The Toyota Prius, since its debut more than two decades ago, has always been a reasonable, responsible car. It’s the vehicle that always picked the kids up from school on time and took the trash out as soon as the can got full. It’s the car that volunteered for beach clean-up day, and got its pets not just spayed, neutered, and vaccinated, but also microchipped — and all of this, while using little gas. But in spite of being functionally an adult straight from birth, the Prius was always a bit quirky; It may have been your responsible friend, but it was your friend who kept wearing graphic tees and getting tattoos right into their forties. It was your friend who kept her goth hairstyle and septum piercing even after having two kids. But the Prius is not that friend anymore. With the 2023 model, the Prius has donated its last Wilco tee to the thrift store and put on a crisp button-down shirt instead. And a lot of people will love it for that.
[Editor’s Note: Since we believe in very full disclosure, I’ll let you in on a secret: Toyota forgot to invite us to the new Prius launch until it was almost too late, so we had to find someone local the day before. Luckily, Emily, a science writer for Cal Tech and avid builder of contraptions, was close by! You may remember Emily from her story about 3-D printing a side marker lamp for her rare Toyota truck, and this is her first go at a car review. I’m delighted to hear her perspective of a gearhead not yet jaded by press cars and inexhaustible supplies of shrimp. – JT]
[Full disclosure: Toyota put me up in a hotel by the sea and fed me food and cocktails and lots of coffee in exchange for writing about the new Prius. Another full disclosure: This is my first car review and this was my first time attending an automotive press event. I was just minding my own business one afternoon when Jason messaged me an odd request. Several hours later I found myself checking into a fancy hotel by the sea that Toyota had paid for. Toyota’s largesse extended to food (steak and lobster??) drinks (cocktails and fine wines) and even room service. This assignment included a lot of firsts for me: It was my first time having my keys taken by a valet at a hotel entrance. It was my first time staying in lodging fancier than a Motel 6 or a Best Western. And it was definitely my first time being called “madam” by someone bringing a fancy-ass plate of bagel and lox to my room for breakfast. As a person of generally modest means who won’t even buy ground beef if it’s more than $3.99 a pound, it was all pretty disorienting, even if it was exciting.]
Not As Quirky Outside, But It Does Look Good
The most obvious difference between the incoming Prius, shown above, and its predecessors is its outward appearance, so we might as well start there. Since the second-generation models rolled off factory lines in 2003, Priuses have always looked distinctively Prius-y, which is to say, like a dorky turtle. Don’t believe me? Here’s the whole line of previous Priuses:
The 2023 model still has plenty of styling cues that let you know what it is, but it’s got an aggressive look now that, at least in the gray paint I ended up with, made me think of a manta ray, or a shark, or some other sleek underwater predator.
Its wheels are big, and its tires are low-profile; worth noting: Lead engineer Satoki Oya made a point of saying they kept the wheels narrow for lower rolling resistance and better efficiency.
At the back of the car is another big styling difference. The rear hatch has lost the two-piece glass treatment that the previous models had. That’s probably not something that most people who buy this car will care about, but it made me a little sad to see it gone. It was one of those Prius details you didn’t really see anywhere else, save for the second-generation Honda CRX.
[Editor’s Note: I think it’s worth pointing out that the new Prius design, which I feel is vastly, vastly better than previous generations, retains this awkward and puzzling solution to front license plate mounting as I saw at the LA Auto Show, and discussed in this video. I’m talking about this block:
Is this really the best design Toyota could think of for front license plate mounting? Front plates are required in 31 states, leaving 19 states that just have to live with this big-ass block that breaks the sleek lines of the front end? I don’t get why they were okay with this. – JT]
Not As Weird Inside
The interior of the Prius feels, well, aggressively normal, with basically all of the amenities being exactly where you expect them to be. This is another departure from previous Prii. Whereas driving the fourth-gen Prius felt a little like a space pod inside, its replacement feels just like a more typical car. The shifter, which has been part of the dashboard for three generations now, has been moved down to the center console in the same place you would find it in just about any other modern vehicle.
