2016 Toyota Prius- Now even uglier then before!
- Thread starter RocZX
- 308 comments
- 24,358 views
- 27,162
- United Kingdom
Fiat Multipla?
Shock value. The Aztek and Multipla both had it at launch, but neither truly looks hideous today - like becoming accustomed to a bad smell, a dilapidated building or an off-colour joke, they're only really shocking for as long as they're still new and fresh.
I don't know about anyone else here, but I barely notice when a Multipla passes these days (substitute Multipla for Aztek if you're in the States) - it's just another bit of road furniture.
That said, I have a fairly high tolerance for being repulsed by cars anyway, since I tend to see aesthetic value in engineering or actual "design" (rather than "styling", which many people mistakenly see as one and the same). A Multipla isn't pretty, but I can certainly appreciate the huge glasshouse, which results in fantastic visibilty, and the proportions, which allow the three by three seating.
I've not been around enough Azteks to appreciate any qualities they may have, but I assume they're at least practical. And the Juke - which I genuinely like the look of in the first place - has great proportions below the unusual styling, and it's much more compact in the metal than it looks in pictures, so sits well on the road. Also, they're good fun to drive, which is another dimension.
It remains to be seen whether the Prius can redeem itself through its engineering. If it turns out to be a huge step above the last model for economy, thanks to clever aerodynamics, then it'll be easier to stomach. And of course, once people get over the "holy crap, look at that" thing and there are thousands on the road, it'll just become another car fading into the background.
- 27,162
- United Kingdom
Two months isn't much time. Two months into a relationship and people still crawl over broken glass to sleep with each other. The same may not be true after six. Or a year. Or more.
Not that I'm saying the new Prius doesn't look awful, but that it seems more awful because it's only just broken cover, relatively speaking.
If you're still repulsed by them after they're everywhere, five years down the line or so, then it'd suggest more is wrong with the inner workings of your mind than there is with the car.
People have an amazing capacity to get used to things, even wholly unusual things (it's surprisingly easy to become desensitised to violence, for instance - something that's not a natural, everyday sight for most people). I'm always a little suspicious of people who still claim to be repulsed by Multiplas or Jukes or Azteks given how normal and everyday they all are now. It's quite unnatural behaviour.
Or at the least, it's just one of those internet things that people now do to fit in. "Hey, you find the Aztek ugly? Yeah, it's totes ugly. We have something in common! Everyone who doesn't find it ugly is weird and different and we should argue with them!"
Not that I'm saying the new Prius doesn't look awful, but that it seems more awful because it's only just broken cover, relatively speaking.
If you're still repulsed by them after they're everywhere, five years down the line or so, then it'd suggest more is wrong with the inner workings of your mind than there is with the car.
People have an amazing capacity to get used to things, even wholly unusual things (it's surprisingly easy to become desensitised to violence, for instance - something that's not a natural, everyday sight for most people). I'm always a little suspicious of people who still claim to be repulsed by Multiplas or Jukes or Azteks given how normal and everyday they all are now. It's quite unnatural behaviour.
Or at the least, it's just one of those internet things that people now do to fit in. "Hey, you find the Aztek ugly? Yeah, it's totes ugly. We have something in common! Everyone who doesn't find it ugly is weird and different and we should argue with them!"
- 4,761
- Houston, TX
I don't even find the Aztek that ugly anymore; there are worse designs currently. Like the new Maxima or the i3.
Some cars are just ugly. Edsels are still ugly, as are most 80s sedans. I still don't think the Juke is very good looking years after its debut. Some cars do grow on me though, like the gen3 Prius did. We will see about this one.
Some cars are just ugly. Edsels are still ugly, as are most 80s sedans. I still don't think the Juke is very good looking years after its debut. Some cars do grow on me though, like the gen3 Prius did. We will see about this one.
- 40,419
It's hard to say the Aztek looks too terrible nowadays when so many of the goofy design cues it featured were adopted wholesale in the crossover segment it failed to corner; and there have been so many fundamentally ugly crossovers since it was mercy killed. I can't with any conscience say that the Aztek stands out so much more (at least the models that had all of the plastic crap pulled off of them) than, say, the Crosstour, even though Honda clearly tried to cover the ungainly proportions of that with deliberately conservative detailing; and the Cherokee has some impressive styling cues that doesn't show up in photos but much worse proportions than it originally seems (basically the opposite of what homeforsummer said about the Juke).
The Edsel was the same way, I'd even argue. It was a humongous public failure and its looks certainly didn't help, but it wasn't even the ugliest car that Ford debuted in 1958. Other than the horsecollar it was basically anonymous for its time period. Compare that to insane crap Virgil Exner was throwing out at Chrysler just a couple years later, and it's not even close.
