Hi all,

I have received delivery of my silver t-spirit with LED pack and protection pack. Why I think the car is fundamentally brilliant, why do Toyota insist on spoiling things for the sake of pennies. My gripes are no padding in the armrests, no electric folding mirrors and cheap cup holders in rear armrest. After all it is suppose to be the top of the range and I have not even mentioned the adaptive cruise control that is on the avensis but apparently not considered for the prius. I think Toyota are really screwing us as we pay top dollar for our cars and yet we do not get the extras that Europe or America get. Rant over


Stompe



ps I have been brand loyal to Toyota for 35 years

I have to agree a little more padding wouldn't have gone amiss.

The adaptive cruise is available in the US on their top model. But I know in the UK they worked very hard to keep the price the same as the old model. In a way this back fired a little once they saw the demand for items like the LED lights - hence the LED pack.

I think what Toyota in the UK was not counting on so much was that some customers trade down to a Prius and would happily pay more for these sort of options and comforts. But the LED lights and adaptive cruise are the 2 items I miss from the model V with Advance Technology pack available in the US.

The excuse that adaptive cruise is not suitable for the UK is just laughable - the opposite is true! And if that is so why offer it on the Avensis and Lexus models?

Considering we pay a lot more than the Americans, we should have these options anyway. If you look on the option list for the American Prius, they have a lot more choice than we do. Why not have a menu system where we can pick and choose the accessories we want?

Stompe

It's about ordering the cars from the factory and the fact that most people dont want to wait 3 months for their car to be built to their exact specification. Remember that the Prius is only currently built in Japan and just getting it here can take around 6 weeks.

I think another part is keeping the car sufficiently different to Lexus models. To be honest we need a hybrid IS sized car, which I'm sure will come.

Armrests ........ what armrests?

In the gen2 model the door armrest sloped upwards towards the elbow and I found it very comfortable to rest my elbow. However for some strange reason in the gen3 they now slope downwards away from the elbow which makes it impossible for me to rest my arm. Even when in the passenger seat I still find it difficult to use the armrest.

Rear cup holders. .......

Why did they move them from the back of the front centre armrest where they were reachable from the front and rear seats? Although it doesn't apply to me, I would imagine that young kids in the back would be more likley to spill drinks with the cup holders in their new position. And of course if you have three kids in the back, then they don't have access to the cup holders at all!

Air con controls ......

How I wish these were back on the steering wheel switches. I once pressed the Park button instead of the a/c auto button and reaching across for the front and rear screen demisters is a pain. Considering they have introduced various features to avoid drivers taking their eyes off the road, I feel its a backward step for the a/c controls.

Petrol filler cap......

What about that nasty bit of non flexible plastic that secures the filler cap? Mine has already become all tangled up and I guess its just a matter of time before it snaps.


Don't get me wrong, I love my new Prius just as much as the old one, but one tends to think that a newer model will be as good or better than its predecessor, but some things seem to have taken a backward step with the new Prius.

Having just switched from a Volvo V50 SE (company car, so moving the the Prius is saving a fortune in tax and fuel!) I agree with the comments about penny-pinching items. Bearing in mind that Toyota have a huge potential market for people like me switching to a more economical car, but not wanting to lose out on life's little luxuries, some small items to consider are:

External temperature frost warning - OK so the aircon tells me the outside temperature, but the reading is way out of sight at the bottom of the console (so much for having head-up display to keep your eyes on the road!) and it does not alert if there is the risk of frost.

Automatic dimming rear-view mirror

Dual-zone aircon (despite what the brochure says..... perhaps they need reporting to the ASA / Trading standards!)

Show-me-home headlights (i.e. flick the light switch when leaving the car & the headlights come on for a minute to illuminate your way to the front door)

Automatic headlights on (OK so it is available with the LED pack, but how about as a standard feature?)

That said, I'm having a really good time with the Prius - great car and living up to expectations.

what we miss from our last car, which cost almost the same as our 4 week old Spirit.


