Spirited Aqua - Not For Me!

[Ten Ninety]

I went to see a Gen4 Plug In today with the intention of purchasing. Having seen lots of pictures of 'Spirited Aqua' cars, I'd decided it was my colour of choice... until I actually saw it in the metal.

It's evidently one of those colours that is hard to represent accurately on electronic screens with their limited gamut, because it looked absolutely nothing like the restrained, tasteful greeny-blue depicted in the online brochures or photos I'd seen. I found it to be horribly garish - much, much brighter than was conveyed on screen. One might charitably describe it as 'vibrant' but I wasn't minded to be charitable, given that I was trying to avoid being sick on my shoes whilst flashbacks of turquoise Vauxhall Frontera soft-tops from the 90s appeared in my vision. I will freely admit to being one of the least masculine men ever to have sported a pair, and I would always prefer a bright colour to dull Germanic greyness, but this was way too far in the fake-tanning-salon zone even for me. It also seemed completely at odds with the type of car the Prius is. On the test drive, just seeing that colour in the mirrors and out of the windscreen was enough to disturb the sense of calm these cars normally convey. I am genuinely surprised they sold any in this colour, although the possibility remains that they didn't, given that all the ones I've seen for sale so far seem to have been ex-demo or ex-Toyota-GB!

Ironically, I saw a C-HR in Toronto last week in what I now realise was Spirited Aqua, and sniggered in a supercilious manner about uncouth North American tastes. To be fair, the C-HR also had tiny wheels and a white (!) roof, so to some extent my opinion still has validity but given what I now know about the colour's availability in the UK, perhaps I need to be less judgemental of our Canadian friends.

So, go on then... has anyone on here bought one in that colour? If so, I apologise for casting aspersions on your taste. Colour is, of course, a personal matter and there should be no rights or wrongs about it. But still... sincerely, the very best of luck when you come to sell it on... 😉

 

[Ancient Nerd]

I like the colour! But then, I'm not often accused of good taste.

[Ten Ninety]

I'm also not known for being a paragon of style, but it really is such a 90s throwback shade that it seems completely at odds with such a 'futuristic' car. To be fair, I think my reaction was probably more about the shock of how different it looked out in the sunshine to how it had looked on screen. If I'd seen it in real life first, I might not have found it so off-putting.

Still, the dealer's reduced the price by another £1000 since I saw the car, and it's been on their forecourt for a while now. If they keep going, it won't be long before they reach the derisory offer I made them. At which point, being a cheap tart with very few principles, I might actually be tempted. I could always get it wrapped!

[Catlover]

I seen one I that colour in real life, and only for a short period of time (not travelling in same direction). I like the colour from what I seen plus brochures/adverts. Still like more my Hypersonic Red though.

[Ten Ninety]

Hypersonic red is a great colour - it's classy without being boring and sets off the shape of the car really well. However... I just don't like red! Which leaves two whites or a grey from the stunningly limited Plug-In palette. 

To be honest, I don't know why I'm so bothered about the colour. I really shouldn't be, given that half the year I only ever see the car in the dark. And whatever colour it starts out as will soon become matte beige as I'll be too lazy to wash it and too tight to pay someone else to wash it for me.

[Catlover]

Sounds like a good colour for you would be the light silver - that hides road dirt very well - perhaps you only need to wash the car once every 12 months. 😀

Pearlescent white is good. My 3 colours were the Red, Silver and Pearlescent white. Had silver cars for a long time now so a change was on the cards and the Red came up for sale first.

[Ten Ninety]

Tyrol silver is indeed an excellent colour - my wife's Auris is in that shade and never really looks dirty. That really does only get washed once a year when it goes in for a service! 

It looks great on the standard Gen4 but sadly, for reasons known only to Toyota, it's not a colour option for the Plug-In.

[YarisHybrid2016]

The only PiP I ever saw "in the wild" was Spirited Aqua and caught my eye. I then realized it was a Prius, and instantly liked it.

The second demo PiP I tested had Pearlescent White (the first was metallic Red), the same as my current car, and while I like the Spirited Aqua, I'm very likely to go Pearlescent White!

[altocumulus]

We had a choice, Red or Aqua - and we chose the Aqua! Great colour.... 😄

[Ten Ninety]

10 hours ago, altocumulus said:

We had a choice, Red or Aqua - and we chose the Aqua! Great colour.... 😄

I actually saw the Aqua paint sample in a Toyota showroom after seeing the real car, and in the artificial light it looked exactly like I'd expected it to: a pleasant, tasteful bluey-green. It's what happens when the sun shines on it that I have a problem with! Maybe in your part of the world that's less of a problem. 😄

I've found Hypersonic Red to be the opposite - it's a pretty dull and boring dark red on a cloudy day, but when the sun's out it turns into a rather appealing multi-hued Candy Apple pearl. At least, when it's not covered in grime, anyway.

[altocumulus]

Daft reason to chose a car, I know - but the aqua helps remind us of the colour of the sea on Harris 😄

 

Besides, we've had two red prius and thought a change in order - though as you say the red is a more vibrant candy hue.

[Ten Ninety]

That's not a daft reason - that's a wonderful reason! 🙂