Gen 3: T4 Vs T-Spirit...

[markleigh]

I'm aiming to buy one of the above models... the question is, is it worth paying extra for the T Spirit (ie is the sat nav and parking assist etc worth the premium... I've read that the sat nav is actually rubbish).

All input welcome! Thanks

[Dave R.]

I'm aiming to buy one of the above models... the question is, is it worth paying extra for the T Spirit (ie is the sat nav and parking assist etc worth the premium... I've read that the sat nav is actually rubbish).

All input welcome! Thanks

I have a Gen 3 T-Spirit, and can understand your concerns. If your need is for an accurate and up to date Sat-Nav, then you will be disappointed. Similarly, park-assist is an interesting gimmic, but won't get the car into a tight space!

On the other hand.....

For me:

The sat-nav will get me home if I'm lost

It makes a pretty good estimate of how long a journey will take.

Integration with the head-up display is excellent - you don't need to take your eye of the road to see the navigation directions.

It doesn't complain if I ignore the directions and go my own way.

Traffic reports via sat-nav are of questionable value / accuracy.

I'm not going to pay Toyota for any map udates - if I were that desperate for an up to date sat-nav, I'd buy a tomtom instead!

I've had reversing sensors in the past; I'm now getting the hang of reversing with the rear camera.... the guide lines that show where the car is going actaully work quite well. Full-blown auto park-assist is fun to play with, given a big enough parking space, and time to mess around.

I like the touch-screen console, and the integration of phone / hard-disk / sat-nav etc.... If you are not bothered about this, then go for the T4, buy a TomTom and get reversing sensors fitted as an extra!

[markleigh]

Thanks Dave.

Food for thought!

[Seamaster73]

I'm aiming to buy one of the above models... the question is, is it worth paying extra for the T Spirit (ie is the sat nav and parking assist etc worth the premium... I've read that the sat nav is actually rubbish).

I don't think so.

T4 gives you all the desirable spec, and none of the gimmicks. And — as endlessly discussed here — you're better off with a £50 Tomtom than you are with Toyota's woeful satnav.

[timberwolf]

I don't think it is any easy decision to make.

Under pros, it is built-in, no wires, less gadgets to tempt the light fingered, better dead-reckoning if there is poor GPS reception, larger screen, heads-up, its always there unlike when you've made a short journey and you didn't think you'd need the portable sat-nav.

Under cons, interface not as intuitive, no speed camera database, maps more costly and difficult to update, route calculation isn't as good as the best portable sat-nav (it'll get you there but a TomTom or Garmin have left the built-in manufacturers far behind, my Gen 2 Sat-nav is calculating routes at what I would class as the Mircosoft Autoroute PC program standard of the 80s - I hope the Gen 3 is better than that!?)

Just think instead of paying 18,000 pounds for a new Prius, you could buy the cheapest new car on the market say 6,000 pounds and then you have 12,000 pounds for petrol.

[johalareewi]

Just think instead of paying 18,000 pounds for a new Prius, you could buy the cheapest new car on the market say 6,000 pounds and then you have 12,000 pounds for petrol.

You mean buy the cheapest new family sized, automatic, with aircon, full electric windows, electric heated door mirrors, bags of legroom in the back new car on the market. :D

[johalareewi]

Tspirit builtin satnav:-

Pros: Built in so no wires or window mounts. Linked to car so better estimates of position when no GPS. Projects onto windscreen via HUD. Not easy to steal.

Cons: No updates or additional POI. Can't be programmed when car is in motion (by passenger for example). Cant be used out of the car. Very expensive compared to price of portable.

Personally, I would go for the T4 and a portable satnav. In fact, I went one better and got the T3 so also saved on bluetooth, auto wipers and some other stuff I wasn't interested in. :)

[Dave R.]

Tspirit builtin satnav:-

Cons: No updates or additional POI. Can't be programmed when car is in motion (by passenger for example).

I'd argue with the "Can't be programmed when car is in motion"..... Mine (Gen III T-Spirit)can be set whilst in motion... plus you can use voice response to set destinations e.g. "Go home", so you don't even need a passenger to do it for you

I think you have to consider the whole package and your personal priorities rather than look at benefits or shortcomings of an individual feature.

