New Prius, What Is Toyota Thinking? Or Am I Wrong?

Tugger · Fri Feb 05, 2016 10:18 pm

Uhhh... I saw this on the road yesterday and was trying to figure out what car it was, and then who could have made such a mess. The Pontiac Aztek came to mind for a moment, it just appeared so disjointed. As I caught and passed it I saw it was a Toyota and that it might be a Prius, I thought "Uhhh what? Who let that get through?"

Then today I read this article confirming it is indeed a new Prius, supposedly better than the old and even a decently "sporty" drive (quotes needed because it is not that sporty apparently).
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...r-bowl-hail-mary-is-a-sporty-prius

So great unwashed denizens of A.net, what do you think, did Toyota hit a home-run or an Aztek? You know what I think.

Tugg

[Edited 2016-02-05 14:19:34]

AM744 · Fri Feb 05, 2016 10:32 pm

Total Aztek.

F
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vikkyvik · Fri Feb 05, 2016 11:57 pm

Way to make an ugly car even uglier.

That front end....and the taillights.....look like they belong on, I dunno, a Klingon Bird of Prey or something.

coolian2 · Sat Feb 06, 2016 12:03 am

The back end was always bad.

Looks like they wanted to complete the bad picture and make it worse.

Heck.

lindy field · Sat Feb 06, 2016 12:12 am

Unbelievable. That thing looks like it's been in an accident and the front end crumpled. And then it was rear-ended.

Is Toyota trying to kill off the Prius? I just don't understand.

Aesma · Sat Feb 06, 2016 12:20 am

It looks like the car has melted.

Okie · Sat Feb 06, 2016 12:23 am

Quoting coolian2 (Reply 3):
Looks like they wanted to complete the bad picture and make it worse.

Don't worry it will grow on you. Kind of like a wart.

I think it is obviously better looking than the older model but that is just me. I was never fond of the fenders covering the rear wheels.

Personally if I was going for EV I would opt for the RAV4 EV. Just seems a little more practical.

Okie

Ken777 · Sat Feb 06, 2016 12:25 am

Fugly

My bet is that Toyota is already working on a replacement with some new skin. It won't take long to get the consumer's opinion and that will generate fast decisions. They can't afford to go two years with this design.

UA444 · Sat Feb 06, 2016 12:27 am

You are completely missing the point. It's supposed to look unique and not like anything else, that is what most hybrid customers want and in addition it is supposed to have a low co-efficient and this is the most aerodynamic car sold in the USA.

It's polarizing but that's the point. I personally think it looks like it's from the future which is a sentiment I've seen elsewhere. They have the Camry Hybrid for those that want more mainstream styling.

DocLightning · Sat Feb 06, 2016 12:28 am

"Oh, it'll look cool if we add this touch. And this one over here! And this one!"

Nobody at Toyota thought to look at the whole thing, evidently?

Well, if VW takes my car back, I know what I WON'T be buying.

Wow, what an eyesore.

Aaron747 · Sat Feb 06, 2016 12:30 am

Aside from being ugly, they need to make the thing louder. The recent models are so quiet they don't even make road noise. Bicyclists and pedestrians are getting hit all over Japan because they can't hear the damn things coming.

zrs70 · Sat Feb 06, 2016 12:41 am

The Prius was never all that good looking to begin with.

What makes the new one so bad is the interior. It is by far inferior (and plasticky).

scbriml · Sat Feb 06, 2016 12:43 am

I thought it was pretty hard to design an ugly car these days, but then...

DocLightning · Sat Feb 06, 2016 12:51 am

Quoting Aaron747 (Reply 10):

Aside from being ugly, they need to make the thing louder. The recent models are so quiet they don't even make road noise. Bicyclists and pedestrians are getting hit all over Japan because they can't hear the damn things coming.

Some company (Honda, maybe?) investigated a concept called VSP or Vehicle Sound for Pedestrians to be used on electric and hybrid vehicles for this very reason. It's a sound that is projected around the vehicle that changes pitch with the speed, so it's very intuitive and very distinctive while not being too annoying.

I think that this may need to become a requirement for vehicles that use electric traction at low speeds.

coolian2 · Sat Feb 06, 2016 1:11 am

Quoting Aaron747 (Reply 10):
Aside from being ugly, they need to make the thing louder. The recent models are so quiet they don't even make road noise. Bicyclists and pedestrians are getting hit all over Japan because they can't hear the damn things coming.

It would be easier to outfit pedestrians and cyclists with Mk 1 eyes.