The center console has two modestly sized cupholders that hold a small cup of coffee just fine, but were unable to handle the water bottle I brought along for the ride. Fortunately, there’s a large tray just forward of the cupholders and my bottle sat there more or less happily.
The Toyota folks seemed quite proud to show off a slot in the center console where you can keep your phone while you drive. But it’s not just a cubby—it also wirelessly charges your phone. It’s neat, but if I had one of these Priuses as my daily driver, that slot would end up filled with old receipts, hair ties, loose change, and a few melted chapsticks in about a month.
Despite the general ordinariness of the car’s interior, one thing that stood out to me was how comfortable it was to sit in. I am 6-foot-4-inches and my primary car is a Honda Fit, so 95 percent of my driving experience involves me feeling cramped.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the leg room was more than ample once I scooted the seat back, and I could sit all the way straight up without bumping my head into the roof. And to really test the car’s leg room, I left the front seat in that position and climbed in the back sea behind it. It was a little snug, but I didn’t have to turn my legs sideways to fit. If I had three clones of my large self, we could all four ride in this car in comfort.
Less Rear Cargo Space
Maybe I’m biased because I drive a Fit, or maybe because I’m hoarder and serial hobbyist, but I expect a hatchback to have a lot of room for my junk in its trunk. This is one place where the new Prius seems to miss the mark. Its trunk is small. Apparently the cargo volume of this new Prius is a whole 3.5 cubic feet less than what the previous model had. Lead engineer Oya told those of us who came to the press event that smaller trunk was due to style considerations rather than any kind of engineering decision.
The small cargo area means someone could fit a few suitcases back there for a weekend trip, but I’m not sure I could carry around a 3D printer, a bicycle, a milk crate of camping supplies, and some cool flower pots I found on the side of the road, even with the rear seats folded down. That’s kind of a bummer.
Side note: One thing I thought odd about the trunk was that when I lifted the floor mat, I found myself faced with an expanse of Styrofoam. The material was more like the polystyrene foam used in bicycle helmets than something you would find in a shipping box, but with all the cubbies and recesses molded into it, it reminded me of a convenience-store ice chest. (Maybe it will come in handy for someone who forgets to bring a cooler with them on their fly-fishing trip.)
I asked the Toyota folks what the Styrofoam is for, and their answer was simple: For making the trunk floor flat. Apparently this is common in newer cars, though, they admitted they didn’t know why the foam is white instead of the black color that’s more typical. The fellow I spoke with said he asked the Toyota engineers, and they gave him an answer he didn’t understand about “static dissipation.” This is an interesting little detail that I would like to investigate further.
Not As Weird To Drive
As I mentioned above, my daily driver is a Honda Fit. It’s from 2010 and it was the most base model I could find (I wanted a stickshift, ok? It’s not just that I’m cheap). That Fit is just the latest in a long series of dumpy little cars I’ve purchased more for utility and fuel efficiency than anything else.
Driving the 2023 Prius is nothing like driving any of those cars I’ve owned. Whereas my cars have all been slow and loud, the Prius is quick and quiet. Road noise is minimal, unlike in my Honda where the sounds of the freeway regularly drown out the radio. The Prius makes sure you don’t feel potholes as much more than a little jiggle in your seat. In my Rabbit, they threatened to yank the steering wheel from my hands.
The Toyota team was very excited to tell us about the lane assist and active braking features they included in this car, and despite being kind of a luddite about those things, I have to admit I didn’t hate them. The active braking surprised me a little a few times as I approached cars stopped for a red light ahead, but I never felt like it was taking control away from me. The same goes for the lane assist. In the Prius, I barely noticed it, and when I did, it was more like a polite suggestion than an order. The car also comes with a feature that can be best described as a “Stop looking at your phone. The light turned green,” idiot light.
If the car in front of you starts driving, and you don’t, it gently flashes a thin strip that runs across the bottom of the dashboard at you. I tested it. It works. That’s kind of neat.
