The Prius made a lot of money for Toyota and cost me some work along the way.
I’ll unpack that. The Prius remains one of the top selling hatchbacks in the world, no matter what means you use to determine those rankings. It remains synonymous with the term “hybrid,” and you can credit it with making an entire genre of cars marketable. It shows no signs of fading away and no indications of changing its mix — even with the $30,000 2015 Prius 4.
However, I haven’t reviewed the Prius positively in the past. In fact, I responded critically enough to the car that I was quietly banished from the Toyota media ranks briefly. Automakers don’t mind bad reviews, but they do mind bad reviews with excessive gusto.
Sins of the Past
What got me in such trouble? I always had a theory about the Prius that no one at Toyota will confirm. I believe Toyota deliberately designed the Prius to look as ugly and dull as possible to appeal to people who hate cars and resent having to own one — building a car for non-drivers.
I described the original, dedicated Prius owner as a car hater. They don’t like the internal combustion engine. They have no appreciation for performance. They don’t find cars visually or sensually compelling. They don’t like cars and wish they didn’t have to own one — yet they must drive. So, the Prius cult is desperate to show the world how hopelessly sensitive and enlightened they are.
Related: Misbehaving in a Mazda Miata Wonderland
To prove my hypothesis, I point to the failed hybrid designs Honda originally marched out years ago. Honda’s old models looked largely identical to their pure gasoline cars. The hybrids didn’t sell well because, I believe, green car lovers don’t want a cleaner, more fuel efficient car unless they can constantly announce to the world that they drive a cleaner, more fuel efficient car. There’s no point in “saving the planet” if you can’t constantly call attention to your heroic deeds. (That stereotype faded since as the Prius garnered more general acceptance — and as fuel costs rose and people decided the higher price of a Prius would be countered with gas savings.)
Car Haters Unite
Enter the Prius. Save gas? Check. Cleaner running? Evidently. Easily identifiable? As easy to spot and as handsome as my ass in an off the shoulder gown. Still, the Prius continues to sell extremely well, giving the joylessly self-aware crowd among us an all-purpose vehicle to drive without pleasure while reminding us how selfish we are in cars that don’t resemble the crossbreeding of a pregnant golf cart and a bloated toaster.
To put it bluntly, I give the Prius design credit as one of the most iconic and identifiable cars ever created. But, it’s as urgently ugly as the equally identifiable Jaguar E-Type, Aston Martin DB5 or 1967 Mustang are beautiful. So, with my prepositions in place, I admit I was wary of taking on a review of a 2014 model considering the trouble my keyboard got me into in the past.
The Latest Model
I drove the new Prius 4 for a week. It hasn’t changed its appearance much. The built quality is still poor. The feel of the car is still tinny as Toyota must strip out so much weight to get the hybrid batteries into the car. But, there I go down that bitter slope again. You get the idea.
So, from this point forward until this review closes, I’m going to discuss only the positive features of the Prius:
- The sight lines are very good — with an elevated seating position and a fishbowl vibe of ample glass at every head turn.
- Perhaps to make up for the car’s lack of power and handling, Toyota packed the cockpit with driver aids, convenience tools and gadgets you won’t find in other hatchbacks or even sedans of similar price. The designers simply threw in all of the candy — from navigation to AM/FM/Sirius/CD, hybrid engine monitoring system to heated seats, it’s all there.
- Though it has all the sleek lines of a minibus, the Prius’ bulk does provide a good payload space — offering more carrying potential than most other hatchbacks. The question is how much that little hybrid engine can pull.
- An EV Mode allows the car to run solely on its battery around 10 mph for about a mile. That can come in handy if you do indeed run out of gas and need to coast to a filling station.
There. I said four positive things about the 2015 Prius 4 and wrote the most balanced review of a hybrid I’ve ever managed.
Kumbaya.