We still have many mowed down by extremely loud diesel trains.

af773atmsp · Sat Feb 06, 2016 2:13 am

Can you even see out of the back of that thing, and what about the blind spot?! The older generation Priuses were difficult. and it looks like it will be even more difficult with the latest generation.

Are they still making the C and V versions of the Prius? Maybe it'll look better with those models.

Quoting coolian2 (Reply 14):
We still have many mowed down by extremely loud diesel trains.

So true.

IMissPiedmont · Sat Feb 06, 2016 2:18 am

Quoting scbriml (Reply 12):

I take it you have no Camaros nearby.

It seems that car makers have given up on nice, dependable vehicles and are trying to outdo each other in cosmetically challenged vehicles with interiors that are, quite simply, horrid.

EA CO AS · Sat Feb 06, 2016 2:33 am

Quoting vikkyvik (Reply 2):
Way to make an ugly car even uglier.

Agreed, just...ugh!

Quoting Aesma (Reply 5):
It looks like the car has melted.

THIS! The second I saw the photo I thought, "Someone pulled it out of the oven, set it down on its roof, and it sort of squished downward as it cooled..."

vikkyvik · Sat Feb 06, 2016 4:49 am

Quoting UA444 (Reply 8):
You are completely missing the point.

No, we're not. Design intent doesn't matter when judging ugliness.

And frankly, I've never met a Prius owner who bought it because it looked unique. They buy it for the mileage and lack of emissions.

Quoting Okie (Reply 6):
I think it is obviously better looking than the older model but that is just me. I was never fond of the fenders covering the rear wheels.

I don't recall a Prius having those. You thinking of the Honda Insight?

1337Delta764 · Sat Feb 06, 2016 4:58 am

It will be a while until Discount Cab (the Phoenix area cab company with the green Priuses) gets some of these. Most of their fleet currently seems to be Gen III Priuses (especially 2010s and 2011s), with a few Gen IIs (mostly now used by owner-operators) as well as some Prius V's and Toyota Siennas (the latter mostly wheelchair ramp equipped). The newest Priuses in their fleet are 2014 models, which they bought several recently to put into service soon.

1g · Sat Feb 06, 2016 5:00 am

Meh, after seeing the Toyota Mirai this looks pretty ok.

DocLightning · Sat Feb 06, 2016 5:11 am

Quoting af773atmsp (Reply 15):
Can you even see out of the back of that thing, and what about the blind spot?! The older generation Priuses were difficult. and it looks like it will be even more difficult with the latest generation.

That car made me feel like an idiot. It was possible to lose a 6' man in the pillar on the passenger side. I almost took out a few pedestrians on right turns because they would vanish behind the pillar. The sight lines in that car were terrible.

And PLEASE tell me that a back-up camera is standard on the base model.

YVRLTN · Sat Feb 06, 2016 6:15 am

Most people dont buy a Prius because of what it looks like - they think they are saving the environment.

I dont know about the rest of the world, but here 90% of the taxi fleet are Prius's and they dont care what they look like. That has to be a significant market.

fr8mech · Sat Feb 06, 2016 7:22 am

Quoting UA444 (Reply 8):
You are completely missing the point. It's supposed to look unique and not like anything else, that is what most hybrid customers want and in addition it is supposed to have a low co-efficient and this is the most aerodynamic car sold in the USA.

I'm thinking that I agree with this.

The first thing that came to mind when I saw the picture, was "dissonance". Not always a bad thing.

afterburner · Sat Feb 06, 2016 7:42 am

Toyota should hire European car designer(s). People like Peter Schreyer. Look at what he's done to Kia and Hyundai.

vandenheuvel · Sat Feb 06, 2016 9:05 am

I have to agree I'm not a fan of the new design. I did like the former one though.

Seems to be in line with the current Aygo.

https://www.toyota.nl/modellen/aygo/index.json#/gallery/22-419277/1

Airstud · Sat Feb 06, 2016 10:52 am

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 21):
And PLEASE tell me that a back-up camera is standard on the base model.

Can't be tellin you that ('cause I don't know the answer, see), but what I can tell you is that there was a back-up camera installed on a Kia belonging to some lady I met in Santa Fe.

I met her because she backed into my car.

(y'know... before you get too into these back-up cameras...

)

MD11Engineer · Sat Feb 06, 2016 4:32 pm

Quoting Aaron747 (Reply 10):
Aside from being ugly, they need to make the thing louder. The recent models are so quiet they don't even make road noise. Bicyclists and pedestrians are getting hit all over Japan because they can't hear the damn things coming.