So far, I’ve mostly compared how the new Prius drives to how my econoboxes drive, and while those are useful(ish) data points, they’re probably not entirely fair comparisons. So, how does it drive compared to another Prius? Short answer: very differently.
In the fourth-generation Prius, you feel like you are driving a hybrid car. You can hear the soft whir of the electric motor when you press the accelerator or when you slow down. When you come to a stop, there’s a mysterious little buzz that says there’s something going on under the hood besides just a gas engine.
In contrast, the new Prius just drives like a car. If you press the gas pedal, it goes. If you press the brakes, it slows down. If you really press the gas pedal, the gas engine gets noisy. If I were to have sat down in it without knowing it was a Prius, and without seeing the telltale kilowatt-hours number on its heads-up display, I think it would have taken me a while to realize I was driving a hybrid. The older Prius reminded me of driving a robot, who was also your friend. The new Prius might as well have been my grandparents’ Camry.
More Power, Upgraded Batteries
The new Prius is built on Toyota’s TNGA-C (Toyota New Global Architecture) platform, which also underpins the Corolla, the CH-HR, and the Lexus UX. The overarching theme of technical changes to the car is More. Its 2.0L gas engine has more horsepower (150 vs. 96 before). It has more magnets in the electric motor, which apparently makes the car more efficient. Together, the gas and electric motors give the Prius 196 hp, allowing the AWD version to get up to 60mph in seven seconds. The front-drive car, which has 194 hp, version does it in 7.2.
Toyota has squeezed 14 percent more battery capacity into the car by finally ditching nickel metal hydride (NIMH) technology in favor of lithium ion (li-ion) batteries. Priuses always came with NIMH batteries right up to 2021, when they were outfitted with both NIMH and li-ion batteries. Now the last vestiges of that older technology are gone. Since li-ion batteries are more energy dense than NIMH batteries, the company can pack more electrons into the same amount of space (that space being under the back seat).
It’s Actually Less Aerodynamic
The new Prius goes more miles on a gallon of gas—up to 57 miles per gallon in the FWD LE trim level.. If you get an AWD model in either the XLE and Limited trim levels, the fuel economy drops quite a bit to 49 mpg.
The car is one inch wider and one inch longer. The wheelbase is about 2 inches longer (50 mm). It has more drag, which is to say, it’s a little bit less aerodynamic. According to Oya, this increase in drag is primarily because the company moved the peak of the roof further back for style purposes. 
The AWD option, which is new for the Prius, seems like a big deal and will probably be a welcome addition for people who live in places with weather more inclement than anything I would ever see in the San Diego neighborhoods where I test drove the car. I mentioned this detail to a friend who lives near Denver and he said “TBH I’d consider an AWD Prius. I feel like most manufacturers have decided if you want AWD, you get a largish SUV.” (He alternates between driving a Subaru Outback and a Triumph Spitfire to work right now.)
The Prius Is Going To Make Lots Of People Happy
The new Prius is a capable, comfortable car with excellent fuel economy and modern, aggressive styling. For people who want to save money on gas while getting to places without a lot of fuss, this car is going to be a great option. Compared to the outgoing car, the new Prius is a very normal car now, offering a very normal driving experience and normal styling, and that’s going to make a lot of people very happy, even if it makes me a little bit sad.
I’m going to advocate for more Emily articles.
Firstly, I want more content about 3D printing accessories and replacement parts for vehicles. I’ve been doing that for my “new” rebuilt jeep LJ and I’m hooked.
Secondly, Emily is a maker nerd and we need more of that on Autopian.
Thirdly, her writing style rocks.
Late to post this but I could not agree more with jblues, it would be great to see more articles on those topics. Let me add, FINALLY (not just here, nothing personal), someone of height presents that perspective in looking at a vehicle in a way I appreciate. Enjoyed the writing style too. More please.
