Driven Gen4 Prius today

[Ancient Nerd]

4 hours ago, johalareewi said:

I read that a black version was available in Japan (instead of white).  I will rummage through my browsing history and report back.

Here goes:

http://toyota.jp/prius/grade/grade5/

http://toyota.jp/prius/grade/grade6/

And interestingly

http://toyota.jp/prius/grade/grade7/

And a 4WD prius

http://toyota.jp/prius/performance/efour/?adid=ag325.jpcompare_efour-detail&padid=ag325.jpcompare_efour-detail

 

Sadly, I think those are base models. I don't think there is an option on the premium models. All the versions with the wireless phone charger format seemed to be in white with no option.

Toyota 2 - Customers 0

[mysecondavensis]

I had a good test drive the other day along motorway, edge of town and back through a winding country road.  I am very pleased with the improved handling, ride quality and smoothness. It is quieter and more refined in operation. That was BE plus with 17" wheels.   Forward visibilty is much improved.  I found the radar controlled cruise control interesting and potentially a life saver(?)   It is a novelty to have it recognise traffic signs and integrate with the HUD, something I wanted to incorporate nearly 40 years ago but was technically too difficult to do then.

You can't have everything;  the HUD doesn't show roundabout and turn info, the rear headroom is less, the boot loses the underfloor compartment and the load bay is not flat when seats are down. 

Would be very keen to order but the white sanitary ware is a deal breaker so am waiting for Toyota to offer a discreet option which tones in with the interior rather than stands out.  I hope they respond quickly to what US and English viewers regard as a bum note.  (hoho)

[ToyotaAurisHybrid]

We went to our local dealer today for a look. They don't have a 'showroom model' but do have a demonstrator in white (was dirty today). After 30 mins of waiting for a salesman to become free to show us it, we just picked up a brochure and left. Looks nice in the flesh though 

[cviclark]

I need to book a test drive in a Gen 4, but the reason I picked the Excel with leather dash was due to the horrendous reflections on the Icon version I first drove. Both my Priuses also suffered from reflections off the bright work vents so there is no way I will buy a car with white sanitary ware finishes anywhere in the cab. The last Yaris courtesy car I borrwed had the same white fittings. Horrendous, low rent, bling. I didn't like the Lexus CT but will now look at the 300h with a drop rear seat. Unfortunately Lexus in UK suffer from the same Toyota Gb marketing people as Toyota. London centric non car owning idiots who choose narrow like minded focus groups to confirm their misguided choices. I bought a Lexus in Belgium once just to get the car I wanted at a price I was willing to pay, even though all RHD cars were provided by GB. It was a fabulous car and the Brussels dealer a breath of fresh air. Not so easy now I live in North West, but if I lived in the SE I would do it again.

Edited April 12, 2016 by cviclark
Bling not being

[andreapenna]

hi guys,

very new to this forum (despite I'm driving Toyota since 2003: Corolla Verso Mk1 and then Corolla Verso Mk2).
Just to add my contribute on Prius 2016.

After having tested: XTrail, Qashqai, CX5, Tucson, Kuga and Rav4 and having found no way I could love any of those (each one for a different reason but all for real MPG and pollution values) I managed to have a test drive with the new Prius 2016 (Business Plus), actually I had two test drives.
The first one was immediately after a Rav4 2016 test drive: it was like a spark in the sky! Gosh - I have finally found my car! My wife's SUV's dream was unbearable for me and the Prius was like Cinderella's shoe for my foot :-)

My wife doesn't like the idea of a low car and pushed for the X-Trail, but I don't want a huge thirsty polluting tractor... so we did a long test drive with both: same road, same day, trying to drive the X-Trail the same way I drove the Prius and the results after 50 miles of country road/motorway were staggering: the Prius ended with 62.3MPG, the XTrail 43.1MPG. That was it!

Honestly the car is amazing to drive, the cruise control is the icing on the cake, it brings the future here and I do like the interiors (including that white insert some here dislike).
Few negatives:
- wipe rain sensors only on the excel trim seems ridiculous to me
- possible concern is the boot space but numbers are saying it has the same volume of the CX5... finger crossed I'll be able to put our bags when we will go for our first holiday or I'm a dead man :-)

I found some really good quotes on CarWow but due to family arguments I lost a good opportunity.
Anyway, I managed to get a similar offer from the local dealer and so I signed today and delivery is planned for first week of June.

I choose: Business, Plain white, repair kit.

Cheers,
Andrea

[RunningInPleasePass]

I've had my Prius Business Edition Plus 2016 for just over a week now, and the more I drive it, the more I like it, very smooth, quiet, and all the technology works well, I even like the white console, I think it looks modern.

Gripes are minor, I also miss the Rain Sensing Wipers, I would prefer a proper Parcel Shelf, and when the car is wet, and you open a door or the boot, water drips into the car.

Overall I think I made the right choice, but it's early days yet.

[johalareewi]

45 minutes ago, RunningInPleasePass said:

 and when the car is wet, and you open a door or the boot, water drips into the car.

Gen3 prius does that too.  :(

[Sooty]

29 minutes ago, johalareewi said:

Gen3 prius does that too.  :(

And the Gen 2.

[FROSTYBALLS]

1 hour ago, RunningInPleasePass said:

...... and when the car is wet, and you open a door or the boot, water drips into the car.

...and the 2002-2006 Corolla. In fact Toyota replaced seat covers in some Corollas under warranty due to water staining of the fire retardant fabric. Used to get this in our Mazda 2 as well.

