taking a muscle car body and putting it on top of my Prius. If I was going to take the basics of a Prius/Volt/Tesla drivetrain and wedge it into anything it'd be a Jeep. Owning the Prius has made me realize just how badly I want to go rock crawling in an EV Jeep.

 

Picking my wife up from her hairdressers last week, a middle-aged couple strolled by as I was getting in and both smiled and commented, "Nice car" having walked from way behind right past and looking back at the front. This was a British couple in Plymouth, England, (not the new one).

 

Just wait a few more months and muscle memory will kick in and then you won't have to look for a switches as much.

 

I believe the controls on Mendel's Prius are on the touch screen only with possibly some controls on the steering wheel. Muscle memory does not help with a touch screen interface.

 

I said the same thing when the first spy photos came out... Looks good to me now!

 

imagine buying a car for looks, then having to live with everything else? that would be like marrying a bimbo or a manbo.

 

True, but you have to look at it too, every time before you get in to drive it.
Your friends have to look at it too and will judge you based on your taste in choosing a car.

 

yes, but i spend most of my time looking at the tail lights in front of me. after 3 prius, looks are at the bottom of the list. obviously.

 

Interestingly enough - I've had no ill comments about my car. I've had quite a few questions by people who haven't known anyone who owned one, and quite a few have said they love the styling.

 

Time to get different friends! ....