Civic vs Prius

Have you had a chance to test drive the Prius? I will full admit that I haven't sampled the all new 2016 model yet, but I have driven the 3rd gen car. As capable a commuter and automotive appliance as it may be, it was also one of the most soul-sucking driving experience I have ever had. The 2016 model is supposed to be a lot more dynamic, and offers a bigger "fun" factor. But as long as the car reminds a hybrid where top MPG rating is their #1 goal, I can't imagine how boring it is to drive.

The 10th gen Civic is certainly no sports car, but at least in the 2.0L guise, it still has some of that old school Honda feel to it. It is the way more enjoyable car to drive.

The 2016 Prius just isn't that great looking and that's putting it lightly. That weird nose sticking out.. No idea what Toyota was thinking about when they did that.

4Tires said:

The 2016 Prius just isn't that great looking and that's putting it lightly. That weird nose sticking out.. No idea what Toyota was thinking about when they did that.

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Putting it lightly indeed... that thing is a mess of lines and angles and nonsense styling attempts at being "edgy and sporty" when all it looks like is awkward and sharp (like literally sharp to the touch). I'm actually a fan of Lexus' styling as of late, some really nice looking cars (even with the huge spindle grill) but toyota just seems to drop the styling ball over and over again consistently. There comes a point where bland styling is the better option over outrageous and polarizing "styling".

Yes, it gets great gas mileage. And if thats ALL you care about in a car along with good reliability, the prius is it.... but you care in the least about how a car handles, looks, and performs in areas other than just mpg... the prius is the worst.

I'm sure Toyota knows this and it actually benefits them since now the car stands out that much more, it makes a statement, maybe they figured that's what Prius owners want being that they're driving a hybrid and want it known.

5TAR said:

I'm sure Toyota knows this and it actually benefits them since now the car stands out that much more, it makes a statement, maybe they figured that's what Prius owners want being that they're driving a hybrid and want it known.

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But you can make the hybrid stand out without making it ugly, so I'm not convinced by that argument.

Civil said:

But you can make the hybrid stand out without making it ugly, so I'm not convinced by that argument.

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Agreed. The new clarity IMO is a much better looking car, much more handsome. And honda's got a dedicated hybrid planned based on the clarity (same way the new prius is based on their hideous hydrogen fuel vehicle). No matter what genre of car it is they can be made to look good in order to stand out (some polarizing elements allowed) but when you over design a car just to stand out as much as possible without regard to actually making it look good then you're trying too hard and just creating an eyesore.

Yes the Prius is more efficient, and better to drive than its predecessor. But surely it doesn't cost any more to make a good looking car than one that is ugly!!?? Hyundai figured it out with their Elantra and Accent. Although in their case it's too bad it apparently DOES cost more to design a car that you can actually see out of...

How about that dashboard in the new Prius. I could never get used to looking to the right to see how fast I'm going

5TAR said:

I can see them eventually putting more higher end Toyota and Lexus DNA into the design, such as more spindle grille cues.

Sort of like what the Camry has going on (which I really like)

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That's my biggest gripe with the new prius and hydrogen car... besides being but ugly, they barely share anything in common with Toyota's family face, which lets face it is better than it's been in a long time. The Avalon is a pretty good looking car. The camry isn't horrible. The corolla still needs some work. But they just threw all that out the window designing the new prius.

That always used to be one of my personal issues with Chevy's designs, nothing shared a family face! Every car looked different. They've finally fixed that issue now with the release of the new Impala/Cruze/Malibu which all finally share a similar design language.