An UGLY Design And Waning Sales — How Would YOU Reinvent The Toyota Prius If You Were At The Helm?

It wasn't so long ago that the Toyota Prius was the go-to hybrid vehicle of choice. As a low-cost vehicle, it was easy to pick one up for just over $20,000, enjoy 44 mpg and then sell it with a lot of value because demand was high for the Prius.

The third-gen Prius looked great and it flew off dealer lots. Now we've got the fourth-generation Prius and there's a couple of things that stand out about it.

First, it looks atrocious. We're not quite how it went from a relatively clean design with a pretty nice interior to a total abomination, inside and out, but Toyota managed to achieve it.

Second, the interior is awfully chintzy with white painted plastic and an optional large screen that provides more glare than a great user experience. It makes you wonder if Toyota's designers were in love with the Chevrolet Volt or something.

And now we've been bestowed with an all-wheel drive variant. But we're pretty sure that won't make a huge difference in the Prius' sales, which have dropped off significantly.

According to reports, Toyota's executives are aware of this and have even commented on it. They admit the fifth-generation vehicle, which is expected to appear early in the next decade, will need to reinvent the nameplate.

Having said that, we're curious: IF you were at the helm of Toyota, how would YOU reinvent the Prius brand? Is the obvious answer to produce a Prius-branded sport-utility vehicle? Should there be a halo? Should it simply stick to cleaner and more impressive designs now that the competition is taking it out at the knees — e.g., Tesla Model 3.

MDarringer - 12/14/2018 7:56:44 AM

+1 Boost

Ditch the Prius completely or ditch the ugly if it is to continue and turn it into a crossover.

Making it the world's first affordable every man / every garage EV would be another idea.

SanJoseDriver - 12/14/2018 12:50:08 PM

0 Boost

Finally making it a full EV would be a great first step.

Truthy - 12/14/2018 2:27:53 PM

+1 Boost

Being electric/green used to be enough. The fact it was unusual looking (being gracious) made it stand out. Now the looks are a hindrance.

wilfred - 12/14/2018 3:14:01 PM

+2 Boost

I was wondering why Toyota make a Corolla Hybrid...

TomM - 12/14/2018 3:28:37 PM

+2 Boost

Toyota already makes a number of Hybrid Vehicles that are not the Prius
Most of those are conversions of already existing Sedans (Camry, Lexus ES) - so those who point to the Prius type of style as the problem -may not be correct.

I think that while the style may be one problem for the Prius - the whole Hybrid Market gives adequate evidence that there is another problem - and I believe it is the cost to break even - which in most cases does not happen in the first 100,000 miles. While my company specified Hybrid Vehicles for the Field staff for years - it was done more for the "appearance" of being green - than for saving on Fuel - and when Fuel became cheaper at the last crash - it was no longer possible to economically justify virtually ALL Hybrids.

When you add in the driving Dynamics of the Hybrids - most of which are negative - especially their use of CVTs - which themselves were a major negative (They have gotten better - but maybe too late) - and then add in the lack of real performance (Also gotten better in some very expensive ones - but not in the cheaper cars) - and THEN add in the Kindergarten Crayola Styling - and you still forget one more factor - these things are NOT crossovers - and end up with an undesirable car itself - with undesirable features - that is economically unjustifiable. And then you get someone who wonders why it is not selling!!!

EVen if they came out with a RAV4 based dedicated Hybrid - the lack of economic justification is still death.

skytop - 12/14/2018 10:49:06 PM

+2 Boost

The Prius has always been spelled U-G-L-Y.

Section_31_JTK - 12/15/2018 12:59:51 AM

+2 Boost

With each succeeding generation the Prius has gotten more and more ugly. It's time for Toyota to completely rethink the need to make the Prius "distinctive".

Repackage it into a crossover and watch the sales take off again.

mini22 - 12/16/2018 7:46:38 PM

+1 Boost

When it first came out there was no competition. There is now and people care about how their vehicle looks. Saying that the Tesla model 3 seems to be an anomaly. It's ugly yet it sells. However I think in 2 years when there are more EV's out on the market that are more attractive and don't cost 65 grand with average options it will too need a redesign. The Prius should go all electric. Why is Toyota letting Hyundai/Kia take the lead? As soon as reasonable infrastructure is in place and batteries can handle DC fast charging there will be a huge Switch over to EV's. EV's and hybrids will need to look like regular vehicles to sell in high volume.