Nice quick review, even if half of it was comprised of editor’s notes, disclosures, and side notes. I kid! I kid! Great job, and an interesting take that I think most will disagree with (which is good for Prius sales). To me, the Prius growing up is the best thing that ever happened to it. All of the “specialness” of the old model that constantly reminded you that you were driving something different was awful. I had one as a rental for a work trip once. I wanted to give it a chance, but it seemed to prioritize efficiency over forward movement. That quirky “look at how environmentally conscious I am” styling ran its course a long time ago as well. The only thing I will miss is the storage space, which was great on the old models. Simply being a hybrid is no longer novel, and I really don’t think that having a special hybrid nameplate is relevant anymore. It was time for it to just be another car or die.
I remember many years ago when a co-worker of mine (who was 6’7″, btw) bought a then-new second-gen Prius for his wife, and brought it to work to show me. “See?” he said, “It’s pretty much like a normal car!”
But his own daily driver was a Saab 900 Turbo, and the Prius was replacing a Previa, so his definition of “normal car” was a little skewed.
Excellent write-up!
This was a very good review, I hope Emily gets to contribute more to The Autopian.
Holy smokes, I’d actually own this ON PURPOSE. The styling, inside and out, works for me. I like the available AWD option since I live in a snowy hellhole for 5-7 months out of the year. Although I’m ot so sure about the 8 MPG penalty; but still, I’m just happy to know it exists. Like the author, I’m a bit of a Luddite, and because I’m actually a responsible driver who actually drives when behind the wheel, all these safety features and “prompt light” rub ne the wrong way. It only adds insult to injury to know that’s part of what kicks the price up to the $27K area, which I’m not terribly enthusiastic about. Still, I’d test drive and seriously consider this Prius, which is far, far more than can be said of the past generations.
Also, great job with the article, especially on short notice. I hope to see more of your bylines here in the future.
Yes! To tall reviewer! Yes! Nice job Emily! JT and DT are nice guys and all, but lack height. Simplicate and add tallness!
Yes, as a 6′ 2″ individual, I look forward, and upward, to more from Emily.
Yeah, I think that David riding on Jason’s shoulders would still be about 5’10”.
Great review. Thank you Autopian for pulling in an outside voice. It’s always nice to get some opinions from someone that doesn’t eat rust flakes soaked in gas for breakfast. When I was young, my project cars and daily drivers were the same thing, but as I get older my requirements have diverged significantly. I generally just want the DD to work and be as drama free as possible, so I can put my time resources into the project car.
…also this is not meant to be a dig at DT. Your content is also great and appreciated, but for different reasons.
I sold my last high-maintenance daily driver (a ’78 Rabbit) ten years ago and it still makes me sad. I don’t miss being late to work because my car wouldn’t start or being stranded somewhere because I splashed through a puddle too vigorously, but it makes me sad to not have a car with personality.
I did recently buy my parents ’82 Toyota from them, and even though it’s not my daily driver, it’s nice to have an old thing I can drive around sometimes
It really does bring a lot of joy to drive something old with some personality. I’ve thinned my fleet down a bit and moved a few things up North, but I still have a Manx style buggy at home that needs some attention and I drive my ’70 Jeepster (with the top off) whenever I can at the cabin. The buggy will probably be my project for next summer, I’ve ignored it for at least 5 years.
I’ve been looking for something small(ish), efficient and lively. I hope the dynamic force engine in the new one proves to be as bulletproof as the 2zr, since I won’t mind seeing these on the road for the next 20 years
Nice review. As a current Prius owner who loves it for the dead reliable, utilitarian transportation appliance it is, I like parts of this new one, but not everything.
Biggest gripes here are the potential loss of utility from less cargo space, the low profile tires which are unnecessary, and the center console. Why is the shifter there when it has no need to be there? Just put PRDB buttons on the dash, there is no need for a shift knob. Why is there so much piano black trim that is just going to get scratched when a piece of dust slides across it? And I know Toyota isn’t known for fun paint colors, but the colors I’ve seen so far are lame. Why do a cool exterior and then just offer black, white, silver, red and this lunar gray crap everyone has? Give me a cool blue, green, even that mustard yellow from the show car.