[cviclark]

I went to see my dealer as he told me he had a demonstration Gen 4. It was being used by the MD so I was not able to drive it, but I did get a good look at. I liked the cabin but not white plastic bits. Looked cheap,and nasty,no way white or high shine plastic should be in a car cabin. Although new the bonnet had more chips from stones than my 2 year old Auris. The low front and modern paint will make a mess of that bonnet very quickly. The boot base was not flat, with just a flimsy tray. It looked as if a bit was missing.  Good to see the customers can now choose wheel size.  The choice of colours are awful, I am not fussy but there was none I actually liked.They were all dull and only the red looked as if it suited the car.

I also went to visit the Lexus showroom to look at the 300h and CT. The CT has not changed much over the years and I hate the cabin. Not a patch on the Auris TS although build quality  looked better. The 300h was just too big, my wife is short and had a real problem getting in and out as the hard sides of the bucket seats cut the back of legs a feet did not reach the ground. Years ago I had a Peugeot  with a swivel front seat, maybe Toyota should go back to looking at what works. Good to see Lexus fit headlight washers now. I would pay for accessories like that especially if they were heated.

They have made the face-lifted Auris longer in the nose, and I do not like the new colours or the chrome and shiny  dash. The RAV won't fit in my garage  so Toyota will in all probability loose me. I love Hybrids (had three) and they suit my lifestyle, but the car needs to be practical, durable and a pleasuremail to own. Despite its well documented faults my Auris TS is basically  a nice car so I will not be in a hurry to change it.  

[Heidfirst]

24 minutes ago, cviclark said:

Good to see Lexus fit headlight washers now.

They are required by law on HID headlights (& LED too?).

[Duffryn]

I had a look at the Gen 4, and hardly liked anything about it - appearance wise.  Don't like the front, don't like the rear, and don't like the sideview profile. All far to gimmicky for my tastes. And especially don't like the white sanitaryware inside, although the dashboard design itself I could live with.

Accept that the drive/ride experience has been improved, but for me (only doing 6-7K miles per year) the best option was to update my '10 T4 for a '14 TSpirit and be 10 grand better off!

[MEP's Yaris GS]

On 15/04/2016 at 9:01 AM, johalareewi said:

Gen3 prius does that too.  :(

Mine doesn't - perhaps we get different rain in Norfolk haha.

[johalareewi]

23 hours ago, MEP's Yaris GS said:

Mine doesn't - perhaps we get different rain in Norfolk haha.

You may be right.

I find that if I run my finger around the edge of the door (at the top) before opening it, it doesn't drip into the car (but I do get a dirty finger).

[diverdave]

Yay, dealer just phoned me , my gen 4 is ready to pick up later this afternoon. 

[thecaretaker]

On ‎03‎/‎05‎/‎2016 at 0:35 PM, diverdave said:

Yay, dealer just phoned me , my gen 4 is ready to pick up later this afternoon. 

Well done diverdave, I hope you enjoy it as much as I do mine. I think it's gotta be the best Toyota MrT has ever made. I love it!

[diverdave]

Thanks thecaretaker, I quite agree it is the best Prius so far I love it too, It's a leap forward from the gen 3 for the improved ride , interior, and I love the touch screen so easy and intuitive to use. Also I was torn between the pearl white or the hypersonic red, I'm glad I chose the red it looks amazing in the sun.

[kithmo]

Don't get me wrong, I love mine, but I wouldn't say the touch screen is intuitive, if anything it's the opposite. Items you would expect to find in one menu, in a different menu etc. Luckily there aren't too many places to look which makes it quite easy to learn, but I found it frustrating at first having to hunt through illogical menus for things. Then it has to be learned again when you update the system as it's slightly different. 

[diverdave]

You are right Kithmo maybe because there are not to many sub menus it is easy to find what you are looking for. What I find a bit more difficult is finding my way around the menu for the customisation of the small screens using the controls on the steering wheel, but with use it becomes easier. 

[kithmo]

On 5/6/2016 at 8:27 PM, diverdave said:

You are right Kithmo maybe because there are not to many sub menus it is easy to find what you are looking for. What I find a bit more difficult is finding my way around the menu for the customisation of the small screens using the controls on the steering wheel, but with use it becomes easier. 

Yes, on those screens it's easy to miss the fact that there is a scroll bar on the right of some of them and not on others.

[diverdave]

On 6 May 2016 at 8:10 PM, kithmo said:

Don't get me wrong, I love mine, but I wouldn't say the touch screen is intuitive, if anything it's the opposite. Items you would expect to find in one menu, in a different menu etc. Luckily there aren't too many places to look which makes it quite easy to learn, but I found it frustrating at first having to hunt through illogical menus for things. Then it has to be learned again when you update the system as it's slightly different. 

Not quite sure what you mean by update the system, having just got the car does the software need upgrading already 

?

[kithmo]

21 hours ago, diverdave said:

Not quite sure what you mean by update the system, having just got the car does the software need upgrading already 

?

Yes Dave, it comes with last year's maps and system software installed, there is an update on My Toyota.

[diverdave]

Thanks for the tip Keith, I presume that it is the same process as in the Gen 3 whereas you have to plug the USB stick in the car first for it to recognise it, then download it from My Toyota on your PC.

[PeteB]

Hi Keith, do you think it was worth the effort to update?

The last update I did on my Gen 3 was very painful to do (stopped some phone features working for a while too), and the 'new' map was more out of date than a five-year-old TomTom.

My plan when my Gen 4 arrives was to leave well alone and use my TomTom 6000, which has lifetime free quarterly map updates and lifetime free traffic data that's more up to date and reliable than anything else I've seen.  Several roads that only opened this year are on it, wheres some roads that opened several years ago are not on the Toyota map.

[diverdave]

I must be looking in the wrong place, all I get when I go into My Toyota is a site for reminders about servicing etc. Cant find any reference to updates, can someone point me in the right direction please.