[timberwolf]

Just think instead of paying 18,000 pounds for a new Prius, you could buy the cheapest new car on the market say 6,000 pounds and then you have 12,000 pounds for petrol.

You mean buy the cheapest new family sized, automatic, with aircon, full electric windows, electric heated door mirrors, bags of legroom in the back new car on the market. :D

Oh, and you forgot the absolutely essential 17" alloys?

[johalareewi]

Oh, and you forgot the absolutely essential 17" alloys?

Not absolutely essential. The 15" give you slightly better mpg and lower CO2

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-fuel-economy/82837-different-mpg-17-vs-15-rims-geniii.html

[johalareewi]

I'd argue with the "Can't be programmed when car is in motion"..... Mine (Gen III T-Spirit)can be set whilst in motion... plus you can use voice response to set destinations e.g. "Go home", so you don't even need a passenger to do it for you

Maybe it's just in the USA?

There have been a few threads about it on Prius Chat.

I know my GFs Avensis had the disable satnav programming while in motion feature.

As you say, you need to consider the whole package.

[kithmo]

I'm aiming to buy one of the above models... the question is, is it worth paying extra for the T Spirit (ie is the sat nav and parking assist etc worth the premium... I've read that the sat nav is actually rubbish).

All input welcome! Thanks

I have a Gen 3 T-Spirit, and can understand your concerns. If your need is for an accurate and up to date Sat-Nav, then you will be disappointed. Similarly, park-assist is an interesting gimmic, but won't get the car into a tight space!

On the other hand.....

For me:

The sat-nav will get me home if I'm lost

It makes a pretty good estimate of how long a journey will take.

Integration with the head-up display is excellent - you don't need to take your eye of the road to see the navigation directions.

It doesn't complain if I ignore the directions and go my own way.

Traffic reports via sat-nav are of questionable value / accuracy.

I'm not going to pay Toyota for any map udates - if I were that desperate for an up to date sat-nav, I'd buy a tomtom instead!

I've had reversing sensors in the past; I'm now getting the hang of reversing with the rear camera.... the guide lines that show where the car is going actaully work quite well. Full-blown auto park-assist is fun to play with, given a big enough parking space, and time to mess around.

I like the touch-screen console, and the integration of phone / hard-disk / sat-nav etc.... If you are not bothered about this, then go for the T4, buy a TomTom and get reversing sensors fitted as an extra!

+1, the only thing I'd miss if I went down to a T4 is the reversing camera, those green guide lines and the red distance bar are great, but then again I've been driving for 37 years without one until now, so no big deal.

[Ancient Nerd]

+1, the only thing I'd miss if I went down to a T4 is the reversing camera, those green guide lines and the red distance bar are great, but then again I've been driving for 37 years without one until now, so no big deal.

I have to agree with my less ancient friend. The reversing camera, with the guidelines, takes all the effort out of reversing, given the fairly poor rear view. But perhaps it's the nerd in me that just likes the gadgetry.

I also agree with the general comments about the better performance of the TomTom navigation algorithms and the frequency of updates. However:

• There are no dangling wires to get in the way.
  
• You don't have to remove it every time you leave the car.
  
• The 7 inch display is way better than any Tom Tom.
  
• It integrates with the car controls.
  

Unless having really up-to-date maps is critical (possibly for GC and RNS, but I suspect few others), I think the convenience of the inbuilt system wins.

If the Toyota charge for updating the maps is as ridiculous as is rumoured ( and Toyota still maintain they don't know what it costs, or how to do it ) then I can live with the existing maps. It takes a few years before significant road changes. The occasional new address I can locate using Google maps on my phone - or enter the map location directly.

The stupid thing is that Toyota would probably generate far more income from frequent low price updates at routine services, than from infrequent high cost updates that most owners will skip.

[markleigh]

Thanks for all interesting comments; appreciated.

Can someone let me know if the satnav is full 6/7 character postcode.

Thx!

[Chris Ray]

Thanks for all interesting comments; appreciated.

