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2016 Toyota Prius First Drive Better and this is the spot

2016 Toyota Prius First Drive - Better, and this is the spot -

2016 Toyota Prius

1.8-liter DOHC 4-cylinder VVT-i Atkinson cycle style (95 hp @ 50 rpm, 105 pounds -Feet @ 3,0 rpm) permanent magnet synchronous motor (71 hp / 53 kW and 0 pounds-feet) net the hybrid system of 121 hp electronically controlled Transmission continuously variable 54 city / 50 highway / 52 combined (EPA Rating, MPG) base price: $ 25,035 * As Tested :. $ 30,835 Prius Four Touring, $ 25,535 Prius Two Eco * * Prices include $ 835 destination charge

overnight, the Toyota Prius has become a victim of its own success. A marginal player frugal automobile frumpy was suddenly a Hollywood starlet and a conservative America villain, while at the same time.

Toyota has received the message, but ignored all criticism. It does not matter that the seats were almost uncomfortable, the dashboard was the color of tofurkey not roasted (which I love, by the way) or the Prius looked like an egg space o n low rolling resistance tires. An automotive icon needs less attention than a car, apparently.

The latest Prius came in 09, which was timed worse than a teen pregnancy. The world was watching the cheap gas and salivating for expensive trucks with equal amounts of hot money through his pockets. The Prius has kept pace with the eco, budget buyers, but could not support the meteoric rise of the car of the previous generation. Monitoring is the worst

But like any college coach will tell you, this is not the job after the legend leaves -. It is the job after job after the legend leaves. So here we are in 2016 with Toyota Prius. Expectations may be lower, but thats only because the world is a different place (for now). The time has come for a new Prius.

Its exterior is completely different (it still looks like an egg of space), but that is only half the story. Inside, the Prius is completely new and is the best start to a car th at was once ahead of its time, but now behind the ball in the eye of ecological buyers.

Exterior
If the latest generation Prius was guilty for not trying at all, while the new, fourth generation of Prius can be guilty of trying too hard.

while 2016 Toyota Prius retains all the propo rtions that will keep a bearing, instantly recognizable billboard for the family of eco-minded in all states, it also looks like the edgy cousin of the coast. His nose sharper, smoother hips and glutes tidiers the good news. The black-out C-pillar, bent sheet metal and oh my God, these taillights.

The old Prius was respectable. The new Prius feels like the leather jacket with lost years of "Saved by the Bell".

[ If Belding were still there, he had to buy it to show AC Slater how cool it really is. -Mark ]

Apart from optics, the new Prius is fully 2 inches longer, 0.6 inches wider and 0.6 inches lower than the outgoing Prius despite the same wheelbase . None of these measures are impressive on their own, but the difference is tangible. I know that half an inch is a haircut, but the 2016 Prius looks remarkably lower with the new, angular nose. Two inches longer and wider half inch is usually what happens to me after Thanksgiving dinner, but the new sports Prius almost 4 cubes in the cargo area during the last generation.

Built on the new Toyota New Global Architecture, the new Prius looks promising models aside such as Scion C-HR, from which it shares a platform. It is promising because we know that the sheet is flexible in a car - perhaps in the same generation? Maybe there is hope in the global consolidation after all.

Interior
The new Prius could not bear to see any of the interior of the previous generation. Not yet. From the central display of obsolete dashboard to the steering wheel in the form of Dr. Doom mask, Prius needed a new interior yesterday

Fortunately, in 2016 Prius picks up and goes beyond the appeal - a little .. But unfortunately

first, the driver and passenger seats are not worth more box seats. With more support and give a little more, the two front chairs are most uncomfortable benches sendups I spent Sunday growing up. At the rear, the low weight and small plush but slightly comfortable, 60/40-split folding seats are better suited for long drives than previous generations.

Similarly, the panel in the 2016 Prius seems to be something in place by designers instead of engineers too tired. The new multi-color information, is 4.2 inches bright and info rmative and emphasis wing extending from the middle of each side of the passenger and the driver is a nice touch. Hell, even the air vents look good.

