Do Toyota Uk Think We Live In The Tropics?

[cbcdesign]

Having read through quite a few old posts on this forum I wonder about the mentality of the people who decide what should and should not be fitted to uk version of Toyota cars. These so called intelligent people must think the UK is an enormous tropical island with a massive road network where congestion is a rare event and that the population is colour blind. You would be forgiven for thinking so when they have:-

1. Decided we dont need active cruise control on our overcrowded roads.

2. Think we don't want or need heated seats when we live in a cold country.

3. Are apparently not aware of frost and left heated mirrors off of some cars.

4. Don't think we are worthy of the colour choices available elsewhere in the world, particularly the US.

I would love to meet the people who make these idiotic choices on our behalf and ask them what on earth they think they are doing because the most certainly are not thinking about the wants and needs of UK customers when they make these stupid decisions are they?

[Jan&tone]

Having read through quite a few old posts on this forum I wonder about the mentality of the people who decide what should and should not be fitted to uk version of Toyota cars. These so called intelligent people must think the UK is an enormous tropical island with a massive road network where congestion is a rare event and that the population is colour blind. You would be forgiven for thinking so when they have:-

1. Decided we don’t need active cruise control on our overcrowded roads.

2. Think we don't want or need heated seats when we live in a cold country.

3. Are apparently not aware of frost and left heated mirrors off of some cars.

4. Don't think we are worthy of the colour choices available elsewhere in the world, particularly the US.

I would love to meet the people who make these idiotic choices on our behalf and ask them what on earth they think they are doing because the most certainly are not thinking about the wants and needs of UK customers when they make these stupid decisions are they?

You get what you pay for!

Toyota make 'cars for the masses, at prices they can afford."

We, as the prospective purchasers, have the choice whether or not to buy a car.

If the specification is not available, or cannot be made available through options, then you don't buy the car, you go to a different make/model.

Don't buy it and then moan about what it hasn't got - that, frankly, is pathetic.

I don't know, or frankly care what make/model has all the options you have above, i am sure there will be one somewhere but i bought the car I liked, at the price I could afford and am very happy with it.

Ps: the 'location on the profile is for you, not your car

[Daveyonthemove]

Other models offer most of those options. Is there a chance that your intelligence let you down on your choice of car?

[psychynurse]

Sounds like you are a little frustrated with Toyota considering your comments and your posted location.

I understand personally how hard it is to loose certain features which have been enjoyed previously but as other guys have said our option is always to walk away and not buy. In my opinion Prius offers plenty of bonus features which swayed my decision to buy and has kept me happy since.

When I compleated the survey which Toyota sent me shortly after the purchase I did vent my gripes but it is likely that only if Toyota continue to get repeated complaints about a particular shortfall will they respond favourably to the concern.

Just chill out and enjoy the good things mate!

[cbcdesign]

Sounds like you are a little frustrated with Toyota considering your comments and your posted location.

I understand personally how hard it is to loose certain features which have been enjoyed previously but as other guys have said our option is always to walk away and not buy. In my opinion Prius offers plenty of bonus features which swayed my decision to buy and has kept me happy since.

When I compleated the survey which Toyota sent me shortly after the purchase I did vent my gripes but it is likely that only if Toyota continue to get repeated complaints about a particular shortfall will they respond favourably to the concern.

Just chill out and enjoy the good things mate!

Clearly my post is being misunderstood although it is a tadd blunt I suppose, lol. This is not about the Prius per say but about missing options on UK versions of the car that are available to the rest of the world. I am not remotely upset, angry, frustrated etc, just surprised and confused by what appears to me to be a rather bizarre set of decisions by Toyota in the UK.

To give you an example I was told that Toyota UK decided that "uk customers would not want active cruise control on our over crowded uk roads". No, apparently we would want the more dangerous and less practical manual cruise control instead! Perhaps its just me but I find that sort of thinking pretty idiotic!

I raise the question merely to find out how others feel about these choices by the way so there is no need to offend me by calling my buying choice pathetic or by question my intelligence thank you very much gentlemen!

