At least this one looks better than the last-gen Prius. Probably still has the same handling and acceleration characteristics of a dead llama, though.
Rather than this hybrid nonsense, I would love to see some of the fun little city cars (like the Aygo) arrive over here in the US. Better mileage, yet still peppy and fun to drive.
Smart $0.583
Ion $0.621
Focus $0.621
Cavalier $0.655
Xb $0.683
Aveo $0.693
xA $0.713
Corolla $0.748
Fit $0.799
Yaris $0.916
Crown Victoria $1.134
Le Sabre $1.462
Lucerne $1.589
Park Avenue $1.924
Sprinter van $2.173
Prius $2.191
Why do the electric/hybrid cars need to look so bad? If you are going to make the effort to design a new body, and not just slap an electric engine into an existing car like GM does, why not spend a few extra bucks to make it look good?
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. The Honda Insight has been superior technically, and was released earlier, but it has nothing like the mindshare of the Prius. We're hard pressed to account for this with anything other than branding and design.
Aerodynamics? The buyers are supposed to care about mileage more than how it looks. Also it has a distinct look, I suppose Prius buyers like to be recognized as someone who cares about the environment.
a strong reason for selecting a hybrid is the distinctive "styling" or styling ques it projects or has. Insight buyers and Prius owners list this as a highly critical reason for making the particular selection. This also a likely reason the Ford Escape and Honda hybrids seem to be languishing. It simply can't be identified easily as a hybrid and for the premium paid it lacks instant recognition.
If that sounds somewhat cynical, consider the following graph. Among the choices given to hybrid owners was "Makes a statement about me." Fully a third of owners give this as their first or second reason for making a hybrid acquisition. And without the styling cues, the statement is less than clear at first glance.
Why does everyone keep saying that it is about image? I want to buy a prius because they get 50 mpg (at least), not because I'm in the business of doing whatever pleases you.
Here in Cambridge, MA, I think there are an awful lot of people who want YOU to know that THEY are driving a hybrid. IMO, the Prius hybrid didn't bury the Civic hybrid because it was better (it is for city, not for highway), but rather because the Civic hyrid looks like a normal Civic, which doesn't allow for an ostentatious display of smugness. http://torontoist.com/2007/08/green_plate_par.php
Same story here (Seattle). The Prius is to the urban liberal the same thing the SUV is to the suburban conservative -- a premium-priced vehicle projecting an image.
Most of the time the suburban conservative would be fine in a Civic, and most of the time the urban liberal would be fine on the bus. But in either case it would be a slight trade of practicality and a large trade of social status -- not going to happen.
If you care only about total cost of ownership and/or ecology, my intuition is you'd be better off buyng any small second hand car. The milage would be worse, but the up front cost would be much smaller. Also you'd be extending the lifetime of an object that has a big environmental cost to produce. The carbon footprint would be worse, but at least there will be no extra toxic batteries to dispose of.
Rather than this hybrid nonsense, I would love to see some of the fun little city cars (like the Aygo) arrive over here in the US. Better mileage, yet still peppy and fun to drive.