I like the styling, like what sounds like a much enhanced cruising environment between the power, quiet and ride (my Gen 3 Prius is not what I’d call quiet or particularly smooth on bumps), and that AWD is available. The pricing seems to be very reasonable. There still seems to be real buttons for many functions, and not everything is relegated to the screen.
I also really like the specs so far on the Prime. I used to want a RAV4 Prime, but a Prius Prime AWD would be even better. Hopefully at some point you can buy one without bribing a Toyota dealer.
I really appreciated that there were a lot of physical buttons within reach. Even the big touch screen was outfitted with a physical knob that you rotate to adjust the volume of the stereo.
To be fair, pretty much all buttons are within your reach.
Lower and wider doesn’t work for me. It looks like Toyota has reduced practicality to gain “style.” As a ROF (Retired Old Fart), I should be a likely candidate for the Prius, especially the Prime, but it is now, almost certainly, harder to get into and out of.
So this thing actually has MORE drag than the already frivolously ornate cybaroque model? Because they decided to move the roofline back? That’s a disappointing step backwards given how clean this design is. This version had lots of tricks pulled in order to cut drag versus the previous model, but then added the drag back on and then some for “styling purposes”. Which makes the car slightly slower and slightly less efficient than it should have been.
People who buy a Prius usually buy it for the substance(the fuel economy, the low maintenance, the efficiency), and not the marketing hype. Given how ugly the previous generations of this car were, it is clear that looks are a non-issue among the market segment. If the roofline were placed properly for drag reduction, the car would still look great, and its greatest asset, its fuel economy, would be that much better for it.
I predicted the Cd value for this car would be a 0.20, but given it has more drag than the previous gen, this is obviously not going to be the case. It is likely around 0.24 or higher. Values in the 0.13-0.16 range have been proven possible in race cars since the 1950s and sedans since the 1980s, which given the same frontal area/engine/gearing/tires, if the Prius had this value, its highway fuel economy would increase an extra 50% or more. Which would make it even MORE sellable to its target market, because they’d be getting more value for the money.
Having a Fit-driving non-car-nut review the new Prius – inspired choice.
Adding smart interesting people that write well to the byline – also inspired.
Emily, please come back again.
This is my second Autopian article and so far, I’m enjoying working with these folks. I definitely hope to be back.
You make cool contraptions. How about adding ‘writer about making contraptions’ to your CV and pitch that to the powers that be (has to include the original scavenge)? That would make a great weekend bonus post.
Looks like they took away more knee room for the center console. I’m only 6’2”, but hate how that space keeps getting taken, the new HRV is a prime example, too. Put the shifter back on the column or dash! My 07 Fit has more knee room than these newer cars. Not to mention actually enough room to sleep in the back (corner to corner)!
I was disappointed to see that the vertical rear glass is gone, and even more disappointed that they got rid of so much cargo space. And reducing aerodynamic efficiency for styling? That seems very un-Prius. The shifter being in the center console is weird too. It’s been on the dash for so long, why move it?
Great write-up. One correction – AWD was introduced to the Prius for 2019.
I didn’t realize how narrow they were keeping the tires. Still wish at least the midlevel XLE trim kept more sidewall too, at least have the 19” wheels optional. If you want a power driver’s seat, heated front seats, or even the full smart key system – n/a on LE, standard on XLE – you’re out of luck. Not just for comfort, but in economy – real-world may be negligible, but in predicted EPA ratings, models with 19” wheels drop by 5mpg. (Which admittedly could also be from other factors like the LE having a tire repair kit vs. the XLE/Limited having a spare.)
Kia got it right with the new Niro, where most trims have the “Touring” package optional that adds the big wheels.
