2016 Prius Crash Test Results

That's great.
And I really don't want to hijack this thread.
But why do they bother to mention " The new hybrid might have a polarizing design"?
Would you mention that in any other revelation or review in regards to Test Crash results?

I've never understood why that is said so much about Prius.
I think it's REALLY not so much the design as remaining prejudices about Hybrids.

IMO Gen 3 and now CLEARLY Gen 4, are both very mainstream looking vehicles. Maybe in my personal opinion too mainstream looking. But like it or dislike it, The Gen 4 in my opinion primarily looks like a "sporty" hatchback.
I mean, I think if you present that vehicle without "Toyota Prius" slapped on it, and call it something else, I really doubt reviewers would be calling the design "Polarizing". They might like it, they might not like it, but they wouldn't accuse it of being polarizing by it's own existence.

I actually liked the somewhat "Odd Duck" unique (and honestly polarizing) looks of the Gen 2 Prius. So my personal disappointment on one level is the slow but probably necessary evolution of Prius into IMO a much LESS polarizing looking vehicle.

In a quick glance from the front and side? I could now mistake The Prius for a LOT of different vehicles on the road. IMO that is homogenization of look, and actually should make The Prius less polarizing.

Not a big deal. Just a rant.

 

Perhaps a better tack is to point out:

The design the reviewer hates saves lives suggesting you're values cheapen life . . . especially yours.​

Bob Wilson

 

Polarizing, now that's why I couldn't find my car with my sunglasses on

 

Kudos to Toyota!

What automobile does not have a polarizing design in one way or another?

 

I would like to point out two additional highlights from this test:

1. Superior Autobrake test result: Autobrake completely stopped the vehicle and avoided a collision in the high speed AND low speed autobrake tests. The 3G Prius only reduced the speed by 5 mph in the low speed test and reduced the collision speed by 4 mph in the high speed test. The flawless result of avoiding both collisions wasn't required to earn the top safety pick designation and few of the autobrake systems tested earn a flawless result. It's a significant improvement over the previous model's result and most other models on the market.

2. The Prius earned this rating in the first test run. Previous models failed the test initially and only models built after a certain time period earned this rating. Safety is very important to me and I was worried that by buying the first production run of the vehicle, my vehicle would not qualify and they would fix future vehicles. All 4G Prius' will now hold this rating.

Thanks for the amazing engineering feat Toyota! Great job!