Prius-style curvy roofs and split rear windows are getting more common now, at least here in Europe. In a couple of years the Prius will be looking quite boringly conventional. Here are a couple of cars the Americans here may not have seen that share a few Prius characteristics. First, the Audi A2; this has been around a year or two, and to my eyes looks a bit like a baby Prius: And now, being unveiled at the Paris Motor Show, we have the Citroen C4. Its 3-door form has an even more extreme rear window, while the 5-door just has the curvy roof. [Broken External Image]:http://www.topgear.com/content/fun_stuff/gallery/A7/XX/gallery/images/image01.jpg[Broken External Image]:http://www.topgear.com/content/fun_stuff/gallery/A7/XX/gallery/images/image02.jpg [Broken External Image]:http://www.topgear.com/content/fun_stuff/gallery/A7/XX/gallery/images/image03.jpg[Broken External Image]:http://www.topgear.com/content/fun_stuff/gallery/A7/XX/gallery/images/image04.jpg It also has some gizmos like Bluetooth available (like the new Ford Focus), but of course it's still just a conventional drivetrain. Hope you found this interesting...
Very interesting -- it is starting to look like the prius was only a year or two ahead, style-wise. Actually, I like the Citroen 5-door wagon-like hatch (though I'm quite taken with the Prius hatch door.)
I think that as fuel efficiency become a primary driving force behind body design, it will become unavoidable that there will be a convergence in appearance. There are only so many ways to minimize the Coefficient of Drag and still fit a number of humans sitting upright into a car body.
