Hi Guys Need Some Help Please?

[stompe]

I have owned two Prius' now Generation 2 and 3. Unfortunately I do not like the new one for a number of reasons. I am now considering an Auris Hybrid Excel subject to test drive.

Just a few questions please:

1) On the smart entry does the internal light come on of a night when you are in close proximity of the car?

2) I have read road reports, not that I pay too much attention to them that it can be noisy, is it any more noisier than the Prius when pressed hard?

3) More importantly, what's your opinions of Toyota's Touch and Go? I hope it is a lot easier than the sat nav debacle on the Prius regarding well out of date updates and do you pay for updates?

I am asking these questions as I value the opinions on here as I find car salesmen a bit vague on their models and what they can do. Whilst we are on the subject, I think the Auris model builder on the Toyota website is a bit pony. Pity it does not build the car so you can see it once you have added the extras you want to add.

Thanking you in anticipation

Stompe

[Chris Dance]

Hi Stompe,

Sorry I cannot help with your questions. I hope you get some answers shortly.

I will consider buying the new Prius Gen 4 when it eventually comes out; there is not much news on it as yet. I would be interested to hear why you do not like the new Gen 4 model Prius. I have read all the reports I can find on the internet on the new model but it all seemed very vague.

[Aceshigh84]

Can't compare the car to the Prius as I've never been in one, but I don't find my Auris particularly loud. Yes, you will hear the engine if you floor it, the difference to a normal car being that it will rev to the max almost instantly, compared to over a few seconds with a gear box.

Unless you are getting it for free, I wouldn't bother with touch and go. Most people have smart phones now, and Google Maps is prevalent.

The interior light will come on as you approach the car, if you don't open the car it will eventually go off

[stompe]

Hi Stompe,

Sorry I cannot help with your questions. I hope you get some answers shortly.

I will consider buying the new Prius Gen 4 when it eventually comes out; there is not much news on it as yet. I would be interested to hear why you do not like the new Gen 4 model Prius. I have read all the reports I can find on the internet on the new model but it all seemed very vague.

Hiya Chris

Think I might have bowled you a googly Chris, sorry. I meant the face lifted generation 3. I pinned so many hopes on it and when I finally got to see it in the showroom I was disappointed. A few things I did not like; the colour of the seats, the fact that they dumbed down the heads up display by not having the navigation included, just a slot for your CD player and various other things. I think they could have gone quite a bit further for this facelift so was left let down and decided to stick with my current model. Like you there is very sketchy information about the 2015 Prius. I have seen spy shots that does not give much away and I think the price is not going to be justified

I did look at the Citroen Hybrid, it is fantastically appointed and finished but being a Citroen and their reliability turned me off. I am going to have a test drive of the Auris Excel Hybrid and make a decision from there.

Just for the record my experience of Toyota lately is not one that I have been used to for the last 35 years. I find that with my dealers around here they are all one big Company i.e many different dealerships my old dealers have been taken over by them and unfortunately customer care is not their biggest thing but hey ho lets see what the Auris can do and then I will make a decision from there.

Thanks

Stompe

[stompe]

Can't compare the car to the Prius as I've never been in one, but I don't find my Auris particularly loud. Yes, you will hear the engine if you floor it, the difference to a normal car being that it will rev to the max almost instantly, compared to over a few seconds with a gear box.

Unless you are getting it for free, I wouldn't bother with touch and go. Most people have smart phones now, and Google Maps is prevalent.

The interior light will come on as you approach the car, if you don't open the car it will eventually go off

Hiya Colin,

Thanks very much, much appreciated. So it sounds very similar to the Prius. It is the same drive train so cannot imagine it to be any louder. Thanks for the heads up on the Touch and Go. Colin may I suggest you look at Waze https://www.waze.com/ i think its brilliant. Good Luck

[Aceshigh84]

Yeah, I use Waze all the time. I'm looking forward to what Google do with them following their acquisition. They have already started to roll some of the features from Waze into Google Maps.

The touch and go is based on Google Maps though, but you have to faff to download updates from Toyota and then upload to the car. Sod that for a game of soldiers! Either Waze or Google Maps on my phone is kept up to date automagically!

[stompe]

Yeah, I use Waze all the time. I'm looking forward to what Google do with them following their acquisition. They have already started to roll some of the features from Waze into Google Maps.

The touch and go is based on Google Maps though, but you have to faff to download updates from Toyota and then upload to the car. Sod that for a game of soldiers! Either Waze or Google Maps on my phone is kept up to date automagically!

Hiya Colin

I do agree with you that Waze is very good. Just been doing a bit of research and you are going to need a lot of gig on your data on your smartphone to be able to use the sat nav to its full effect.

I travel a distance of 17/18 miles to and from work each day, I need to listen to the traffic news to be able to avoid hotspots. Unfortunately, over time that is more data than my plan will give me. Incidentally I am on 02, so unfortunately I am stuck with Toyota Touch and Go. Even with the new system in this quarters Toyota magazine where you can get Wifi now for £350 it is not going to be cost effective. I do not understand one thing with Toyota Touch and Go that on the Go plus, which you cannot have on the Auris, you do not get 3D mapping. I do not understand the reason why you cannot have this when it is on google maps but then again I am an old fossil and not well up to speed on this technology. Perhaps someone can enlighten me. lol

Stompe

[kithmo]

T&G plus on my Prius+ has 3D mapping. The only thing I haven't worked out is how to use send to car, the T&G portal looks nothing like the Youtube instructions.

[stompe]

T&G plus on my Prius+ has 3D mapping. The only thing I haven't worked out is how to use send to car, the T&G portal looks nothing like the Youtube instructions.

Hiya Keith,

Looks a nice motor the Prius+ but do not have much use for a seven seater. What is the 3D mapping like in your opinion? I think I see somewhere on a forum how to use "send to car" might be on here or on the american site http://priuschat.com/categories/toyota-prius-community.5/ . Good luck

Stompe

[kithmo]

TBH I don't use the 3D mapping, I prefer the 2D setting. The 3D setting is just the map laid on its back, which IMO makes it harder to read. I haven't been near any famous landmarks yet with it so I don't know what the 3D landmarks look like (or even if it has that feature).

I found out just last night how to send locations to the car by "send to car". I had to log on to the Toyota Portal website, instead of using the Toyota toolbox, then select "My Trips", add a new trip then scroll down and click "Send to car". Then on the NAV in the car select download from server in the route selection menu. The Portal website is very clunky and not very intuitive and the send to car button was below the screen so I had to scroll the screen down to see it. The trips can only have one destination so if you are going to stop over enroute you have to put two separate trips in, one to the stop over and one to the final destination and you don't have a choice of routes or avoids like on the NAV, just one route. You do however have a choice of providers for the map, either Google or TomTom. I hope they are going to improve the software as it is useful to be able to set up your journey on the PC before hand, then just get in the car and download it when you set off. At the moment it's a bit basic.