Idea for a Sporty GTI competitor for 6th Gen

Well thats strange to hear considering it has one of the highest ridehights of any passanger car. Like if you dont have a crossover, SUV, or pickup truck, the Prius is very high off the ground for a vehicle that is not a part of one of those categories.

Its minimum point ground clearance is 5.6 inches. Thats massive. There are actually some pickup trucks and SUVs out there that barely sit over 6 inches off the ground.

Pretty much only the base model Civic sits any higher than the Prius does.

And handles well? I mean yea if you have never been in even an entry level sports car, sure it handles well compared to like a base Corolla or Jetta. But once you step into a Jetta GLI, Corolla Apex, Civic Si, anything like that - its a completely different world. The Prius is set up for comfort and has tons of body roll. Its the appropriate choice for what the car is trying to do yes, but sporty? Absolutely not. Its handling has just gone from completely horrible and a joke to acceptable and even slightly better than some other base model cars. It also has tires that are far to skinny to allow for any real cornering force, you will just slide out. Also the steering is completely numb and provides no real feedback whatsoever. Its unfortunately something they would have to work on if they wanted to release a sporty Prius.

But then again, I guess a sporty Prius would be a complete waste of time because apparently we are getting a new Hybrid Celica soon, which renders the idea of a sporty prius completely reduntant. I mean maybe not if the Celica focuses too much on power and ends up being too expensive to really be worth it. IDK, we will just have to see.

 

Firmer suspension is certaintly more sporty, its just that its more sporty up until a certain point where making it any stiffer won't give you any real benefit and could actually make the car handle worse because suspension that is TOO stiff will cause bounciness and not allow the tires to maintain grip over lumpy surfaces.

The Prius suspension is without a doubt far too soft to be cosidered sporty. But its not terrible and seems like a great balance for regular people who don't care about sportiness at all.

The GTI has always been the master of balance between comfort and sportiness. Theres a reason why - even if its not selling tons of brand new ones right now, its still the best-selling HOT hatchback in human history.

 

Everyone hates the Prelude because Honda didn't even add any power, so its literally a $30,000 Honda Civic Hybrid with a different body (admittedly a beautiful one), and some nice brakes and suspension for a full $47,000-$48,000. People would have loved it if it had even just 25 BHP over the Civic Hybrid and a price that wasn't absolutely stupid. Remember how much hype there was behind the car before the final performance and price figures were confirmed.

Thats why people love GTIs. They don't ride like a rock, they ride almost as comfortably as the Prius does, and yet they corner flat, corner fast, and have real confidence in the snow too. And of course they are pretty fast. They are also luxurious-feeling, have tons of space inside with a flat hatch and folding seats that turn it into a 2-seater box van on command. They look excellent, they go excellent, and they stop excellent. They are very reliable, hold their value, and remain desirable. They do everything the Prius does, but even better - besides the fuel economy. Thats what the GTI is.

Now the Civic Si - that one was a rock, especially when I put it in sport mode. Anything more than the most minor of bumps felt like slamming into a massive pothole in any regular car. Its actually the only thing I didn't like about it. Honda focused a little too hard on the track and not enough on daily drivability and comfort. But it has comfortable cloth seats that make up for at least a BIT of the harshness so I was able to live with it, especially as Im only in my Mid 30's so its not like Im an old man with back ache yet.

Ya the Corolla Apex isn't very popular for a similar reason - no real performance. They just took a regular Corolla, made it look admittedly killer, and stiffened it up with no actual extra power or performance. Ya because your sporty car should be woefully slow I guess ‍*shrug*.

Anyone who drives a sports car knows they are making a sacrifice of some comfort to get the sporty handling and they are okay with it, especially when the manufacturer is smart like VW and gets the sporty handling while also keeping the car quite comfortable and luxurious-feeling.

Thats what makes the Corolla Apex and Prelude so dumb. So you make the sacrifice of some comfort for the sporty suspension, you pay more for the car, and yet your car isn't even any faster than the base model. Its a total slap in the face.

And yes, I already said the 5th Gen Prius is a fantastic car for what it is. I just said don't mistake it for "sporty" because it isnt. Sporty cars enjoy cornering hard and getting heavy lateral Gs with minimal or no understeer or body roll. The Prius doesn't do that, not in stock form. But it is GREAT at what it does, and it handles well for an economy car focused entirely on fuel efficiency and comfort and has skinny, rolling resitance-focused tires. I liked thd other word you used for it - "zippy". Not powerful enough to be acually fast, but its slightly fun and pulls decently when you want it to, yeah. So what I am saying is that it is very good in comparison to others in its own class, but falls short once you begin to look at anything remotely "sporty". And who is surprised by that? Literally nobody, it wasn't even trying to compete with anything "sporty". Thats my idea for a sporty Prius, not the one we have now.

And ya, the Crown isn't a sporty car either, its a luxurious Grand Tourer. It has the power and luxury, but wasn't designed to corner hard. Just like any other luxury sedan or whatever. Non-AMG Mercedes, Lexus, and Non-M BMWs co.e to mind when looking for comparisons to the Crown.