Gen 5 Wish List

I had the headlights aimed slightly lower on my 2016 Prius 3 and that fixed the glare for oncoming cars.

JeffD

 

Oh yes for sure "v" was likely my next car and maybe still if I find a nice used one

 

Looking to return to a Prius soon, and the only complaint I had about my old 2016 model was the crap infotainment / sat nav system. Surely can't be too hard to provide Android as an option so we can use Google Maps? Oh yeah, thumbs up for the extendible sub visor too.

 

Do you have this awful radio like we get in AUSTRALIA - with no knobs or buttons (or the USA version with knobs & buttons)?

[IGNORE THE ARROW - IT WAS FOR SOMETHING ELSE]

 

Yeah that's what it was like. I used to control most of the audio functions via the steering wheel, it was more the maps and lack of other functionality that irked me.

Google can send an alert to my phone warning that my usual route home is extremely busy Leaving aside the questionable ethics of monitoring a customer's journeys, this is useful information that a mobile phone can provide but your car's sat nav cannot.

For those of us who aren't concerned about Google knowing too much about us, or more likely, have more pressing concerns than whether or not our own phone is spying on us,, there should at least be an option to install third party navigational systems. Nobody expects Toyota to be a market leader in this field so why don't they allow us to use the market leader? Profit I suppose.

 

Better carpet in the trunk. It's a very particular thing, but so far the seats and carpet in the rest of the car have been very easy to get dog hair and dried food stains out of. The trunk floor pills, traps everything, and looks like a 10 year old mess despite taking far less abuse than the front seats.

I went straight from a 2001 to a 2016. I liked how the Gen 1 felt airy and bright, with a big windshield and tall windows. In comparison, the Gen 4 windshield is higher and smaller. Not bad visibility by any means, but it's a bit more claustrophobic than before.

Android auto would be nice.

The new Camry has significantly closed the fuel economy gap with the Prius despite having 70% more power and 14% more mass. It'd be cool if the Prius was a bit more powerful.

 

I think Toyota might ditch it altogether and either do a crossover or Prius V. The case for cars seems to be fading in most markets, particularly the business case. Example, see CT200h replaced with the Lexus UX which is a revamped CH-R. But by the time the Prius gen 4 is done, a new CH-R type car will likely emerge. 0-60 in 10 seconds won't cut it any more especially that the Camry hybrid can do 6.9s and achieve similar if not same MPGs. Problem is they'd have to charge more than a Prius could command.

I see Toyota keeping the Camry hybrid and replacing the Prius with a crossover or taller vehicle. Maybe for those who want an eco hatchback, do a Corolla hatchback hybrid. Not sure Toyota needs two hatchbacks here.

Just thinking out loud =) could be totally off here..

 

maybe just lower the rav4h a bit...

 

Yeah the car market (or lack thereof) is definitely shifting. Automakers, including Toyota, are able to get larger vehicles like crossovers to get respectable fuel economy. Plus it seems the US market seems to crave larger vehicles in general. Peak Prius sales in the US were in 2012. Today, sales are less than half that and showing a continuing downward trajectory. Declining gas prices are a factor as well.

Toyota has proven they can design 50-mpg cars without requiring the shape or the stigma associated with a Prius.

Here is what is thought to be the next Prius (Of some variant) testing... A sign of things to come?

 

That's a little over the top, lol. Ok, I don't much like the latest styling exercise, outside or in, but the configuration and size, I'm fine with that, in fact it's pretty much ideal. Sport utes are cumbersome, and definitely not in the same mpg range.

 

Toyota confirmed today that a hybrid drivetrain is coming to the US Corolla family (the world Corolla has had a hybrid option for a while now).

I think that basically leaves the Prius redundant so I hope that the 5th generation goes one step further by being some kind of plug-in hybrid designed from the ground up to accommodate the batteries (unlike the Prime) or perhaps demonstrating multiple future drivetrains like the Ioniq/Clarity/last Civic.

 

My (likely vain) hope is that they tone it down a bit. It's seems like toddlers are running the design department. Concentrate on engineering, ergonomics, functionality, reducing repair costs, improving ease-of-maintenance, less glitz and glam, less compulsion to turn the car into a rolling cell phone.

 

This seems like a new Lexus UX to me.

 

The Prius has had AWD in Japan for years now though.

I think that hybrid tech has matured and is ready to replace regular ICE vehicles for the average driver. When you look at the Camry or Honda's insight, hybrids are finally economical even with very cheap gas.

Prius is supposed to straddle the present and future. Even the name reflects that. If the present is hybrids and super efficient ICE engines and the future is battery electric and some fuel cell vehicles, then the Prius should be some kind of combination in the next generation.

 

This is something our previous 06 Civic hybrid had, maybe Honda's still using it in various models, and I really miss it on our Prius:

If you set the wipers on the fastest intermittent speed: when stopped they do fast intermittent, but once you start rolling they go to regular low speed wiping. Come to a stop, they go back to fast intermittent. And so on.

It's brilliant, and with our Prius it's something I'm constantly having to do by hand. I don't like to sit 3~4 minutes at a red light with the wipers whipping steadily.