Of course I realise location was supposed to be where I am too, I just decided that I really didn't see why anybody should or would remotely care about it hence my entry! :P

[Jan&tone]

I suppose you could add to your list why ALL manufacturers do the same... The Focus in Canada is a much better car than the one we get in Europe, the Toyota Avalon, (a Hybrid Avensis), a Hybid Camry.... Colour and trim are the least of our worries!

Manufacturers provide what they think the public will pay for. My boss has a jaguar xf, all the bells and whistles, over 50k !

As for adaptive cruise control, i tried it on his Jag and it scared the bejesus out of me - i've used the manual cc on my last 3 cars from Mr T, no problems at all - that's 9 years of manual cruise on the M25, M11, M40, M1, - in fact all major roads in the south of England.

Heated mirrors and seats, never had the seats and i did miss the heated mirrors on the gen2 twice as far as I can recall but have tham on the gen3, not used them yet though (i know they come on with the heated rear window, but i've never had to defrost the mirrors with it !

I can understand your frustration with the perceived lack of choice, but it really is the fault of joe public as to what he (we) are prepared to pay for

[Daveyonthemove]

Your original post came across (to me anyway) that you had bought your car, and then discovered that it didn't have the equipment that you listed. It wasn't a very clear post if 3 of us all answered along the same lines.

As for your location, its helpful for many reasons.

You may decide to sell something, and people would like to know what sort of distance they might have to travel if they bought the item.

You might ask advice about a good dealer and someone in your area might be able to help.

You might report a dashboard light and a running issue, and someone like me with a portable OBDII fault code reader could offer to save you money by clearing the faults for you rather than going to a dealers...

;)

[cbcdesign]

Your original post came across (to me anyway) that you had bought your car, and then discovered that it didn't have the equipment that you listed. It wasn't a very clear post if 3 of us all answered along the same lines.

As for your location, its helpful for many reasons.

You may decide to sell something, and people would like to know what sort of distance they might have to travel if they bought the item.

You might ask advice about a good dealer and someone in your area might be able to help.

You might report a dashboard light and a running issue, and someone like me with a portable OBDII fault code reader could offer to save you money by clearing the faults for you rather than going to a dealers...

;)

OK, all good points so I have changed my location accordingly.

[cbcdesign]

I suppose you could add to your list why ALL manufacturers do the same... The Focus in Canada is a much better car than the one we get in Europe, the Toyota Avalon, (a Hybrid Avensis), a Hybid Camry.... Colour and trim are the least of our worries!

Manufacturers provide what they think the public will pay for. My boss has a jaguar xf, all the bells and whistles, over 50k !

As for adaptive cruise control, i tried it on his Jag and it scared the bejesus out of me - i've used the manual cc on my last 3 cars from Mr T, no problems at all - that's 9 years of manual cruise on the M25, M11, M40, M1, - in fact all major roads in the south of England.

Heated mirrors and seats, never had the seats and i did miss the heated mirrors on the gen2 twice as far as I can recall but have tham on the gen3, not used them yet though (i know they come on with the heated rear window, but i've never had to defrost the mirrors with it !

I can understand your frustration with the perceived lack of choice, but it really is the fault of joe public as to what he (we) are prepared to pay for

The XF is a very nice car but jags are just too expensive to run now. I have an S Type at the moment and boy, is it costing some money!

lol, I guess ACC will take some getting used to. I too use manual CC at present but it does require a lot of concentration to use it during the day I find, planning when to pull out for over taking etc.

Heated seats are wonderful on a very cold day with leather upholstery. I think the safety pack includes them but Toyota UK seem to be very, how can I put this, clueless on the matter?

I think if Joe public is like me, he is prepared to pay but needs options to at least be available to him. Offering options for the uk market that are offered to the rest of Europe and the US cannot be any real inconvenience to Toyota can it? Its just a line or two in the brochures and on the price lists after all?

