UK Options Different...

[molgrips]

Prii in the UK come in three versions - T3, T4 and TSpirit. I got the TSpirit, which includes all the main stuff like parking assist, bluetooth, sat-nav, the 9 speaker stereo etc. But it seems like in the US you can get plenty more stuff, like HID lights and an auto dimming rear view mirror. I can't believe HIDs weren't even an option. You can get part-leather seats, but not full ones, I think that's the only extra option you can get in addition to what's in the three packages.

So the question is, why?

Stuff I have:
NAV, BT, voice commands, 9 speakers, parking assist, 195 tyres, electric mirrors, VSC

Stuff I know I don't have that they do:
Coolant thermos, fuel tank bladder, HIDs, auto dimming mirror, full leather interior...

Stuff I'd like if they made:
Auto rain-sensing wipers (these are ace!)

[eagle33199]

Toyota really trys to target the options they provide to the region (if they offered all options to all regions the price would increase a lot for all the extra options). For example, here in the US we don't have daytime running lights like they do elsewhere (Canada, i believe?), nor do we have parking assist or a factory installed EV switch.

Some of the options they pick for various regions are also less about the customer and more about the laws. for example, the fuel tank bladder helps to reduce emissions, which makes it more environmentally friendly, which means you get more perks from the government in places like California.

[IsrAmeriPrius]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(molgrips @ Jul 14 2006, 04:40 AM) [snapback]286146[/snapback]</div>

So the question is, why?
[/b]

Concerning HID headlights, if my memory served me correctly, in the EU headlight washers are mandatory for xenon lights. Those are not available on the Prius.

[rufaro]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(eagle33199 @ Jul 14 2006, 06:56 AM) [snapback]286178[/snapback]</div>

Toyota really trys to target the options they provide to the region (if they offered all options to all regions the price would increase a lot for all the extra options). For example, here in the US we don't have daytime running lights like they do elsewhere (Canada, i believe?), nor do we have parking assist or a factory installed EV switch.

Some of the options they pick for various regions are also less about the customer and more about the laws. for example, the fuel tank bladder helps to reduce emissions, which makes it more environmentally friendly, which means you get more perks from the government in places like California.
[/b]

I really do think it is MAINLY a function of what is "street legal" in our most restrictive states--yup, like California. There are so many things REQUIRED by law here, and Toyota can't put ALL the toys on ALL the cars and keep it both legal AND relatively affordable. I mean, it has taken YEARS for someone to make the SmartCar street legal for here, and I don't think they are QUITE there yet--how much stuff can a motorized roller skate DO WRONG?

So, yeah, I'd love to have the parking assist--but I guess bean counter in ToyMarketingUS figured we'd have to do without it so we could have all the stuff we HAVE to have that will not be contraindicated by the stuff we THINK we have to have!

And that it probably comes down to the bean counters in all the other countries as well. I suspect the US is the most lucrative large market for tricked out "regular" (as opposed to "luxury") cars. (Yeah, there are probably a few gold Hummers in Bahrain, say, and Sacramento ...but that's not what I mean...).

Yes, I do believe all cars in Canada MUST have daytime headlights. I KNOW that the law in California recently changed to REQUIRE the use of headlights whenever your wipers are being used (no, not just for the quick cleanup, but due to any actual precipitation...cut me some slack here!), so I AM surprised that we don't have the autowipers somehow linked to the headlights...another disable-able beeper, anyone?

Anyway, I do think the US is the most, um, DEMANDING car buying population, per capita, for our every-day rides. Not to mention almost certainly the most litigious. Gotta be a hellish combo for them bean counters.

Given the above and how much petrol costs in the UK--and just about everywhere but the US and, I guess, the Middle East--there HAVE to be trade offs made by the manufacturers.

(I suspect our litigiousness is why the EV button is not available as a manuf. option here--if they sold it to us, and we then destroyed our HSTs by abusing them, we'd sue the hell out of 'em for making it available to us, for example.)

Citing once again my home state in the Land of Fruit and Nuts, note how much longer the Hybrid System warranty is that they HAVE TO give(!) us with the car than in any other state...(I am NOT complaining about that, mind you! )

Seems to me we would need a panel of head honchos from each country--in a sealed room with NO LAWYERS and NO RECORDING DEVICES, including pencils and pens--to get the REAL answer to this question!