This is a big problem with the blind, as a blind friend told me.

I don't care about the looks of the car, but I hope that the new version of the Prizs has done away with the touch screen monitor to control the car's functions. My mother used to have an older Prius, where air conditioning and heating (among other functions) had to be adjusted via the touch screen. This is extremely distracting, as the driver has to take his eyes away from the road to use the screen. Simple mechanical knobs, buttons or levers, which can be set by feel alone would have been much better. Plus the battery has a finite life. My mother got rid of her Prius when the battery approached it's end of life and she saw the estimate. She sold the car to the dealer and bought a Yaris instead.

edit for typo

[Edited 2016-02-06 08:59:36]

DocLightning · Sat Feb 06, 2016 4:41 pm

Quoting MD11Engineer (Reply 27):
Plus the battery has a finite life. My mother got rid of her Prius when the battery approached it's end of life and she saw the estimate. She sold the car to the dealer and bought a Yaris instead.

I drove mine 290,000 miles and it was the front castors that made me sell it to a dealer. The battery was fine.

MD11Engineer · Sat Feb 06, 2016 5:02 pm

With her car the battery was acting up and a replacement would have cost thousands of Euros, so she traded in her Prius and replaced it with a Yaris.

Jan

vandenheuvel · Sat Feb 06, 2016 5:09 pm

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 28):

I just hit 150.000 km with mine. Even the starter battery is still fine.

I don't consider the touchscreen controls to be a problem. Climate control is standard and controlled from the wheel so I hardly ever touch the screen. I understand the concerns though.

Quoting MD11Engineer (Reply 29):
With her car the battery was acting up and a replacement would have cost thousands of Euros, so she traded in her Prius and replaced it with a Yaris.

Just out of curiousity. Do you remember how old this Prius was?

Edited to avoid double posting

[Edited 2016-02-06 09:14:10]

luckyone · Sat Feb 06, 2016 6:09 pm

Toyota and Lexus styling the last few years has been nauseating as a whole, and Scions always had a self-limiting character to their design. For years Toyota made bank on their reputation for quality. But their cars were boring as can be. Other manufacturers caught up with quality and/or warranty, and it looks like Toyota didn't pay attention until one day somebody finally noticed and they panicked, thinking a radical design would distract from the staid nature of their cars. Which is why we're seeing these hideous designs such as the Mirai, the new Prius, and all those damn spindle grills that remind me of a mustache.

LH748 · Sat Feb 06, 2016 6:49 pm

I can't even decide what end is more hideous.
Maybe the Toyota designers played truth or dare and they were dared to design the ugliest vehicle ever.
Every Pontiac Aztec must be thinking "I'm ugly, but at least I'm not as ugly as the new Prius."
Honestly, the Prius was not created for the looks but for its great technology and it's great that Toyota made the Hybrid technology popular. But why does the poor Prius get such ugly dresses? A fuel efficient car doesn't have to look like that.

By the way, I love the controversial Lexus design.

pvjin · Sat Feb 06, 2016 7:01 pm

Doesn't look that bad, especially in some darker colour.

RyanairGuru · Sat Feb 06, 2016 8:37 pm

This is just the latest downward trend for Toyota. After years and years when they made the most boring cars imaginable that people only bought because they were reliable and that's what they'd always driven (I mean seriously, who can say with a straight face that the Camry is an exciting vehicle? The late model Corolla is no better). Toyota was concerned about losing an entire generation of car buyers, so wanted to make their cars look less conservative. This is what happens. So far I haven't seen one design that looks good, the Corolla and Rav4 are awful and this is even worse. Their design team simply has no idea how to emulate the sorrier designs of their competitors, and when asked to design something different from a boring looking sedan they go to pieces and add all sorts of strange lines because they think that is what the brief is. Toyota better pull their finger out, because unless they start designing cars that people want to buy they will be irrelevant in 20 years.

pvjin · Sat Feb 06, 2016 11:07 pm

Quoting RyanairGuru (Reply 34):

I'm yet to discover how exactly a Ford Mondeo or a VW Passat is an exciting vehicle but a new Camry / Avensis isn't.

Can't speak for American models, but I've test driven the new European Corolla and Avensis and found them to be nice looking cars in and out. My current 2011 Avensis sure has quite a boring interior, but the new 2015 one definitely does not.

Quoting RyanairGuru (Reply 34):
Toyota better pull their finger out, because unless they start designing cars that people want to buy they will be irrelevant in 20 years.

