Ipa - What Would You Rather Have?

[OvertheHill]

Rather than waste the money on IPA, I wish Toyota had made it an option and spent the money differently. Things I'd rather have than IPA, in no particular order

• auto headlights
  
• auto dimming mirror
  
• better plastic on the dash
  
• proper ipod adaptor
  
• folding mirrors
  
• parking sensors
  

What do you think?

[Seamaster73]

All of the above. Most of them I've taken them for granted on nearly every car I've had for years.

As a prospective purchaser, I do find Toyota's "take it or leave it" approach to optional extras (or the lack thereof) frustrating. There are several options available on the T-Spirit I'd like to spec on a T4, but I don't want to waste £1.5K being forced into taking that gimmicky auto-parking malarkey and a nav system that is shamed by a sub-£100 Tomtom before they're available to me.

[flow]

I agree with most of the above, with the addition of...

Dual zone climate control

Integrated child booster seats in the back (my Volvo had these and they were great)

I've never used IPA on mine yet - Probably never will

[Ikelos]

for me, at the top of the list would be the electric folding mirrors..................

[timberwolf]

On the Gen 2, I like the reversing camera and the various line graphics superimposed onto the view. So although I don't use the auto park element of the IPA, I think I am using some of it.

As a Gen 2 owner, I would have liked heated external mirrors, but I get a longer Hybrid warranty so I still think I made the right choice in buying the car when I did.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

As a Gen 2 owner, I would have liked heated external mirrors, but I get a longer Hybrid warranty so I still think I made the right choice in buying the car when I did.

Yeah I'd like the same warranty on the gen3 as the gen2 got. It does worry me a little that Toyota don't have the same faith in the Gen3 as they did in the 2. :(

[timberwolf]

As has been suggested before, this was more likely to be a short-sighted cost cutting exercise by Toyota GB to keep the price of the Gen 3 at the same price as the Gen 2 than that there is any reason to believe the new model will be any more unreliable than the previous model. Time will tell. I do wonder how much more it would have added to the price of a new Prius?

Cheer up, Grumpy Cabbie :)

[phil4]

Rather than waste the money on IPA, I wish Toyota had made it an option and spent the money differently. Things I'd rather have than IPA, in no particular order

• auto headlights
  
• auto dimming mirror
  
• better plastic on the dash
  
• proper ipod adaptor
  
• folding mirrors
  
• parking sensors
  

What do you think?

Have auto headlights (thanks to the LED pack)

Have an auto-dimming mirror.... apparently (LED pack also, but always seems to be in the shadow of the spoiler).

Better plastic... oh yes please, really doesn't do the car any favours.

Don't need a better Ipod adapter... not fussed, bluetooth steraming or recording to the HDD does me fine.

Folding mirrors... had them in last car, really don't miss them.

parking sensors... have protection pack, though wish I had some front ones too.

Also, do use the IPA quite a lot, like the fact it makes the car more high-tech. One for gizmos and gadgets me.

Really wish the advanced tech pack was available here, but now I've got my car, hope they don't.

[wooski]

As has been suggested before, this was more likely to be a short-sighted cost cutting exercise by Toyota GB to keep the price of the Gen 3 at the same price as the Gen 2 than that there is any reason to believe the new model will be any more unreliable than the previous model. Time will tell. I do wonder how much more it would have added to the price of a new Prius?

Cheer up, Grumpy Cabbie :)

The change in the warranty was Europe wide and brought the Prius in line with the hybrid Lexus range.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

As has been suggested before, this was more likely to be a short-sighted cost cutting exercise by Toyota GB to keep the price of the Gen 3 at the same price as the Gen 2 than that there is any reason to believe the new model will be any more unreliable than the previous model. Time will tell. I do wonder how much more it would have added to the price of a new Prius?

Cheer up, Grumpy Cabbie :)

The change in the warranty was Europe wide and brought the Prius in line with the hybrid Lexus range.