The Edsel was the same way, I'd even argue. It was a humongous public failure and its looks certainly didn't help, but it wasn't even the ugliest car that Ford debuted in 1958. Other than the horsecollar it was basically anonymous for its time period. Compare that to insane crap Virgil Exner was throwing out at Chrysler just a couple years later, and it's not even close.
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- 20,681
- TenEightyOne
- TenEightyOne
- 5,065
- Fort Worth
- That_sneaky_azN
Give it 10 so years. No one ends up caring about how these cars will look at that point, I'd say.
- 9,053
- Murica
- BasedAckbar
Meh, it's gonna sell to grandma and grandpa. Prius owners tend to be loyal, or shall I say not bothered in researching and comparing other cars in the price range and class.
Ugly, yes, but at least it stands out more now. Perhaps that's a trait in itself.
Ugly, yes, but at least it stands out more now. Perhaps that's a trait in itself.
- 798
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Brown352
I thought the Mirai was was only going to be 21. My things have changed..lol
- 3,461
- Melbourne
Actually prefer this 2016 Prius to any prior one. And like others have said, Fiat Multipla, check and mate.
- 21,286
- GR-MI-USA
- YSSMAN
- YSSMAN
Or just like everything else, Jalopnik will throw up some rose-tinted retrospective how how forward-thinking it was, and how dumb we all were for not getting it at the time.
- 927
- Somewhere in the Northeast
- AllFizzledOut
- TakeALLTheNames
Toyota's design inspiration:
Quite literally. Every Hybrid has an inspiration of a fish or a shrimp.Toyota's design inspiration:
Mercedes, for example.
- 27,162
- United Kingdom
I think the Juke looks great too. Someone had better tell my employer...
- 119
- Canada
- Stoop_Solo
Lincoln MKT. Looks as if it runs by sifting huge volumes of plankton out of the air.
Lamborghini Veneno. Uglier than a vomit and scrotum sandwich.
Fiat 500 L. I absolutely loved the new Fiat 500 when I saw it. Brilliant looking, fun to drive car with bags of character. Then one day this monstrosity shambled past me. Despite my stoical appearance, I wept internally.
I'm sure there are many more, but these will do for now. I can't say I'm a fan of Toyota's new styling; I don't know what's going on with the new Yaris. The new Prius almost looks great, but then you get below badge height and do a spit-take. If you don't have a drink on-hand, you are compelled to go get one, just so you can do a spit-take.
Despite this, IMHO it is far from the most offensive car to have ever reflected photons onto my retinas.
- 5,065
- Fort Worth
- That_sneaky_azN
Alright, I understand the 500L and the MKT, but...
Lincoln MKT. Looks as if it runs by sifting huge volumes of plankton out of the air.
Lamborghini Veneno. Uglier than a vomit and scrotum sandwich.
Fiat 500 L. I absolutely loved the new Fiat 500 when I saw it. Brilliant looking, fun to drive car with bags of character. Then one day this monstrosity shambled past me. Despite my stoical appearance, I wept internally.
I'm sure there are many more, but these will do for now. I can't say I'm a fan of Toyota's new styling; I don't know what's going on with the new Yaris. The new Prius almost looks great, but then you get below badge height and do a spit-take. If you don't have a drink on-hand, you are compelled to go get one, just so you can do a spit-take.
Despite this, IMHO it is far from the most offensive car to have ever reflected photons onto my retinas.
The Lamborghini? You're probably gonna get some looks from people.
- 119
- Canada
- Stoop_Solo
Let 'em look!
I know Lamborghini are all about outrageous styling and I can kinda dig that. However, the Veneno looks like someone accidentally trod on a cheap chinese knock-off batmobile toy.
- 5,204
- Finland
I disagree. It's dull but not exactly ugly.
Lincoln MKT. Looks as if it runs by sifting huge volumes of plankton out of the air.
The Juke, as strange as it is that it always comes up in these sorts of discussions, is not bad looking thing as a base, but the detailing of the front end seems to be done by three different designers all of which separated from each other without an idea of what the rest of the car will look like, and the finished product just got all of those fronts slapped over each other.
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- 5,065
- Fort Worth
- That_sneaky_azN
The Juke was an example of odd done right in my opinion.
- 5,303
- Riverside, Ca
- GTP_Leonidae_MFT
And I thought that Mirai was hideous.. But this takes the cake..
- 166
- NEW JERSEY
- SlowFWD84
can you say mini mustang clone.anyway i kinda like the new designYay. Now I have more reasons to hate on the Prius.
I actually think that's almost as bad as the Prius. Almost.
Don't kill me.
Of course, Toyota made some great looking vehicles
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Though nothing they make now looks good IMO, although most other car companies have the same problem.
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