The use of plastic high gloss ... seems unhappy. On the steering wheel, I could see how the upper trims of the Prius could use some visual separation, but around the console and storage center, the glossy white plastic seemed he was dull and scratch 20 minutes after the car was driven out of the lot. I have to break the Black Sea in car interiors, but I prefer not to see a brighter white shock of hair that Billy Idol. A miss set.

Infotainment
The Toyota Entune system is rock solid and dependable, just like taxes. It is interesting to note (repeatedly) that still need two buttons to display a map, but there are worse things in life.

In the highest finish, Toyota will stick in its premium audio system JBL 10-speaker in thin doors of the Prius, but the system seems he actually better than a similar system i n the new RAV4 - or even the Mark Levinson system in the Lexus ES 350. Ill take the Pepsi challenge with David Bowie every day in every three cars

better spirits supported the Prius does not lead with its Entune system - rather. follows closely with a reproducible system that lacks the flash and flair, but added instead repeatable, consistent performance. I will not argue with that.

Powertrain
There are very few surprises left in the combo gasoline-battery stuffed in every Prius. The four 1.8-liter Atkinson-cycle style remains, although the power is slightly lower than last year. The internal combustion engine produces 95 horsepower this time - down from 98 last year - and 40 percent more efficient heat, according to the automaker

Toyota has abandoned the nickel hydride battery metal overall, but its base. model of the new Prius in packages for lithium-ion that are smaller and take up less cargo space in the trunk. There is still a bit of a "plateau" awkward in the cargo area, however.

(Nickel-metal packages were still included for the development of markets that can help dispose of these units as the lithium-ion batteries, Toyota said. Or that the nickel-metal batteries are still preferred for taxi and fleet buyers that Toyota celebrates no t built for cars. you choose what you want to believe.)

the electric motor is slightly smaller this year than last year. A 71 hp 53 kW motor replaces the old 80 hp, 60 kW unit, which is effectively negligible as the butt dyno. Toyota admits Prius in 2016 was slightly down on power, 121 hp combined against 134 combined horsepower, but said that the difference is smaller due to a new calculation method could combined hybrid.

Can we apply the "new math" in the old car to understand the real difference? Unpossible, say the engineers. Of course, whatever you say.

The new Prius is still front wheel drive, although the drive wheel drive variants all exist abroad. If Boulder, Colorado and Ann Arbor, Michigan buyers shout loud enough, I could see a "Prius X" coming our way soon

The title is the new Prius manages 54 mpg in the city -. 58 mpg Prius Two Eco pad that removes the spare wheel for weight savings. This is short of the mark of 60 mpg that many thou ght it would achieve, but more than any other car without cord. Even more remarkable than the number: The feat of eking repeatable over 50 mpg = do not feel like holding your breath more. It is actually at home in 2016 Prius

player
I will say to a priest without breaking a sweat. Driving 2 016 Prius is not exactly boring.

With a center of gravity more than two inches lower than the outgoing car and a new rear suspension, the Prius feels more like a top-heavy egg roll. . It is far from being planted or compound, but the 2016 Prius is something , which is an improvement for this eco pod

My reading notes:

Better braking and a bit more planted in 2015. W / O shit nanny state, the Prius on the tires without handle is actually fun. No kidding.

Our drive took us to an empty track in Irvine, California, for hoonage light and a lot of grinding.

Around town, the Prius is decidedly sharper and more fun than the lazy liftback it replaces. There is no sport, I do not care where the badges are (ask me later), but the Prius is a case that the dimensions - no power supply -. And double wishbone rear can make all the difference sometimes

(I also noted that his heavy understeer felt relatively un changed from 2015 to 2016, but I drink a lot of coffee too.)

apart from the handling characteristics that very few new Prius buyers were already noticed in 2016 Prius comes with security features that make sense in a car desperately need bleeding-edge technology.

features such as adaptive cruise, monitor the blind spot, the lane departure warning and emergency braking are common, which adds 2016 Prius pedestrian detection and avoidance and intelligent parking assist features. These features are not 2016 Prius the best, but it is much better

This means that Toyota got the memo :. 2016 Prius has to be a better car, not a better Prius. Toyota delivered