Different model years

Right. Best way to spot 'em (to me): antenna in center of roof at FRONT.

 

You wouldn't believe how much antagonism you could stir up on Prius boards, especially in '01-02, by saying this. Yes, there's a body shape resemblance. But Prius "early adopters" were so determined to disassociate themselves from the "econobox" image they (ahem, we) would go to excruciating lengths to point out every difference, inch-by-inch. Folks would repeatedly post interior dimensions (otherwise rarely read by anyone, like tags on pillows) of the two cars side-by-side. I thought it was comical.

There's no question that the Toyota greybeards (does Toyota HAVE greybeards?), in designing the Gen 2, went out of their way to distance the Prius from its downscale, forlorn cousin. :lol:

 

The rear wiper was included on the '04 in EVERY package except the no-options "package 1" base model.

To me, the 01-03 just looks like any other car. Three close friends drive them. People so environmental that they jumped at the first opportunity to get a hybrid with more than 2 seats.

I was not willing to give up my Civic station wagon for a sedan, no matter how environmental it was. I think sedans are pointless. Too much wasted space, too little flexibility.

The differences in a nutshell: The 01-03 is a plain old garden-variety sedan body style; the 04-06 is a turtle-shaped liftback. (Almost as good as a station wagon, and a bit more aerodynamic.) There are no differences that matter between the '04 and the '05, and only subtle differences in body between them and the '06. (Though the '06 has some added features inside.)

 

At the Orange County (California) Prius Club meeting in early Dec, here are some pics of an 05 and an 06 together- 05 was Driftwood Pearl, 06 was Seaside Pearl (thanks BobDylan). And yes, he (the 06) applied for the Carpool sticker, so that is a "slight" difference (grin).

06 has clear tail lights vs black top for 04/05, 06 has Hybrid emblem on side and chrome in the front.


You will also notice lower end packages for 04/05 without the black button on the door- they do not have smart entry.
[attachmentid=1492][attachmentid=1493][attachmentid=1494]

 

Thanks, inventor00. Man, that chromed grille bar looks good with seaside (which I have ordered).

 

holy crap look at the size of the emblem on the fender! that sucks. The grill cap could be an option for a group buy. I do like the clear brake light lens.

 

We all enjoyed seeing them side by side at the Orange County Prius Club event!-
The textured interior is a bit different though.

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And sorry for the dirty car on the left (mine)- I spend too much time here and organizing Club meets- grin...

 

Thanks inventor00! No way I can improve on that -- you've pointed out all the points I use for differentiating the two.

The only problem I could see with a "front identification" -- i.e., the chrome middle grill -- would be with a Silver-colored Prius. Does the chrome "lip" stand out much?

 

It looks dumb, doesn't it? Kind of looks like a fake emblem that a ricer would put on their worn out tuner Civic.

 

Hey, inventor00 - where did you get that big "hybrid" sticker?

 

There's a screw-in towing eye-bolt stashed with your jack stuff in back. If you needed a tow, you'd pop off the circle and screw in the bolt. Hardly anyone tows using hooks any more, so you'll probably never use it.

 

I have two versions- big on on the original 04 Prius as in my avatar and smaller on on current car in earlier pic in this thread.[attachmentid=1527]

I have the info listed on ocprius.com (modifications list) but here it is:
Big Hybrid sticker- Big City Images (badmomma on ebay) [email protected] or request the smaller one- 2 by 19 inches

 

NOW it does. But years ago, people couldn't handle how ahead-of-its-time it was. There are several vehicles with similar shape & style today, so it's no big deal anymore.

And of course, people did (and still do) have no idea that an entire generation existed before the debut in the United States. In fact, that's why they think it resembles Echo... because Echo is what they saw here first. But in reality, Prius was on the road 2 years before Echo even existed. But that was in Japan.

Back in 1999, some US auto-magazine reviewers got their hands on the "Original" model. They wrote about the aspects they found disappointing. Toyota also provided the opportunity for 20 families to drive the "Original" model for a month each. All that feedback resulted in a bunch of upgrades to the system, making the "Classic" model... which most people assume is the first, but it really isn't. Here's why:

[Broken External Image]:http://john1701a.com/prius/images/Prius_Generations.gif

 

and I might add that the G3 HSD Prius has a turning circle more like a pickup truck and not a tight one like the Classic. This is my biggest gripe with the new Prius. The turning circle is just huge, 3 feet more than the Classic.

 

Did ya know the "dark" on the 2004 & 2005 is an optical illusion? The part that the light shines through is clear, just like the 2006.

The dark part is actually the reflector, what the light shines on. Interesting, eh?

 

I wonder if that is for contrast, Red against black vs Red against white/silver?