[Seamaster73]

In fairness, a UK-spec T Spirit plus Safety Pack is one of the best specified Prius models available anywhere. You get almost all the spec of the Americans' Prius V except LKA, plus the head-up display and mirror indicators the Americans don't get. And as far as colour choices are concerned, all we're missing out on are the gold metallic exterior and the hearing aid beige interior — no great loss!

[Daveyonthemove]

I use manual CC on my Auris and find it to be fine, and although the extra safety features of an active system might one day prove helpful, for the most part i have never really needed a device to monitor my distance from the car in front, and i think that some of these driving aids are a cause to many accidents because people become complacent and pay less attention to whats going on around them.

I agree that something like heated seats should be an option, but its not one i would pay for personally as i do not enjoy the sensation of being warmed up in that way, but thats a personal choice.

I think its a bit harsh to say that Toyota are clueless about what the majority want, as they are very successful and reliable on the whole, so they must be getting something right.

You will probably find that the higher spec, or revised versions will include these features to tempt people to keep buying them or upgrade an older version.

We all have different 'wants' from our cars, and 2 features that i miss on my Auris that i had on my last car, are a sunglasses holder near the rear view mirror, and the auto lock feature when moving off. Most people can live without these features, and in the real world, they aren't really necessary for me to get to where i need to go.

As long as the car is reliable, looks good (thats also personal opinion) and is safe, the rest is a bonus.

[cbcdesign]

I think its a bit harsh to say that Toyota are clueless about what the majority want, as they are very successful and reliable on the whole, so they must be getting something right.

I think you misunderstood so let me clarify it, they seem to be clueless on the presence of heated seats with the safety pack option.

[Daveyonthemove]

Are heated seats a 'safety' feature though?

Surely they are more of a comfort feature?

[cbcdesign]

Are heated seats a 'safety' feature though?

Surely they are more of a comfort feature?

No they are definitely not a safety feature but Toyota decided to include leather upholstery with the safety pack and it would seem, based on posts on this forum, that the SP leather includes heated seats whereas the leather as an independent option does not.

[cbcdesign]

Oh, and if we were being reaaaaly picky, it could be argued that including adaptive cruise control within the safety pack implies that manual cruise control is not safe!

[Wattsy]

3. Are apparently not aware of frost and left heated mirrors off of some cars.

I have to say that I totally concur with the comment about heated mirrors. I have an 05 T-Spirit and was absolutely gobsmacked to find that it doesn't have heated mirrors. Infact, I ended up searching this Forum to find out whether mine were broken found a number of people with the same issue. I've had a variety of cars over the years (many of which were not anything like as costly as the Prius would have been when new) and have found heated mirrors to be a standard feature. As for not requiring them, I've only had my car for 2 weeks or so and I've had to buy a small chamois leather so that I can clear the mirror before reversing off of my drive!

Before I get flamed, I'm not knocking the Prius at all; I think it's fantastic - but I think this is a very odd omission.

Pete

[Jan&tone]

wattsy, I'm interested in one of your comments. "reversing off your drive"

Not being funny in any way, but why? I assume you reverse into a road?

Surely it would be safer to reverse into your drive and to drive out? It is certainly recommended to always drive away from a parking space as far as engine warming/wear and tear go and safety-wise also.

By reversing, your engine is colder for longer while you are waiting for either a gap in the traffic or for some kind soul to slow or stop to let you out. Unless of course you don't have a lot of traffic on your road?

Please don't think I'm having a go, 'cos I'm not, just curious...

[timberwolf]

I would guess it could depend on the parking space? For example, my parking space slopes down from the road. If I was to reverse into the parking space, the car would be going backwards down the slope, not my favourite type of reversing situation. Secondly, if I was to go forward up from the parking space, the car would initially be pointing upwards, and I would guess that the view is worse than reversing out with the mirrors and rear view camera, although I've never tried it so I don't know for certain.

