2012 Prius Details Revealed

[RelaxedDrive]

I just saw this yesterday, surprised it has not been mentioned!

http://www.whatcar.c...revealed/260991

[cuius]

Ditto:

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/news/autoexpressnews/277489/new_toyota_prius_revealed.html

Or:

http://www.carkeys.co.uk/news/revised-toyota-prius-due-march

[johalareewi]

So touch screen head units as standard. Does that mean reversing camera too?

Wider seats and different centre console. But no pics :(

Power folding door mirrors

Interesting that there are new T3 wheel covers. :D

[Mkuk0]

Chuffed to little bits with the facelift, new company car coming July time, prob get a Tspirit, and am loving the sound of auto, LED lights and auto dim mirror lotsly!!

Happy bunny today :)

[timberwolf]

So touch screen head units as standard. Does that mean reversing camera too?

Wider seats and different centre console. But no pics :(

Power folding door mirrors

Interesting that there are new T3 wheel covers. :D

I was also wondering about the reversing camera?

I can't get excited about a new model, because I think it is unwise to get one until the early adopters have discovered all the design faults.

[korat102]

A few years ago I'd have asked 'what design faults?'

These days...

[avensis99]

i can confirm that the console has changed for the better!! and also that the the whole range is being upped in spec with the addition of some much needed additions that were missing from the original gen 3 spec.

the front has been changed and the lights have been revised front and rear.

also the new toyota touch system has been used in place of the current radio/nav system.

THE REASON I KNOW

because i have seen pictures of the new facelifted model from all angles, due to the fact that i work for a toyota centre and have access to our own online internal media centre from TGB.

it really does look and read as being the car we all wished it had been to start with.

[RelaxedDrive]

More info here, including some hi-res interior pictures!

http://blog.toyota.c...ling-hybrid-car

[timberwolf]

Thanks for the blog link.

I wonder why only the standard 5 year warranty was mentioned?

[Dave R.]

More details on the Toyota web site (here http://goo.gl/92Hk5 )

Interesting to see twice-yearly satnav updates for 3 years

Wonder how much the prices will rise?

[Grumpy Cabbie]

The prices have only rised by about £300 for the base model. I do like the look of the new one, they've fine tuned all the problem areas - or so it seems.

Perhaps when the original versions were released Toyota were worried by competition from Honda with the then recently released Insight. I think that's why there wasn't much difference in prices between the two - did Toyota scrimp a little on the t3 to get its cost as close to the Insight as they could? Then when they realised the Insight was a pile of poo the Prius could become the car it was meant to be.

Surprised they didn't skim a couple grammes off the emissions though. More and more of the competition are getting below that magic 100g/km (by fair means or foul) and despite the Prius still being the best (unless you class a Smart as a car) the gap has narrowed significantly.

[timberwolf]

I think you are right about Toyota being worried about Honda as one of the factors for releasing the Gen 3 when they weren't quite ready. Who knows maybe the regenerative to friction brake "feel" could have been better tuned before release, and then Toyota would have had one less PR disaster?

When I ordered my Gen 2, each week while I waited for the delivery, the news seemed to be filled with the recession getting worse (if I recall the recession had happened a year before that but only the financial sector really knew, the rest of us were being kept in the dark as usual). When the Gen 3 was released, I seem to recall reading that Toyota GB had a goal of keeping the new Prius at the same price as the out going model presumably in the hope that sales would be good in spite of the on-going recession. So Toyota GB had to jiggle the spec to meet that price, and one of the major losses in the specification was invisible to most customers or when purchased as company car of little concern and that had been the previous model's 8 year hybrid warranty. With the early Gen 3 Toyota GB cut the hybrid warranty back to a 5 year hybrid warranty, and later pathetically *just* the hybrid Battery was increased to 8 years.

My belief was Toyota GB were very sneaky in focusing just on the hybrid HV Battery, they knew most customers lacked the knowledge to worry about other hybrid components such as the inverter and motor/generators and only have fears about the HV Battery, and Toyota knew from the previous model that the HV battery had a low failure rate. Ironically, the Gen 3 has a redesigned HV battery with less electronics and I guess less protection, and we've recently learnt that there could be a potential HV battery fan fluff problem for some owners as reported in a Toyota Service Bulletin and it hits the very component that Toyota GB extended the warranty on. From an owners POV, its good that HV battery warranty was extended.

Why did I write this? To remind people of what happened last time and to look carefully at the whole package not just the shiny technology - some early adopters feel cheated if you go by some of comments they have posted to this forum.

[johalareewi]

Cheers for the links but only one inside pic :(

I wanted to see the new cup holder :D

The high-spec Prius T Spirit features the advanced Toyota Touch & Go Plus multimedia and navigation system as standard. This brings Bluetooth, a rear-view camera, USB port and on-board Google Local Search connectivity

...

Toyota Touch & Go Plus is available as an option on T₃ & T_4.

Sounds like reversing camera and USB is not standard across the range even though the touch screen is. :(

[timberwolf]

I guess it depends how much it costs as an option on the T3 and T4. I really like that the reversing camera display on my current car includes various guide lines superimposed over the view - I do wonder if that'll still be there without the intelligent auto park gizmo?

[RelaxedDrive]

It was there, you just have to click on the photos to see more!

How about this one:

Cheers for the links but only one inside pic :(

I wanted to see the new cup holder :D

[johalareewi]

Cheers