Prius an ugly car.....

Every time I stop at the gas station it gets prettier and prettier. I think a lot of the hate is nothing more than the ol green eyed monster. If you are driving something that gets 30, 20 or 15 mpg on a good day and you paid just a bit less, the same or more for....... you gotta come up with some reason why your rig is better


RAL

 

Thanks for writing this. It raises all of the points I was about to make.

 

I may be a little strange.
But I always liked the "at the time" very unique and individual look of The Gen 2 Prius.

Toyota has mainstreamed the look IMO with the Gen 3. I still like it, but it's almost becoming boringly "normal".

So in fact, I don't think the Prius is ugly at all, my concern is that it is starting to look like any generic hatchback. The Gen 3 looks so "normal" I don't see why anyone would complain.

 

I think that our 2011 Barcelona Red Prius is the most beautiful car I've ever seen (except for a brand new plug-in light blue that we saw a couple of weeks ago in Santa Cruz, that was a truly beautiful car). I appreciate all the engineering that went into it's design and how well it's shape makes it capable of obtaining really great gas mileage, while still looking stylish and allowing a lot of interior room. We go camping in it, and can put everything we need (and don't need) into the rear seat area and back and can still see over the seats. There are four of them (Prii, that is) in our three small businesses next door to each other. There is a dark blue one, two red ones, and a silver one. To me, they're all the most beautiful cars in the parking lots; they're just special .

 

There is no other car on the planet besides Honda Insight II shaped just like 2nd or 3rd Gen Prius. The smooth line swept back to a Kammback tail with liftback hatch. Prius still looks like a 'wedge' or mouse or whatever thing it reminds people of. It is so different from anything else out there, but there are so many of them around here that they are very normal.

Wow, it is going to be interesting to see what Toyota does with the main Prius in a year or so.

One of the biggest things Toyota needs to do is bring the price down just a bit on Prius. It is a huge issue that so many people just don't want to pay much extra to save on gas.

 

I disagree. The Prius is still a somewhat distinct and unique looking automobile, but with the Gen 3? And certainly the Prius c and Prius v, Toyota has mainstreamed the vehicle and as the Prius family expands the uniqueness is fading.

Yes, most people will recognize a "regular" Prius as a "Prius", but I don't think the newest incarnation of The Prius, Generation 3, is as nearly as unique or distinct as The Gen 2. With the sporty headlights, and the accent line along the side, the Gen 3 Prius makes no apologies for an attempt to look downright "sporty".

And tell me from a distance that it's not near to impossible to tell a Prius c from a Honda Fit? And even before the release of the Prius c, I often had people asking me if my Honda Fit was a Hybrid. They simply assumed the raking windshield, hatchback and size, along with probably the Japanese Automakers tag, meant the Honda Fit was a Hybrid.

As far as the prices going down? My guess is it just doesn't happen. I regret somewhat that I didn't buy a Prius a few years ago. A Prius II, use to be Toyota's entry level Hybrid and it was priced as such. With the addition of The Prius c, as Toyota's entry level Hybrid, it seems to me the regular Prius prices have all bumped up a level. In 2010, I could of purchased a Prius 4, for about what it seems Prius II's and III's are going for now. At least locally, I've been surprised at the increase of cost for a regular Prius, and it all seemed to happen with the arrival of the Prius c.

I think Toyota obviously now wants the Prius c, to be the entry level, "budget" Hybrid. So by default a greater separation between the Prius c and a Prius 2, 3 and upwards must exist.

 

Toyota is definitely trying to improve aesthetics. Look at the Prius Persona and Plus options. They are following suite to what European car makers have been doing. If you compare a base model 3 series and loaded one, bif difference aesthetically. Why? attention to details and not stripped down version. Wheels, ride height, body parts play a huge role.. but with the Prius and most Japanese car's selling point being price, much of this isn't marketed. Good to see some better looking Prius in the showroom.

