[Christ]

I'm pretty sure the Prius' choice to keep the spoiler has something to do with aesthetics as well.

Not saying that they're sac'ing anything for the sake of visually pleasing back sides, but apparently, there is a style panel that is closely adhered to when designing vehicles, and in some cases, it's the first and foremost rule, while other factors involved have to be designed around it.

Let us face facts about this: If it's cute, and handles horribly, drives slowly, and gets crappy mileage, or look like an extension of a male extremity, people will buy it regardless. The fact that it gets good gas mileage is a bonus in most cases.

The Prius has sexy curves, yes, but was that enough? Probably not. More likely that the "style" department said "put a spoiler on it - it will scream aerodynamically modified that way". And engineering and development were forced to follow that protocol, possibly sacrificing aerodynamics so the car would scream "I'm aerodynamic!!!".

That might not be the case here - but it has been in the past, as we're all aware. (Corvette - screams aero, yet isn't.)