I have finally replaced my 2006 Prius with a 2026 Prius. The speedometer board on my 2006 Prius was failing, a $1100 estimated repair (if they can actually get the parts) which nudged me into doing what I had been planning to do anyway, and no better time than now it seemed.
The 2026 Prius has morphed into something like a sports car. It looks the part thanks to styling which may well be the best I've ever seen on a car (and I collected car models for quite some time). It's a Lamborghini, a Ferrari, and a Porsche all rolled into a gas saving Toyota.
It grips the road way better than before, even in LE trim with the 17 inch wheels. (The 19 inch wheels with 50 series tires are sports car territory.)
Downside there is more road noise and even some road and engine noise at times, something rarely as obvious in the 2006. Ride however is generally smoother and it absorbs big bumps better. (My 2006 shocks were probably shot.)
Biggest Downsides
So far the biggest downside for me is that they took off the climate control adjustments off of the steering wheel. It used to be so wonderful to nudge the target temperature up or down a degree or two. That would also affect fan speed and everything. You could also control the recirc from the steering wheel.
The 2006 Prius automatic climate control system was very sophisticated too, including ambient light into it's calculations. It worked very well, but sometimes needed a slight nudge up or down. The 2026 system might be even better. As much as I'm complaining about the controls, it might not need them as much as before. "74" seems to work just fine so far. When I ride in my friends cars which never seem to have automatic climate control the AC is always doing something wrong and no adjustment fixes it for long. I just don't get how most people don't see how important it is to have automatic climate control with a thermostat just like you have for your house, and that most cars don't actually have this feature. I was looking for it in car brochures in the 1960's, and was jazzed when my first new car--a 1986 Mitsubishi Galant--had it.
It's not as if the steering wheel isn't littered with all sorts of other controls, many of which don't seem to be the kind of thing you would use on a daily basis. It's just that whoever designed this doesn't appreciate the world in the same way I do. When you are driving a car, there are two key things: driving, and the air conditioning. The infotainment stuff can go hang (I haven't used car infotainment much in 15 years because I nowadays prefer to focus all my attention on driving).
