4th generation coming 2015!

I am not a fan of the CRZ or its shape - Personally, I think it is not a well thought of product. It is a bit like the Hybrid GTRs we are starting to hear about advertised as 100+ mpg. Imagine you are in the market for a new GTR type performance car, would you really pay extra to get a car which will most likely not even return half its advertised mpg figure when it is driven as it is meant to be - like a GTR? On the other hand, suppose you do get a Hybrid GTR and drive it in a way that you get the expected mpg, then why buy a GTR type car and have to put up with a rough uncomfortable ride? At least here in Europe, the CRZ didn't sell well and I can understand why. Toyota on the other hand don't make such mistakes with product placement - the Prius does very well what it is meant to do. The problem is that it does so well what it is meant to do that we now want so much more out of it, hence the challenges its designers face coming up with an acceptable Gen 4.

 

cmth, I completely agree with you. And in addition, the reliability and trouble free aspects are truly outstanding.

 

To be clear, I am not saying the gen 4 Prius should or will resemble the crz in any way besides body shape. The crz failed because it's too small, too inefficient, and not as sporty as it looks. My only concern with the gen 4 is that it will look like a sports car but drive like a golf cart.

 

I 'm starting to hear a LOT of rattles from all over my dash area when driving on rough freeway pavement. Maybe it has to do with that hard eco plastic everywhere. I can no longer sit on the seat itself because, as I suspected for so long, there is a bit too much tilt in the seat bottom. So, I sit on a 1 1/4" wedge cushion that tapers down to 1/4" at the front. Oh well, didn't pick up on that before purchase, but learned along the way.

 

Yeah, the new Toyota look isn't doing it for me either. Reminds me of the Planet Killer from Star Trek (all mouth).



But the next time around, I'm seriously considering the new Chevy Bolt and doing away with weekly visits to the gas station. Looks good too.

 

To each his own. Good luck with your choice.

But that raises a question in my mind ...... I do not keep up with any Volt for Leaf forums; both have been on the market for several years now, how are the batteries holding up? My 2010 Prius has 106,000 miles now and showing no signs of decay that I can detect. Just curious.

 

That bolt looks like an inflated smart car...

 

I have been following both closely.
The Volt packs have had no degradation that people have been able to detect. This is not surprising considering how gently GM treats the pack.
The first few years of the Leaf had some significant degradation mainly in the southwest (Arizona, New Mexico, etc).
Here in the Midwest, nothing unexpected. The 2015 battery pack is supposedly much more resistant to the heat issues.

The passive battery management system is simpler and probably cheaper. However my bet still goes on the actively managed battery system just about everyone other than Nissan is using.

 

Toyota already had a beautiful solution for the gen 4 Prius .
The NS4 was perfect, so why they had to delay new Prius for 6 months in order of seeking for a new design beats me !

 

Time enough to put "...fresh lipstick..." on a quasi NS4 pig?

 

Love how people on this forum act like the NS4 was ever a real car.

 

My understanding is the NS4 was a 2012 concept car, and it is most attractive. The concept was fairly civilized, and could have easily migrated into an actual production vehicle, unlike another Toyota concept that I have seen (but unable to find a photo right now). If you look back one page, I displayed an "artist depiction" of ..... what was reportedly the G4. I suggested, and still feel, the depiction is very handsome, and could easily be a production vehicle that was inspired by the NS4. But subsequent news, statements and rumors seems to suggest that Toyota has gone in a different direction. If that turns out to be true, it is too bad ....... at appears that not many on PriusChat are attracted to the "new direction" as demonstrated by the Camry and the Corolla, and even the Lexus.

 

I guess I don't equate a concept car with being a real car, even if one or two real ones were actually made to show on the car show floor.

 

Thats fair, and most concept cars seem to be venues for the design studio to display they imaginative "genius." But occasionally, production models trace their ancestry back to concept vehicles. In the case of the NS4, especially the exterior, I believe it could have been a significant influence on a production vehicle. But it appears that is not to be what will occur.

 

Sometimes concept cars look good to the eye but are impractical to actually make in their original form because of interior space or aerodynamic problems. Sometimes these impractical cars are built anyway and are called super cars and are sold for $100,000+.

 

Maybe the front of the G4 will look like the NS4, but the back will retain the kammback shape.

 

That is exactly what I am waiting and hoping for. See, I like the current car and would not change much from the B pillar to the spoiler.

 

The front is fine as is, it's the rear-end that has always come across to me as blocky and "bubble butt"-ish.

 

Front looks more like a leaf