Can someone let me know if the satnav is full 6/7 character postcode.

Thx!

No, unfortunately only 4 digit, but I drive 35000 miles a year all ovr th UK and it only lets me down very rarely!

T Spirit gets my vote for the SatNav and the reversing camera

[PBH]

recently bought 2006 t-spirit, love it to be honest. Blue tooth a must in my opinion, parking camera great, sat nav fine although a pain you cannot update easily .... cruise more useful than park assist. Prob would go for all the same on a newer one sadly!

Achieving average 49 mpg on poorly maintained roads on short runs .... thats Ireland for you!

[Doesn'tExist]

If you don't get the T-Spirit you'll always be wondering...

My wife's Murano is now 5 years old and is her SatNav...Never found the need to update it, or to personalise the POI (does anyone really do that beyond knowing that you can?)....The integration, the automatic radio/cd and the satnav mute whilst on the telephone....Definitely worth it...

Besides there is a bit more to it....Without the 17" wheels the car just doesn't look right

[Ancient Nerd]

Thanks for all interesting comments; appreciated.

Can someone let me know if the satnav is full 6/7 character postcode.

Thx!

No, unfortunately only 4 digit, but I drive 35000 miles a year all ovr th UK and it only lets me down very rarely!

T Spirit gets my vote for the SatNav and the reversing camera

Gen III has full UK Postcode address. I use it all the time. It's on the second screen of the Navi/ Destination screen. Just for confusion, the standard address option has the old 4 character Postcode option of the Gen II. It took me about 2 months to discover the full code option was there!

[Sagitar]

Gen III has full UK Postcode address. I use it all the time. It's on the second screen of the Navi/ Destination screen. Just for confusion, the standard address option has the old 4 character Postcode option of the Gen II. It took me about 2 months to discover the full code option was there!

W.H.S.

I changed from a Lexus with the four digit arrangement and just assumed that the Gen III Prius was the same. I only discovered the full postcode option on the second screen because someone else mentioned it on this site. It seems bonkers not to go to the full postcode set up from the address option, but it isn't difficult to use once you know it is there.

Thank goodness for this site . . . . .

[Chris Ray]

Thanks for letting me know that, will be really useful

Why would anyone default to the 4 Digit search on the main screen???!!!

Dealer didn't know about it either!

[woody1]

I took delivery of the T4 Spirit about a month ago and having had Audi and Honda with built in SAT-NAV in the past the Prius SAT-NAV is fine for everyday driving(maybe as my last car the Honda was 4 years old the maps were really old). The voice recognition for the SAT-NAV is good too and the blue-tooth hands free for the phone is superb, plus I can blue-tooth my mobile phone music and play that through the car too, the quality is rather good. Using is fairly intuitive.

I am also able to programme a destination while driving such as when I need to re-route for any reason. You can route by postcode, however I believe the first option is street name as many people instantly know their own postcode but don't tend to recall them as easily for other addresses.

Having used reversing cameras before this Prius is fairly good although the lines for me are taking a little time for me to assimilate when I reverse, and I could so without the loud rather annoying bleep when I engage reverse, understand the reason but it could be quieter.

On the down side the HDD (hard disk drive)would be a much greater benefit if I could simply transfer my electronic music across, it only allows you to insert and "record" music from CD to the HDD. I for one transferred my CD collection to electronic and rendered the CD's to a dark corner in my loft long ago so now I buy most of my music electronically the HDD is almost worthless when compared to the Honda approach for example of using flash media. If anyone knows how to overcome that on the HDD I would love to hear about it.

[Doesn'tExist]

I agree on the music HDD thing...Can't see us using it at all...During the test drive it didn't recognise 3 our of 4 cd's and I like my metadata so not having it is a no-no...The dealer can switch off the beep...

[johalareewi]

...The dealer can switch off the beep...

The dealer can switch off the repeating reverse beep so it only beeps once. It can't be totally silenced.

[kithmo]

Has anyone used the Set Destination by telephone number option on the NAV yet ?

I tried it and as you enter the number some numbers are blanked out, meaning it wont let me enter a number I know is correct !

or am I missing something ?