Electric folding mirrors, auto locking of the doors as the car moved forward, and a speed limiter, which could be set at any speed, so in a 30mph zone, tap in 30 and that was it.

The US gets auto locking doors - Euro models don't.

The rear cup holders changed because the front ones changed.

Its all a fine balancing act for Toyota. We need to remember that the battery and other hybrid parts add in alot of extra "base" costs. Clearly the interior is upholstered to the standards of a cheaper car.

I love mine tho - its superb at working it way thru London streets.

A lot of comments here from T Spirit owners - here's my perspective from the other end: I've traded up from a Renault Megane (53) to a T3...

First of all I'm very happy with the car - coming in at the bottom of the range I probably don't have such high expectations. I can understand how some details become more important for top-of-the range owners who are comparing with more upmarket cars, and no-one likes to see a backwards step from an older model. But for me when it comes to the Gen 2-3 comparison, none of the gripes come close to outweighing the improved performance, driving feel, space and above all economy of the Gen 3.

Key features missed by me & already mentioned:
Outside temperature reading should be up on the main instrument display & as we approach winter a frost warning would have been appreciated - agree with DaveR.
The various option buttons in the centre console look smart but require looking down - agree wholeheartedly with SilverT4 on that one.
I haven't filled up with petrol yet but it sounds like the Megane had a better design: it didn't have a door release lever or a filler cap, just a sprung metal flap that sealed shut on its own (the outer flap locked when the vehicle was locked). However, I notice the Prius has a little arrow on the fuel gauge icon to show which side the flap is - a nice touch since we're going so long between fill-ups we might forget .
The Megane had auto headlights and auto windscreen wipers as standard and I think the dimmable rear view mirror was standard too. Of those I think the auto headlights were the most useful, but for me front fogs as standard on the Prius trumps all three.

A couple of observations of my own:
The Megane had an engine temp display and showed the oil level when starting off - but maybe Toyotas are so good you never need to worry about that ?
I like to adjust the mirrors help reverse park and can't easily find the control at night as it's not illuminated.
The front windows don't clear condensation/rain when opened & closed.
Although the cabin storage seems a bit more limited the Prius has more cabin space overall, especially in the back, and is only marginally longer (and a little narrower) than the Megane.

A more obvious one to finish with: I expect to carry bikes on the car at some point - the Megane had mounting points on the roof for securing a roof rack, rather than clamping onto the sides, and of course Toyota discourage a rear-mounted carrier/tow bar/lighting board.

Just thought this might be of interest and reiterates my point, probably best you do not look at the base prices as it might make you a bit green!

http://www.toyota.com/prius-hybrid/options.html

Stompe

Hi,
I have also recently bought a Gen 3 T3 Prius (changed from a Carina E). I also can't understand why the window seals don't clear the windows (front or back) when lowered then raised. Is this design fault common to all Gen 3 Priuses? I had a closer look this morning at the drivers door window from the outside. It appears as if the window winder mechanism moves the glass in slightly whilst it is moving, so that there is an air-gap between the glass and the outer rubber strip. When the motor is stopped the window moves back out slightly and regains contact with the rubber. Very strange.

The next minor gripe I have is the spoiler, it is not firmly attached to the hatch and can rattle, again I think this is design fault.

Great car but not perfect.

Regards,
John

I am quite tall and find that the centre console lighting is reflected onto the windscreen :-( ruining my vision at night. Also when it is raining the sweep of the l/h wiper finishes right in front of my eyeline leaving a blurred streak for me to look forward through :-(

The only thing that bothers me, and i'm tall too, is the night time reflection in the screen. I dont use the HID as i find it distracting for the same reason. I turn the instrument intensity down as much as possible. I have noticed the wiper sweep issue being discussed, but i have to say it doesnt worry me.

Its not a perfect car, but its really good, and i bet there are faults on Bentleys and Aston Martins. But i agree Toyota still have a few minor things to work on.

Sorry... i meant HUD of course

It's not just you. I have the same problem with mine. I guess you can't have it all.