RE: getting smaller – this seems to be the trend for the Prius, after the 2nd gen which upsized a lot and put the Prius in the EPA midsize category, the subsequent gens have been getting smaller in interior volume, if increasing in cargo space (til now). I think those more due to styling than anything, too, but they still have maintained EPA midsize category (110 cu. ft. combined so the new one should maintain that):
(interior / cargo volume)
Gen 1: 88.6 / 11.8
Gen 2: 96.2 / 16.1
Gen 3: 93.7 / 21.6
Gen 4: 93.1 / 24.6-27.4*
Gen 5: 91.2 / 20.3-23.8*
*larger size = tire repair kit
Of course now that the whole Toyota lineup is so heavily hybrid, they don’t need to rely on just the Prius for eco-friendly imagery and the Corolla is still smaller, having had an even more pronounced drop in interior space from the previous gen to the current. Civic however reaches *large* car status in hatchback form, so if Honda does bring the Civic hybrid out here, they’ll have a good size advantage by comparison.
I have no skin in the game. A Prius is unlikely to be found in my garage. But, if Emily is 6’4”, and can fit in both front and back seats in this car, it’s big enough. And cargo capacity is around what the gen.3 was.
I wasn’t saying it’s too small, more noting that the Prius generally has bucked the trend of getting larger each generation. The size jump in gen 2 helped make it more relevant in the marketplace as a regular car and not just an extra efficient economy one, at a time when every hybrid review talked about the length of time it would take to recoup the cost of a hybrid; it now had space comparable to ’90s Camrys. Plus it surely was a boon for Toyota in CAFE standards having a 50+ mpg ‘midsize’ car as they rolled out bigger trucks and V8s.
Now that they have 35+ mpg Highlanders and Siennas, and hybrid RAV4s outsell the Prius line, it doesn’t ‘need’ to as much as it once did. 20 cu ft of cargo space thanks to the liftback form is indeed still good, better than a regular trunk would be, better than the Corolla hatchback (admittedly smaller outside).
And the rear legroom is up about an inch too over the outgoing one, so not like it shrunk in every metric.
“But it’s not just a cubby—it also wirelessly charges your phone. It’s neat, but if I had one of these Priuses as my daily driver, that slot would end up filled with old receipts, hair ties, loose change, and a few melted chapsticks in about a month.”
My daily driver has a wireless charger and this is exactly what happens. I’m sure some people use it as intended, but I suspect that they are in the minority here.
Does it still beep inside the car when in reverse?
Am I the only one that thinks electronic shifters taking up the same amount of center console space as a regular shifter is a complete waste?
I do like the Prius text in the defroster though, reminds me of the OG Quattro.
Especially in the Prius, where the shifter has been on the dash for almost its entire lifetime, it really doesn’t make any sense. I thought the dash-mounted shifter would be weird when I bought my 2007 Prius last year, but especially because it doesn’t have a traditional PRNDL, it seems completely normal to me now. Using the same shift pattern but in the console just seems odd.
Yes, stop wasting console space with shifters that don’t need to be there. And as another response says, the Prius shifter usually wasn’t there to begin with. I guess this is supposed to be more of a “normal” car, but still.
No, you’re not, a console shifter for an automatic has always been a pointless waste of space since day one
It’s also fun to have it on the dashboard! I feel like that’s an important consideration.
Fun? We might make a car geek out of you yet. You should check out a late 70s Alfa Romeo shifter.
https://www.alfabb.com/attachments/cimg2456-jpg.111588/
Great first review, Emily!
As a tall with tall kids, I truly appreciate the back seat leg and head room report with the driver’s seat in the correct position for you. Over the years I’ve researched so many cars that seem, by the reported specs, to have enough room, only to drive to the dealer and find out in 10 seconds that the car is useless to my family.
Only the very tall think about these things!
As the Ioniq Hybrid was discontinued over the summer, this will probably have to be my next car, unless Stellantis actually puts the hybrid Hurricane setup in the new Charger eventually.
Company requires employees to buy a new car every 4 years, and I’m assuming this Prius will still be around in 2026
Someone else said something similar about work. If you don’t mind me asking, why does your work care? Disclosure, my newest vehicle is a 2004.