[Jan&tone]

I would guess it could depend on the parking space? For example, my parking space slopes down from the road. If I was to reverse into the parking space, the car would be going backwards down the slope, not my favourite type of reversing situation. Secondly, if I was to go forward up from the parking space, the car would initially be pointing upwards, and I would guess that the view is worse than reversing out with the mirrors and rear view camera, although I've never tried it so I don't know for certain.

S'right, it does depend on the circumstances, I admit I reverse out of my garage, but the road I'm reversing on to is very quiet, I can't remember when last I had to wait for a car to pass! And it's much easier to drive into the garage than to reverse into it... Especially without electric folding mirrors! With a Prius of course, we don't have to warm the engine up, EV button gets us out of the garage quite nicely!

[dwilson]

My boss has a jaguar xf, all the bells and whistles, over 50k !

My brother-in-law has a Jag XF and it is a smashing car but don't think I would want the running costs and it is so long I don't think it would fit on my drive

Heated mirrors and seats, never had the seats and i did miss the heated mirrors on the gen2 twice as far as I can recall but have tham on the gen3, not used them yet though (i know they come on with the heated rear window, but i've never had to defrost the mirrors with it !

Heated seats are good for leather seats on cold days but I don't miss them and wouldn't pick them as an option. I do like the leather seats but have some concern about the ethical issue. No heated mirrors was a surprise on the T Spirit Gen 2 and I would definitely like to have them. Still the "reversing" camera is superb.

David

[Opifex]

Hi,

Our last car had leather and heated seats. I used to use them but my wife never used her side. The Prius doesn't have leather and I'm not finding it a great loss to be honest though I haven't found out yet how stain resistant the fabric is.

I have thought that the choice of items to bundle together in a Pack does seem a bit strange at times. Why for example do rain repellant windows come in the LED pack, leather seats in the Safety Pack and a boot liner in the Protection Pack. Even more strange, why is my boot lined in a light grey fabric that is bound to pick up every mark from the bottom of shopping bags, etc?

DWilson - you mention 'ethical issues' around leather seats - can you tell us more please?

[capnbirdseye]

Unless I misread above nobody has mentioned another really useful thing missing from the UK & EU versions which is the engine vacuum flask. N.American versions pump a portion of the hot water from the engine into a vacuum flask when you switch off. This then gets pumped back into circulation when you eventually restart so the engine warms up to temp really rapidly even if it's the following day.

Apparently it's all to do with the stricter emission control in California and certain other states

This of course is totally useless in Florida & California but very useful in NY and Canada etc so why can't cold areas of EU have this fitted as standard I wonder :censor:

[Sagitar]

I have an 05 T-Spirit and was absolutely gobsmacked to find that it doesn't have heated mirrors.

I don't know your model, but are you sure? My GenIII certainly has heated exterior mirrors, but they only come on when the rear screen heater is switched on. It makes sense to have them switchable in a vehicle that is designed to save energy, but it would be even better if they were switched separately from the rear window heater.

P.S. I had heated (and cooled) front seats in my last car (a Lexus IS250 SEL) and after trying them out when it was new, can't remember a single occasion when I used them. So they wouldn't be high on my list of options.

[Jan&tone]

I have an 05 T-Spirit and was absolutely gobsmacked to find that it doesn't have heated mirrors.

I don't know your model, but are you sure? My GenIII certainly has heated exterior mirrors, but they only come on when the rear screen heater is switched on. It makes sense to have them switchable in a vehicle that is designed to save energy, but it would be even better if they were switched separately from the rear window heater.

P.S. I had heated (and cooled) front seats in my last car (a Lexus IS250 SEL) and after trying them out when it was new, can't remember a single occasion when I used them. So they wouldn't be high on my list of options.

Absolutely correct, my Gen2 didn't have heated mirrors as fae as i can remember. The gen3 t-spirit does.

[dwilson]

I have an 05 T-Spirit and was absolutely gobsmacked to find that it doesn't have heated mirrors.

I don't know your model, but are you sure?

Yes we are sure, unfortunately! Hard to believe isn't it?

David