A few years ago, I went to the Toyota dealer with my girlfriend, and we inquired about the Prius Prime. The salesman didn't seem to know what he was talking about, and she said, "don't deal with that guy, he closes his eyes a lot." That's probably the main reason I didn't buy one.
I never drove one. I see them on the road, and I feel sorry for the owner. But not as much as the Cybertruck, which looks like a dumpster on wheels.
My wife has one, the interior is a pretty nice (probably actually nicer than our Gen 5). That said, the lack of power is a complete deal breaker for me. It genuinely changes the way I drive on the highway, as I have 0 confidence in its ability to accelerate quickly when needed.
Lol, you want lack of power? The Gen4 is fast compared to the Gen3, at least that's the impression my wife and I got the way our Uber driver was ripping it in a Gen4 on our way to a San Jose Sharks vs Las Vegas Golden Knights hockey game.
Most people don't buy "any year" Prius for speed or looks. My reasons as a repeat customer were daily reliability, MPG and TCO. I bought a totally different car for go fast and looks. YMMV
If I were going to BUY a Prius, it would ABSOLUTELY be a low miles, wireless, FWD '22 G4 with a spare tire kit. Either an L or an LE. Finding an L Eco model with a spare tire kit would inform me that it was owned by someone who was smart enough to equip it with a spare tire. A brief check just informed me that these can be had all day long for well under 20K. Bypass that goofy exhaust gas cooling system, and you have the most reliable Prius made to date - if also the ugliest. The G5 is absolutely the best looking AND best performing Prius and seems also to be moderately reliable over the last 3 years, but If I'm going to spend $40k on a hatchback it's going to have 2 seats, RWD, a 400+ BHP motor, and be able to get 30mpg on the highway. I would sacrifice the third pedal if it were a daily driver. $35,000 for a eco-hatch that cannot hit anything larger than a squirrel without a $5000.00 trip to the body shoppe is a hard pass for me, personally. They're good cars......but I'm a senior citizen and if I want to 'drive younger' - it's going to be with a Jeep or a three-pedal car. If I want an inexpensive car that's VERY cheap to own and operate then I'm going to swallow my pride and get a low mileage G4.
There's a difference between buying a Prius for speed or looks to not buying one for the lam of speed or looks. I was in the latter for the Gen 4 Prius.
i feel sorry for both gen 4 and 5 owners. gen 2 and 3 were amazing utility vehicles, which decreased with subsequent generations. now they are supposed to be what, sports cars?
This discussion is a classic... People on the Gen5 forum talking about why people by Prius and how the older ones don't have as much power. Too funny... As they say, tell me you don't know about the history of what interests Prius owners without telling me you don't know about the history of what interests Prius owners. Hint: Paying $40K+ for a Prius is not something old school Prius owners are very familiar with. Quite the opposite. We're almost all cheapskates at heart!
We have two Gen 4 Prius (2017 and 2021) and love them. My wife replaced her 2017 and gave it to our daughter so we shopped around. I tried to get her to buy a Camry or a Crown but she said both were too big. We both don't like the Gen 5 Prius for numerous reasons and she ended up buying a Corolla Hybrid SE AWD and it's a great car. My next purchase will be a new 1794 Tundra but that'll be in a few years...still got lots of miles/years to put on my 2014 5.7L V-8. (And hoping Toyota brings back the V-8...at least put the 5.0L V-8 from the Lexus in the Tundra....we want options, Toyota!!) Oh, Toyota did get rid of my favorite Tundra color in 2026, the Smoked Mesquite, so doubly-no happy with them.....knuckleheads...