I don’t know why they care, but they do. I get 15 cents a mile plus a fixed monthly allowance of $350, and am required to have a car no more than 4 years old. Also had to have at least 4 doors (unless a pickup truck), and cost at least $25,000 MSRP. Was originally pitched to me as an optional program, with IRS rate mileage reimbursement as the other choice, but as I got further into the job, it became clear that it was not actually optional for management roles and I was eventually forced to trade my 2014 Camaro for something newer with more doors.
That’s crazy! And I like how they set a price floor (conveniently well above $350 a month) so everyone didn’t show up in Mitsubishi’s. Do you drive clients around often? The 4 door thing is esp weird to me.
No, I never drive clients around. Theoretically, it’s something that could maybe happen at some point in the future, but it’s never come up. Single cab pickups are acceptable under the policy
I guess their way is easier than just buying and maintaining a fleet since they effectively off load the maintenance onto you. Maybe that’s the 4 year thing, new vehicle warranty. So for mileage and $350 a month they effectively have a relatively new fleet with zero responsibility. Crafty.
Probably, but at just paying a straight 58 cents a mile, that would still all be on us anyway, catch is I could just run a used car into the ground and not have another loan hanging on my credit report for no reason
Yeah, no, I would 100% irrationally buck at this rule. That’s why I asked about it.
When I was initially hired, my boss told me it was optional, had I known it was mandatory up front, I likely would have passed on the position, but what can you do, what’s done is done.
I guess Toyota figured the 19 states that don’t require a plate can live with it as the Prius is a global car and virtually everywhere else in the world requires a front plate (in Europe’s case often a really big one too).
The counterpoint is cars like virtually every Ferrari ever made that don’t have a proper place for a front plate and it looks really silly once one is mounted on.
I’m sure Toyota dealers in non-front-plate jurisdictions will step up and put their own advertising there.
GM figured this out decades ago on the C4 Corvette – styled panel that follows the body lines that you can take out when you need to put a plate there.
Yeah, and forgot all about it with the C6.
This is true, I’d say it’s actually way more common for designers to not think of a good way of mounting a front plate, as opposed to finding a good way to accommodate no-front plate jurisdictions. Part of it could be that Euro plates are longer and skinner and easier to blend into a car’s lines, whereas the North American/Japanese-style ones are chunkier and more visually jarring, and designers don’t take that into account
I consider the PHEV version the new Chevy Volt that GM never gave us back, cant wait for the review of that one. Some PHEV start the engine if you press the gas more than usual, I hope that’s not the case in this one. Great review!
Ok, you guys, SERIOUSLY, cut it out with the bracketed editor notes. I mean, who is supposed to be writing this article? Is it the new person, because I think there may be just as high a word count inside of the brackets as outside. I’ve observed this a few times before, but it’s getting to be a real irritating distraction. Now the entire topic changes and there are pictures to accompany the bracketed text?! Trust the damn writers to write without a bunch of unnecessary interjections, this stinks of micromanagement. If you have something to say about the thing, then use the comments like the rest of us or write your own article.
Yes, I’m a grouch, don’t even get me started about how emailing the sign in link is wholly unnecessary and if you use browser containers, this breaks the whole scheme. Now my email container is full of Autopian content defeating the entire point of containerized browsing.
I mean, I kinda like it.
Then again, I grew up on Terry Pratchett novels.
I love the Discworld novels. The movies (Hogfather, Colour of Magic) never really seemed to do the books justice. The footnotes were a great part of the books.
And Douglas Adams. I always figured they were just following in the tradition of the great publishing houses of Ursa Minor Beta.
I respect your opinion. I’m often a grouch, too.
[Commenter’s Note: Can you actually be a grouch if you don’t live in a trash can? – !TFM]
I like the bracketed comments. It makes me feel like I’m in the Slack discussion with the rest of the team at the Autopian. And, this style matches nicely with David, Jason, and Beau’s vision for the site.
I’ll get off your lawn now.
I agree they’re a little long in this particular article, but the concept to me is similar to what the major car mags did – C&D especially – they’d often have an editor interjection in italics & brackets “–Ed.” in different articles, usually for comedic effect.
