Dynamic Radar Cruise Control

[Bibsy]

I've been telling myself that I "need" adaptive cruise on my next car from a long time now. I tried it on a Honda some years ago and it was truly brilliant on both A roads and motorways.

It's not, of course, available on my Gen2 Prius, but I understand is an option on the Gen3 from some date or other.

However, not being in the market for a new Prius and ordering the "technical pack" from scratch, that leaves me trying to find a secondhand Prius with it on. But Toyota's website doesn't allow a search for that option as far as I can see, and Autotrader never has any hits for it. Lots of hits for Mondeos, BMWs etc, with it, but not Prius.

Am I looking for the wrong term, or did Toyota only sell three in the UK and I have no chance? I see the new plug-in doesn't have it as option anymore, for example. Sigh.

[valmiki]

Best of luck - I tried searching for it as well. If you were very eagle-eyed, you could try and spot the slightly diferent headlamps that came with the Tech package (LED lights). I gave up!

[Seamaster73]

Only available from late 2010 on. Part of the "Safety Pack".

I have it on mine, and wouldn't spec a car without it now. It is a joy.

[cbcdesign]

I couldn't agree more! Its one of the best features of my car.

[Bibsy]

Sorry to drag up this old thread, but better than starting a new one I guess.

I'm now thinking about adaptive cruise on the Prius all over again - but how can I tell whether a car has it from photos of the cabin? Alternatively, what is the actual difference in the front lights (as mentioned above) that I might see in a photo?

Nobody advertises its presence or otherwise (unless none of the searches I've ever done at Autotrader or Toyota themselves have had any for sale at the time).

What am I looking for that's a giveaway that adaptive cruise is installed, or is it not that easy?

[valmiki]

You're facing the same problems I did when looking for one! I gave up in the end, and just went for a 'standard' T-Spirit (though it did have the Style and Protection packs).

And you know that if you ask a dealer that you specifically want one with the Safety Pack, it'll be that much harder on negotiating on it.

Sorry I can't be more help - most photos on the Toyota website and Autotrader aren't detailed enough for you to be able to pick out the slight differences (try and see if you can tell the difference from brichure photos. etc.), you may have stood a chance of spotting the pack if you were viewing in person.

[Opifex]

I agree that the information provided on official Toyota dealer websites is not helpful if you are searching for a specific option. The vehicle descriptions only seem to reiterate the standard specs. It's a pity they didn't add an Option Packs section when the website was revamped about a year ago. Maybe keeping the customer in the dark is a good sales strategy??

[Bibsy]

Actually, under advanced, you can search for keywords. If you search for "pack" you do sometimes get a match - but never the one I'm looking for! It's always the pack where you get chrome strips up the side and so forth. Protection Pack or some such.

[GreenJuice]

What am I looking for that's a giveaway that adaptive cruise is installed, or is it not that easy?

There's a button on the left side of the steering wheel which is used to set the distance from the car ahead.

[Opifex]

Actually, under advanced, you can search for keywords. If you search for "pack" you do sometimes get a match ......

Thanks for the tip.

I tried it and it showed up how some dealers are very casual about entering the specifications. One Prius has air bags listed as fitted options and another has been fitted with a tow pack .

[RelaxedDrive]

When I got my Prius 2nd hand I spent quite a bit of time examining the online pictures to spot extras like reversing sensors, bumper protection strips etc. It was also very useful to check which brand of tyres had been fitted - often cheap ones! You can't rely on the descriptive text, it seems very inconsistent!