Fast forward 20 years from now and people will be buying Toyota's for their reliability no matter what.

diverted · Sat Feb 06, 2016 11:36 pm

Quoting RyanairGuru (Reply 34):
This is just the latest downward trend for Toyota. After years and years when they made the most boring cars imaginable that people only bought because they were reliable and that's what they'd always driven (I mean seriously, who can say with a straight face that the Camry is an exciting vehicle? The late model Corolla is no better). Toyota was concerned about losing an entire generation of car buyers, so wanted to make their cars look less conservative. This is what happens. So far I haven't seen one design that looks good, the Corolla and Rav4 are awful and this is even worse. Their design team simply has no idea how to emulate the sorrier designs of their competitors, and when asked to design something different from a boring looking sedan they go to pieces and add all sorts of strange lines because they think that is what the brief is. Toyota better pull their finger out, because unless they start designing cars that people want to buy they will be irrelevant in 20 years.

I'm not a fan of Lexus' current design direction, but whoa the LC500 has got it going on. I really hope the new Supra ends up looking more like the LC than the concept they put out a year or two back.

Viscount724 · Sun Feb 07, 2016 1:39 am

Quoting RyanairGuru (Reply 34):
Toyota better pull their finger out, because unless they start designing cars that people want to buy they will be irrelevant in 20 years.

Cars, like refrigerators and even airline seats, are rapidly becoming appliances. Many people only care about price and reliability. Styling is less of a factor, especially with so many of today's cars looking much the same and going years without significant changes.

A significant percentage of younger people who would once have wanted their driver's license as soon as they reached the minimum age limit aren't even bothering now and have little interest in cars.

Aesma · Sun Feb 07, 2016 2:03 pm

In France Toyota has the plug-in hybrid market to itself, Renault/Nissan is only selling EV cars (quite a few of them) and PSA only diesel hybrids that make no sense. However it's not the Prius that is selling, you see few of them aside from taxis, but rather the Yaris is their best seller. It's made in France, so that's good too.

Quoting Okie (Reply 6):
Personally if I was going for EV I would opt for the RAV4 EV. Just seems a little more practical.

It's practical for 160 miles, after that it's not moving. It sold in minute numbers and is out of production.

PC12Fan · Sun Feb 07, 2016 2:45 pm

Quoting UA444 (Reply 8):
It's supposed to look unique and not like anything else

Thank gawd other cars don't look like this. If that's their goal they knocked it out of the park - and I mean that in the worst way possible.

Quoting zrs70 (Reply 11):
What makes the new one so bad is the interior.

I didn't like the exterior but when I saw the interior I had a slight taste of bile in my mouth.

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 28):
I drove mine 290,000 miles and it was the front castors that made me sell it to a dealer. The battery was fine.

Just turned 200K on my 2004. Got concerned when taking it on a trip last summer through the Rockies as it wouldn't get more than two bars but was just fine afterwards. I know that this is a normal occurrence but it was amplified this time. Fully recharges like a champ now. The end is near though, catalytic converter is going bad and it's just time.

For me it's been an absolutely fantastic car, but I won't even look at the latest generation. For one thing, it hurts too much to do so.

Flaps · Sun Feb 07, 2016 4:42 pm

It looks like a tragic comedy.

What is it with auto manufacturers and their damn touch screen controls? IMHO this has to be one of the worst trends in auto design (particularly in regard to safety) in decades. People are already distracted enough doing things they shouldn't while driving (cell phones, makeup, reading, shaving to to name just a few). Lets just go ahead and add yet another device that forces drivers to take their attention off the road.

And let me reiterate this car is butt ugly.....ok worse than that, I've seen plenty of better looking butts.

[Edited 2016-02-07 09:03:20]

mham001 · Sun Feb 07, 2016 9:07 pm

Quoting 1g (Reply 20):

Meh, after seeing the Toyota Mirai this looks pretty ok.

This is the point.

Toyota wants to foist hydrogen on us, that is their choice in the future alternative drivetrain realm. They have no interest in batteries and this is a step in direction towards their hydrogen flagship, the front ends are similar. Just setting us for the switch with one of the best selling and most notoriously 'green' cars in the world. I read there are doubts they will bother with the V and C models.

I broke down and bought a car I've always loathed for looking like a butt plug, the Nissan Leaf. Too good of a deal to pass up used and it fit my needs. It is not just Toyota with bizarre styling.