Maybe a ‘counterpoint’ section at the end would be a compromise, but a bit fussier in a long scrolling article compared to the print days.
Agreed. I like the short editors notes, especially when they bust each others’ chops, but it was too much in this article.
I like it. It’s like getting two perspectives for the price of one. And yes, you are a grouch.
Keep doing it, folks. Don’t be deterred.
I love the bracketed editor notes in articles!!!
However, Jason inserted two paragraphs and a picture into this one reiterating something he wrote a whole article about a month ago, and I think that may have crossed over a line just a bit. Could be considered to be disrespectful to the actual writer of the article, although I’m sure Emily doesn’t mind.
Thank you for your input! I will say that several months ago (when this site had just hatched) the Autopian crew had a discussion about this subject. We all came to the agreement that author and editor notes are fine, provided that we aren’t actively undermining the original author. Personally, I like ed notes as they usually add context or an additional piece of knowledge that an editor has.
We see them as informative or fun, depending on the subject. For me, I’ll even find my wife and have her give a comment on something that she has actual input on.
I’m not sure that I like this particular editor’s interjection, but I approve of the concept.
Oh, Jason, about that front plate thing. My Corvettes had it too. I had to find something marginally better on the aftermarket. This is an abomination, anathema, bad styling decision for the few states that enforce a front plate law. We should get Andrew on the case to come up with something better.
Oh, don’t tell him the new Prius has hidden rear door handles…
The better option is to mount it lower and off-center using one of the tow hooks
That was one of the aftermarket solutions.
I’d prefer to see dedicated captured nuts in the front fascia instead of use the tow hook. Then just throw the block into the trunk
I have one bad thing about the tow hook mounts for a front plate. My plate fell off somewhere unknown even though I put loctite on all the screws. One day I was walking in front of my car and the plate was gone. It’s been almost two years since it happened and I haven’t gotten a new one because I really don’t want to go to the DMV.
Which works great unless the dealership or previous owner already helpfully mounted the front plate by just screwing it directly into the front bumper cover. My Alltrack not only has two screw holes in the bumper from the license plate, but three more pencil-eraser-sized holes for the license plate bracket. Oh well.
I’ve bought a few cars in Maryland that were drilled like that. The easiest fix is to drill the holes out slightly larger and fill them with a couple plastic hole plugs from the hardware store. They come in either white or black, so if that area of your bumper is already one of those colors, you’re fine, otherwise a few dabs of touch-up paint takes care of it
The few states? How about population?
Percentage of US Population in no-front-plate states: 42
Percentage of US Population in front-plate states: 58
Come on, it’s all about cost.
The alternative is to supply a bracket which fits into the curvature of the front bumper, but it’s cheaper to just mold it into the bumper itself. No doubt this was a fight between the designers and the bean counters, and you can see who won.
If you’re in the majority of states where front plates are required, it’s a non-issue. Those of us in the minority where the lump will be exposed just have to get over it.
Or put some kind of novelty plate there, I guess. That’s probably what I would do.
Emily, you have done a great job with your article. It has all the attributes of the best car reviews. Wit, information presented, questions asked, etc. I completely enjoyed it start to finish, and I’m no big fan of the Prius. This generation might change my mind. I’d have to drive it. Not in the market, though. Had to buy a Honda Odyssey, for my wife’s wheelchair.
Jason. you need to hire this talented woman immediately.
Emily, just one more thing, 6’4”? Even more impressed! Well done!
Coming from someone who was a huge R&T fan back when they had the BEST writing on the planet, this is high praise.
Absolutely! Something that’s been lost in American car journalism is actual writing talent. Those older mags seemed to want great writers who happened to like cars, where modern American car mags/websites (for several decades at least) seem to look for car guys/gals who can also write. Obviously I’m generalizing, but most car reviews today are just someone reading the spec sheet to you – they rarely bring any personality into their articles.
Great work Ms. Velasco!
Thanks, bockscar!
As far as my height goes, I’ll pass your compliments on to my parents, particularly my mom for all the dinners during my growth spurts.