That might well be so but it's a backwards step. If they can offer 8 years and 150,000 miles in california then they should offer it here. I don't offer a poorer level of service depending on which area of town I pick up from (if that's a suitable analogy).

[Sagitar]

I don't offer a poorer level of service depending on which area of town I pick up from (if that's a suitable analogy).

But, to pursue your analogy, if there was an area of town in which you did little or no business and where you wanted to get more business, you might well advertise some special offers, or discounts in that area. Do you have different charges for different times of day or different days of the week? Do you always charge precisely the same fare for the same distance carried?

Marketing departments continually make judgements about what they can get away with and what they have to do to balance turnover against profit. The U.S. market and the U.K. market are so obviously different in terms of volumes, production, competition and driver attitudes that it would be very surprising if Toyota didn't differentiate between them when deciding marketing strategy.

[Parts-King]

That might well be so but it's a backwards step. If they can offer 8 years and 150,000 miles in california then they should offer it here. I don't offer a poorer level of service depending on which area of town I pick up from (if that's a suitable analogy).

Hmmm that may well be the case but take a cab when there is a bus strike on or the town is blanketed in fog and hey presto.....the "standard" rate goes up a notch or three :D: :D: :D: sorry could'nt resist my banter!

Kingo

[wooski]

Marketing departments continually make judgements about what they can get away with and what they have to do to balance turnover against profit. The U.S. market and the U.K. market are so obviously different in terms of volumes, production, competition and driver attitudes that it would be very surprising if Toyota didn't differentiate between them when deciding marketing strategy.

This is surely the point. If sales of Lexus hybrids in Europe where not affected by the 5 year warranty then why should the Prius? I admit though that I'm sure very few Lexus hybrids are used as high mileage Taxis. One wonders if the approx 8,500 Gen 3's already sold in the UK are a disappointment to Toyota or not and if so if the change in warranty is considered a factor? I suspect we'll never know!

Also the big warranty on the Gen 2 was about building confidence in the technology. I suspect that Toyota / Lexus is now confident they have done that. It's worth remembering that the Battery in the Gen 3 is only an evolution of that in the Gen 2. It's essentially the same technology.

It will be interesting to see what warranty is offerred for the plug in version which uses new lithium technology.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

I don't offer a poorer level of service depending on which area of town I pick up from (if that's a suitable analogy).

But, to pursue your analogy, if there was an area of town in which you did little or no business and where you wanted to get more business, you might well advertise some special offers, or discounts in that area. Do you have different charges for different times of day or different days of the week? Do you always charge precisely the same fare for the same distance carried?

I charge the same rate day in day out. Yes I always charge the same fare for the same distance carried.

That's why the company I work for is a success in the town. People know they can depend on a consistant level of service. ;)

[Sagitar]

I charge the same rate day in day out. Yes I always charge the same fare for the same distance carried.

That's why the company I work for is a success in the town. People know they can depend on a consistant level of service. ;)

. . . . . and you earn less per hour in busy traffic than when it is free flowing . . . . and no bonus for unsociable hours?

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Cheer up, Grumpy Cabbie :)

Where do you think I got my name from?

[timberwolf]

The change in the warranty was Europe wide and brought the Prius in line with the hybrid Lexus range.

What a pity. So Toyota's standards are degraded across Europe compared with the rest of the world...

[timberwolf]

Cheer up, Grumpy Cabbie :)

Where do you think I got my name from?

I don't know maybe you were being ironic, perhaps you are usually one of those insufferably happy people :P

[Fujisan]

Rather than waste the money on IPA, I wish Toyota had made it an option and spent the money differently. Things I'd rather have than IPA, in no particular order

• auto headlights
  
• auto dimming mirror
  
• better plastic on the dash
  
• proper ipod adaptor
  
• folding mirrors
  
• parking sensors
  

What do you think?

Maybe if IPA had been an option rather than standard, and had the LED tech pack been available at the time....

....then, maybe I would have chosen the LED tech pack.

But it wasn't, so I'll live with my choices, until next time. :D :D