Aeroflot777 · Sun Feb 07, 2016 9:25 pm

I think the response on A.net is, as per usual, overdramatic and overblown. Everyone has their opinions of course and are entitled to them. But come on, it can't be nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

Looking at the face of the car, sure it's quite ugly. As mentioned by a few people above, this car achieves this on purpose and this model in Toyota's line was never pretty. So not like this is out of the blue.

When looking at this new 2016 car from a side profile view, it is leaps and bounds ahead of its boxy and awkward predecessor. I don't even know how you can compare the two and not say it's an improvement. In a way, it looks more like a car.

larshjort · Mon Feb 08, 2016 1:32 am

First time I've seen a GT300 car look better than the one it's supposed to be based on :p

N867DA · Mon Feb 08, 2016 1:34 am

Quoting UA444 (Reply 8):
You are completely missing the point. It's supposed to look unique and not like anything else, that is what most hybrid customers want and in addition it is supposed to have a low co-efficient and this is the most aerodynamic car sold in the USA.

-I wish more affordable hybrid/electric cars looked like regular cars. Electric cars aren't revolutionary designs anymore, and I bet many people choose another car because affordable electric or hybrid cars are often very ugly. The Prius will sell well regardless of how it looks though because for every person who buy something else based on its aesthetics two more would buy it no matter what.

Tugger · Mon Feb 08, 2016 4:52 am

Quoting vikkyvik (Reply 18):
And frankly, I've never met a Prius owner who bought it because it looked unique. They buy it for the mileage and lack of emissions.

OK, but design, appearance is still a key element to drive sales. Many things help to make a car successful.

Quoting Viscount724 (Reply 37):
A significant percentage of younger people who would once have wanted their driver's license as soon as they reached the minimum age limit aren't even bothering now and have little interest in cars.

Which would make it even more important to do things like make a car as "attractive" to as large an audience as possible. It's ephemeral of course and perhaps I am am out of touch as this will be the best design. But to me, no, it does not look good. It is a mess to me.

Quoting Aeroflot777 (Reply 42):
I think the response on A.net is, as per usual, overdramatic and overblown. Everyone has their opinions of course and are entitled to them. But come on, it can't be nearly as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

Looking at the face of the car, sure it's quite ugly. As mentioned by a few people above, this car achieves this on purpose and this model in Toyota's line was never pretty. So not like this is out of the blue.

When looking at this new 2016 car from a side profile view, it is leaps and bounds ahead of its boxy and awkward predecessor. I don't even know how you can compare the two and not say it's an improvement. In a way, it looks more like a car.

Have you actually seen it in person? To me, it is "that bad", Aztec bad. Design by committee bad. Side profile in optimum lighting is not haw cars are "viewed", cars are seen from all sides. From behind, from the side as you drove up, from the view as you pass it.... it is very disjointed. Doesn't mean my opinion is right but seriously, I saw it in person. And it inspired this thread.

But again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and my opinion does not make yours.

Tugg

DocLightning · Mon Feb 08, 2016 6:00 am

Today's superbowl Prius commercial.

It encouraged using a Prius to get into a high-speed chase with the cops? Srsly?

rugger · Mon Feb 08, 2016 6:33 am

It looks like something someone in the 50's would have come up with if you asked them to draw a "car of the future". It doesn't quite work for today.

trav110 · Mon Feb 08, 2016 3:19 pm

Toyota only know how to make cars that are either bland or bizarre. There's no in between.

Toni_ · Mon Feb 08, 2016 4:43 pm

It's good that most Prius cars are bought for environmental and cost saving reasons, cause if it were for the looks these hideous vehicles wouldn't sell as well.

Quoting Aeroflot777 (Reply 42):
When looking at this new 2016 car from a side profile view, it is leaps and bounds ahead of its boxy and awkward predecessor.

I'll give you that. From the side it actually looks quite decent indeed. It's just too bad that you'd need a parallel parking spot right in front of your house, otherwise you'd have to walk towards your car with your eyes shut and only open them when you touch the door handle.

Quoting DocLightning (Reply 46):
Today's superbowl Prius commercial.It encouraged using a Prius to get into a high-speed chase with the cops? Srsly?

Was about to say the same. Later they sorta turned it around with a 2nd ad where the cops chased the runaway blokes in a Prius too. I know it was an ad, and not only that, I know it was a Superbowl ad that was meant to be funny... but I found the message being a bit weird. If you wanna rob a bank with your mates, get a Prius. You'll outrun the cops in speed and range!

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