First Picture . . . . .

[Sagitar]

. . . . . in the rain unfortunately, of my shiny new Prius.

I am trying hard to read and understand the handbook, but must admit to a degree of confusion currently . . . . . . .

[chatman]

. . . . . in the rain unfortunately, of my shiny new Prius.

I am trying hard to read and understand the handbook, but must admit to a degree of confusion currently . . . . . . .

Very nice..... Only seen one 59 plate car so far and that was a french one...

[Fujisan]

. . . . . in the rain unfortunately, of my shiny new Prius.

Very Nice Sagitar..in fact just like mine!

Also blowing a gale here as well as raining :( , so pictures will have to wait

[Chris Dance]

You guys stop making me envious I am not getting the new Prius Gen 3 yet as my immaculate T Spirit Gen 2 has only 9000 miles on the clock and is only just due its second MOT.

Kiddiing apart. Sagitar it looks great. Happy motoring.

Chris.

[Phoenix999]

That is a nice looking car.... white does seem to suit the new shape nicely

[timberwolf]

Mmmm, in that light the white reminds me of a Star War's Imperial Storm Trooper. :)

[phil4]

. . . . . in the rain unfortunately, of my shiny new Prius.

Does look very good. Guessing you went for front parking sensors?

[Habu]

. . . . . in the rain unfortunately, of my shiny new Prius.

Does look very good. Guessing you went for front parking sensors?

Don't think Toyota offer front sensors for the TS due to the ultrasonics for the IPA in the front bumper? Would these be aftermarket jobbies? Pearl white is deffo awesome colour on the Gen 3. It'll be my preferred choice when I change.

[Sagitar]

Thanks for all the interest.

The colour is White Pearl. It has the optional Protection pack, which includes four rear parking sensors. It also has the Toyota Parking Aid, front 4-sensor system which is offered as an accessory (page 38 of the New Prius brochure published in July 2009).

All eight sensors are showing black at the moment, because the dealer did a very short-time delivery deal to suit my needs and there wasn't time to do the necessary painting. The car will be going back late in September to have the sensors colour matched to the body.

I think the car looks pretty good apart from the large chrome-on-plastics area in the rear-light cluster, which is far too "blingy" for my liking.

I have little experience yet of driving the car, but I am impressed at the ease with which I was able to connect my mobile and transfer my contact data. I like the sound system and the simplicity of the arrangement to record to hard disc from CD is great. The sat-nav is virtually identical to the one in my last car, so it's OK, but not the greatest. It's disappointing that it is taking Toyota so long to give us a hard-drive based system with full post code entry, the facility to add POI (i.e. speed cameras) and USB updating.

Still wading through the manuals . . . . :(

[ormi]

have you popped the bonnet and taken a wee peek??did you notice its a beltless enginge??no not talking about the timing belt(its chain driven)no water pump belt,no powersteering belt no a/c belt and no alternator belt. just thought i'd share a bit of pointless info.

[Sagitar]

have you popped the bonnet and taken a wee peek??did you notice its a beltless enginge??no not talking about the timing belt(its chain driven)no water pump belt,no powersteering belt no a/c belt and no alternator belt. just thought i'd share a bit of pointless info.

Yes thanks - I had noticed the "beltless" claim in the marketing hype and an under-the-bonnet look at the location of the dipstick etc is always an early part of finding my way around a new car. I'm brought up on a weekly look at fluid levels and tyre pressures. I was surprised that they have made the 12v Battery so inaccessible, especially when all the other fluid levels are so easy to see - but I guess they don't intend that the driver should check the Battery anyway?

[ormi]

have you popped the bonnet and taken a wee peek??did you notice its a beltless enginge??no not talking about the timing belt(its chain driven)no water pump belt,no powersteering belt no a/c belt and no alternator belt. just thought i'd share a bit of pointless info.

Yes thanks - I had noticed the "beltless" claim in the marketing hype and an under-the-bonnet look at the location of the dipstick etc is always an early part of finding my way around a new car. I'm brought up on a weekly look at fluid levels and tyre pressures. I was surprised that they have made the 12v Battery so inaccessible, especially when all the other fluid levels are so easy to see - but I guess they don't intend that the driver should check the Battery anyway?

no they don't really want drivers/owners peeping/touching the electrical parts these cars can and will kill(650volts) its happened more than a few times.(every so often we have the fire services at the work to show and explain how to make the car safe and what not to touch) if the Battery ever goes flat you can jump it using the jump posts under the bonnet.

[Sagitar]

no they don't really want drivers/owners peeping/touching the electrical parts these cars can and will kill(650volts) its happened more than a few times.(every so often we have the fire services at the work to show and explain how to make the car safe and what not to touch) if the battery ever goes flat you can jump it using the jump posts under the bonnet.

I understand what you are saying about high voltages, but I don't see what it has to do with the 12v Battery. The handbook has five pages of information on Do-it-yourself maintenance for the 12 volt Battery, but it does not mention checking the electrolyte level.

If you remove the three layers of covers necessary to see the 12 volt Battery there is no high voltage connection or component anywhere near the 12 volt battery. On the other hand, there are high voltage connections clearly visible as soon as you lift the bonnet.

I suspect that the reason why the battery is in the "boot" is that there simply isn't room for it in the very tightly packed engine compartment?

I also suspect that the instruction to "have a service technician inspect the level and specific gravity of the 12 volt battery electrolyte" is just part of the general dumbing down process that recognises that many drivers have almost no knowledge of how their vehicle works. I know that modern "sealed" batteries need topping up less often than used to be the case, but it bothers me a bit that the electrolyte level will get looked at only once a year.