 

Interesting...I don't think the c looks anything like a Fit. It has the overall shape common to pretty much all B-seg hatches, but it's missing the front and rear quarter windows and has that distinctive contour line that sweeps down from the rear wheel well.

OTOH, the Prius v to me looks EXACTLY like a fat Fit ("un-fit Fit"? ). Check out this comparo:

My v replaced a dearly departed Fit...my wife said that as soon as she saw the v in person she was certain I would choose it because of it's resemblance to the Fit.

The Fit is also often universally reviled for being "ugly." Not sure why...personally I think it's one of the best-looking B-seg hatches available, along with the Fiesta which looks almost the same.

 

[/quote]

2nd Gen Prius had 'alien eyes' for headlights. Roof peak was wrong and interior did not work; too much rear seat legroom, too little rear headroom and of course, too little front seat legroom.

I don't care much about 2nd gen Prius. 3rd gen is clearly the better car overall. .....

Plus, 3rd gen EVs much better and longer at low speeds ; it has the improved transaxle with reduction gear.

 

2nd Gen Prius had 'alien eyes' for headlights. Roof peak was wrong and interior did not work; too much rear seat legroom, too little rear headroom and of course, too little front seat legroom.

I don't care much about 2nd gen Prius. 3rd gen is clearly the better car overall. .....

Plus, 3rd gen EVs much better and longer at low speeds ; it has the improved transaxle with reduction gear.[/quote]

Yeah, but that kind of proves my point. The Prius has become much more mainstream from Gen 2-Gen 3. My point wasn't a debate over which Gen you like best.

I liked the looks of Gen 2, even if more extreme and "quirky". I like the looks of Gen 3, even if IMO more mainstream and "sporty" looking.

Yes, with the passage of time, as it should Prius has improved. I think Gen 3 represents an overall improvement. But that really wasn't the point of the debate.

You're right, The Prius v does look a lot like a Bigger Fit.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. As far as my Fit goes? I think it looks sporty and sharp from some angles, and from others kind of "Nerdy" and utilitarian. And I like it because of that quality.

But all the comparisons....Fit to Prius Regular, c, v, and even Fiesta....kind of proves my original point. The Prius is not as unique a looking vehicle as it use to be. With success and mainstreaming, comes imitation.

 

As has already been pointed out, if your trying to make a car "slip" through the air, rather bludgion it into submision, it is going to tend to be quite simular to others seeking that same goal. I am sure aerodynamics has more to do with all this than style.

RAL

 

I agree...which is why I disagree with this statement:- "There is no other car on the planet besides Honda Insight II shaped just like 2nd or 3rd Gen Prius."

And while I easily agree form follows function with a Prius, and other similarly shaped aerodynamic wedge vehicles, I think Toyota has mainstreamed the look of Prius...both externally and internally. Form and function may be the trump card, but especially with the Prius c, and Prius v, Toyota is clearly moving towards a more mainstream "style".

10 years ago, if a Prius was driving straight on towards you? You could be pretty sure it was a Prius. Today? From a distance you could mistake it for any number of vehicles.

 

Sounds like you have set the bar very high. Is the Prius very similar in profile to the Insight, yes. But it is not like they are identical twins, but rather more of a familial resemblance. I for one think the Insight is the best looking of the bunch by far, too bad that in its case beauty is just skin deep.

I think that there are a number of other cars that also share a resemblance to the Prius other than the Insight. The basic design is not terribly groundbreaking - nothing more that a 5 door hatch. As for other similarities - start with the Volt - GM wanted to create a link to the Prius, but as an American car company also realized that in general American's do not like hatch-backs. Also look at the Audi A7 or roll the clock back close to 20 years and the hatch back version of the Geo Prizim. Or more recently the Subaru Imprezza wagon up to about 5 years ago. If you look to Europe and the rest of the world there are a lot more cars with this basic shape.

I think the basic shape is simply the result of a confluence of 2 factors - the shape offers great aerodynamics while at the same time creating a surprising amount of usable space inside of the car.