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Will Hybrid Corolla make Prius Better?

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Main Forum' started by Robert N Lute, Feb 16, 2019.

  1. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Hatch or sedan (or wagon?)
     
  2. tucatz

    tucatz Active Member

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  3. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Is it as ugly as the Chinese version?
    upload_2019-3-16_8-17-53.png
     
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  4. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    This is the hybrid.

    upload_2019-3-15_23-50-39.jpeg

    upload_2019-3-15_23-50-52.jpeg
     
  5. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Thanks. The back looks quite balanced - but the bit angry grille is even worse than the Chinese which is broken up by a bit of chrome. Or is it that the big black grille looks more stark with white paint?

    The car below is far better balanced - at least the front.
    upload_2019-3-16_17-1-48.png
     
  6. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    On previous Corollas some trims have the chrome.
     
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  7. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    It could be the white but also it doesn’t have chrome/satin chrome trim that the upper trims have (e.g. XLE) since the Corolla Hybrid in the US only comes in LE form.

    It's essentially the same front but with the triple "J" -shaped LED DRLs that the Levin Hybrid you posted doesn't have.
     
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  8. ekpolk

    ekpolk What could possibly...

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    I could hardly agree more. If I were looking at purchasing one of these, I would feel constrained to either black or dark (magnetic) gray, to minimize the maw. I guess we all project our reaction to the look onto the car -- I don't so much see "angry", I see an asphyxiating catfish! I'm pretty sure that wasn't the look the designers were hoping to create. . . Yes indeed, the Prius front end is way, way more balanced and attractive!
     
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  9. tucatz

    tucatz Active Member

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    Ewwhhh, my first look at the front end of the new Corolla hybrid. Looks like another Dustbuster vacuum cleaner fake plastic grille. IMHO probably Toyota’s attempt to make a very fuel efficient and capable vehicle look better on the highway, give it more Macho against all the huge trucks and other gas guzzlers. I’m sure Toyota has their finger on public opinion and what sells more cars. Too bad we can’t move on to a more enlightened world
     
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  10. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    If the Gen 4 Prius had that look I likely would bought a different car. I know we were considering the Corolla until my wife sat that BUG (Black Ugly Grille) front! Yes, the Prime is ugly too!
     
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  11. ekpolk

    ekpolk What could possibly...

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    An even more cynical view: this sort of design requires less paint. For every 15 or so cars they paint this way, they probably save enough, compared to one with a front like the Prius, to paint another whole car. Minor advantage for owner who has to live with butt-ugly car: smashed bugs will do less damage to the plastic than they would to a painted surface. For me, not enough of an advantage. . .

    EDIT: if you absolutely MUST have a Corolla hybrid, get it in BLACK or maybe MAG GRAY.
     
  12. tucatz

    tucatz Active Member

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    It’s been 4 months. I washed my car today. We both feel better.
     
  13. ekpolk

    ekpolk What could possibly...

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    And just think -- if you had one of those Corolla Hybrids, you wouldn't have been able wash that "smile" off of its face. . . :p;):cool:
     
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  14. tucatz

    tucatz Active Member

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    Toyota seems committed to building some seriously ugly vehicles. It’s plastic paint and sheet metal on the outside; the car itself and engine are solid and very reliable; that’s what really matters. So why the strange exterior styling?
     
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  15. ekpolk

    ekpolk What could possibly...

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    Amen to that. It also seems to me that it goes in cycles. To my eye, for example, the previous generation Camry was a nice, clean design. The current one is a cluttered, insectoid monstrosity (IMO of course...). Corollas have gone pretty-ugly-pretty too. Again, to my eye, the Priuses, since Gen-2 anyway, have sort of stayed in a class of their own, neither too pretty nor too awful. Maybe it's that they exhibit enough function in the outward design (aerodynamics, mostly) that the look is less important. But yeah, I think Toyota needs to step up the random urinalysis program over at the design department. . .
     
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  16. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    The rot with PRIUS v started with the 2015 model - I was considering one, but thought I'd check out the better equipped, safer new model - till I saw how ugly it's face was.
    upload_2019-3-17_13-12-30.png vs upload_2019-3-17_13-12-54.png

    Then PRIUS Gen 4 came - I forgot about the idea of a "v". I didn't need the 7 seats, just the thought of having a larger interior as I was dreaming about a camping conversion.
     
  17. Robert N Lute

    Robert N Lute Junior Member

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    The original question of the thread was if releasing a hybrid Corolla in the American market would either cut into the Prius sales or if Toyota was planning to release a refresh of the soon Prius that would make it stand out from the Corolla.

    And I guess the answer is neither. When I started the thread I didn't realize that there has been a hybrid version of the Corolla in other markets for a while now. So it is indeed possible for the two models to share market share. Another thing that I didn't realize that you guys pointed out is that the hybrid Corolla in the American market is limited to only an LE trim level. So that means that for people who want more options/features it justifies the slightly higher price of the Prius. Also they did recently reveal an AWD option on the Prius so I guess that helps to make it stand out from the Corolla.

    I do still wonder if Toyota is setting things up for a reveal of something big for the Prius Prime but that is looking much less likely. I really wish that they would just go ahead and build an all electric version but based on their recent battery news and recent marketing campaign that seems very unlikely for another 5-10 years.

    Currently to me it seems like the hybrid version of the Corolla seems like the better value for the money vs the Regula Prius. This seems especially true when you compare the LE trim of each.
     
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  18. ekpolk

    ekpolk What could possibly...

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    Another twist on this question. In comparing the stats on these cars, I noticed what I thought at first must by an error on Toyota's site. The passenger volume is listed as 88.6 cubic feet on the 2020 Corolla, including the hybrid, whereas on the just-retired previous car, it was 97.5! That would mean that a cube more than two feet on each side has disappeared from inside the Corolla. Surely they didn't just give up almost ten cubic feet of interior volume!

    Turns out, they did.

    I sent an email inquiry to Toyota, and this is what they sent me back. Apologies for the size. AS you can see, this new Corolla HAS lost 10 cubic feet of interior space. It's now hardly any larger than Yaris, which sports 85.9 cubic feet of space. I wasn't exactly in the market (my Prius isn't three months old yet...), but this just totally obliterates any passing interest I had in the car. I'm also suspecting that the less-attractive, made-by-Mazda Yaris is living on borrowed time. . .

    [​IMG]
     
  19. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Just for a comparison, the 2003-2008 Corolla had 90 cu. ft. and the 1998-2002 Corolla had 88 cu. ft.

    That’s small! Unless there’s an updated EPA method.
     
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  20. Prodigyplace

    Prodigyplace Senior Member

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    It was trying to fit a ,medium dog crate in our 2008 Corolla that directed us to get a 2017 Prius instead of a new Corolla at that time.
     
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