2016 Toyota Prius (photos, specifications, Cd 0.24)

[NeilBlanchard]

2016 Prius without camouflage:

2016 Toyota Prius spy photo completely undisguised | DPCcars

[Daox]

Hard to tell from the close pictures, but it doesn't seem as horrible as I thought it would.

[RedDevil]

I just realized that the oddly shaped sculptures of last century's 60s weren't abstract after all - they are head- and taillights

[gone-ot]

Agreed, that front end is NOT as FUGLY as early illustrations implied.

However, that *back-end* (below the lower rear window) is gonna be a MAJOR dust & dirt "catcher" for sure!

[niky]

Well... they succeeded in creating the illusion of having less rear headroom than a sardine can.

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Also, those headlights seem purposefully designed. The purpose, in this case, is assuring they'll crack in any and all front-end collisions. Computer-designed to be vulnerable at any angle.

[redpoint5]

Looks fine to me. Also, I didn't purchase my Prius to get the ladies. I spend 99.9% of my time looking at the inside of the car and 0.1% looking at the outside of it. Consider the Prius to be shallow women repellant.

[RedDevil]

Originally Posted by niky

Well... they succeeded in creating the illusion of having less rear headroom than a sardine can.

It is not so bad.
From the first post:

You can see the highest point is behind the B pillar, and at the top of the C pillar, about as far back as the heads of the rear passengers will be, the height is still approx. 145 cm.
Many cars are lower than that.

The styling kind of grows on you.
The 3rd gen Prius I saw in the wild this morning suddenly looked outdated.
Guess I could live with it.
If only it had an H badge

What worries me are the blacked out D pillars and strip above the rear window.
Those optical illusions may be what will make this version look outdated in the future.

[niky]

Originally Posted by RedDevil

It is not so bad.
From the first post:

You can see the highest point is behind the B pillar, and at the top of the C pillar, about as far back as the heads of the rear passengers will be, the height is still approx. 145 cm.
Many cars are lower than that.

The styling kind of grows on you.
The 3rd gen Prius I saw in the wild this morning suddenly looked outdated.
Guess I could live with it.
If only it had an H badge

What worries me are the blacked out D pillars and strip above the rear window.
Those optical illusions may be what will make this version look outdated in the future.

As I said... it gives the *illusion* of no rear headroom... even if it does have a higher rear roofline than the old car. (Whose backseat, in my experience, is wonderfully spacious)

It's as if Toyota asked themselves: "What would signal buyers that this car is insanely impractical, even if it isn't?"

The headlights, I think, will date the car. Lots of bare reflector that does nothing... which is weird, considering Toyota/Lexus elsewhere uses freeform headlights that make use of the entire fixture, thanks to LED lighting.

Reducing it to slashes of purposeful LED strips and projectors would have made a more appealing fashion statement than flat pieces of chrome reflector behind acres of clear plastic that'll turn yellow in a few years.

[RedDevil]

Toyota won't sell the Prius if it mimics an ordinary car.
It derives its right of existence from being different.
Its selling point is its fuel economy, of course, but it has to stand out somehow. Fuel consumption is just a number.
The Prius is fuel economy with a Flash Gordon cape. For the Look at Me! I'm Saving the Planet crowd. (*)

And for those who can't bear the showy exterior there's the Auris with the same technology. People who buy that don't like the wild styling. They probably would not appreciate anything halfway in between either.

The second gen was much less wildly styled, but then it had that shape. That was enough excitement at the time.
The third gens style was already somewhat sharper as one got accustomed to the shape.
But somewhat does not cut it this time.

I suspect Toyota will sell this in huge numbers again.

(*) I'm fully aware there are other reasons why people buy Priuses, like its technology, refined operation, reliability, etc.

[niky]

I can fully dig looking different. No problems there.

It's just that elements of the design don't work very well.

Toyota has been on a design bonanza these past few years. Some of the wacky stuff they're doing works. Some of it, not so much.