Australian Models and Prices

I pre-ordered my Prius Gen III back in May and am scheduled to pick it up around 17 July 09. (I have been reading forums here everyday since May.) Yesterday the dealer rang me and said that he had a Gen III for the day (to train staff) and that if I wanted to see it, to come around. I think I was there before he hung up. I spent about an hour going over the car with him and a few things popped out at me which seemed different to the US version as shown on these threads, youtube etc...

2 cars will be released in Australia, the standard version at $39,900(AU) – a $2500 increase over the old model, and the I-Tech at $53,500(AU) - a $6600 increase over the old model.

The major differences immedialtely apparent to me (on the I-Tech model only) were:

a) No LKA feature. The button on the steering wheel was blanked out and could not be pressed. Sadly this feature has been omitted. I am a little dissapointed because I was most curious about this feature. I have tried to convince myself that the Australian roads are narrower than the US and that therefore it simply wouldn't have worked but I think that is just sour grapes talking. (We still get dynamic cruise control and auto no smash thingo, just no direction correction on the autopilot).

b) No homelink system. The mirror still has auto dimming with an on/off feature, but there are no programmable buttons on it at all. I am also a little dissapointed about that but too but that is really just Captain Kirk talking.

c) We get both the LED headlights AND the solar moonroof together but with 15" wheels. Of course I am delighted about that option (even if we do pay a premium for it).

d) There is no space save spare tyre, instead we get an interesting package that involves busting one container of fluid to mix with another, pluggin it into the 12v power supply and pumping it into the popped tyre. Nice idea to get you to the tyre shop but heaven help us if we get stuck on a country road with a sheered off tyre.

e) A big query about voice activation. The voice activation did not seem to work - I hit the button on the steering wheel and everytime I got a printed error message on the screen saying something like "Voice Activation does not work on this screen". The salesman said it was only for the Bluetooth and that he received no lessons on voice activation navigation - which is a real dissapointment to me because I was dying to speak the destination address to the system. I am still hoping though that I have just misunderstood it and that it might work.

f) We have blinkers on our side mirrors and

g) We have an awesome HUD. You can turn the HUD on/off, adjust brightness as well as limited vertical movement on the windscreen as well as toggle on/off the hybrid synergy bar under the speed reading. Apparently it also gives you nav directions and distance but I couldn't demonstrate that because we couldn't drive it out of the showroom garage. Surprisingly the HUD system seemed to be higher on the windscreen than I would have expected (almost right in your line of sight) and in fact if you sit too low in the chair, half of the HUD dissapears from view. I had to pump my seat up to see it all and am slightly worried about whether it will be ultimatley comfortable to me (I am about 5'5").

Anyway - does anyone have any comforting words on us not getting a), b), d) and possibly e) above?

Forgot to mention.... The backup camera view in the Aust model also has two parallel bars which tell the driver where the car will back-up to. I don't know if that feature is on the US version.

I believe the base model will have a spare tyre.
I am very disappointed that even though Toyota only manage to move 14,000 Prius over the life of the car here in Australia they have chosen to make it less affordable when in the USA there have been price reductions on the cheaper models. Poor show Toyota, obviously Australia wont see the Honda Insight!

Personally I'd love to see less tech, and a lower entry cost. This isn't a problem of low volume, it is currently Toyota's best selling model in the domestic market and we drive on the same side of the road.

I'm going for a drive in a new Prius tomorrow so I'll let you know if I think it's worth the extra coin then.

- and we are closer to Japan
- and our dollar has improved against the greenback

sounds like a bit of profiteering....

We are getting the Insight though a bit delayed apparently. As you drive back from Sydney Airport to the city and come out of the runway tunnel - there is a billboard on the LHS advertising the Honda Insight (I think that's right) - cos on the other side of the road just after it, there is another billboard advertising the GenIII Prius Comeing Soon.

This thread sucks!

I thought I was going to find information on hot Australian models for sale.

Prius a paler shade of green

yep, that's what it's about!

That was a rather stupid article Clayton. Did it actually compare a Mini and a Fiesta to a Prius? LMAO

they basically they could have made the 3rd gen prius more fuel economical but ppl wanted more grunt in the prius.

Well I'm in a really nice room in Sydney, this is very flash. Separate bedroom, lounge room, 2 bathrooms, marble all over the place.

Ride to the hotel was in a hybrid Lexus, very nice, you know I didn't even see what model it was. I thought that was a really nice touch Toyota Australia!

Looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the Gen III Prius tomorrow morning. Also looking forward to hearing why the Aussie Prius costs more for the base model then the V model in the USA after currency conversion.

I'll give a full report as soon as I can.

me too

Small delay, I'll be submitting a full report of the event from my twisted point of view of course, as soon as I finish writing it. Not sure if it will belong in the 2010 threads or Fred's.

As a apatiser, I won the CO2 Challenge! Here I am at work in the 2009 Prius!

(In Australia we don't bring our cars out a year before they are made.)

Well done on the Co2 Challenge Pat. Look forward to your report. Great Pics.

Just let us know where
Been hanging out to read your review.
Just heard back from the company that will be doing my novated leasing. Price for the I-Tech is definately 53k + GST and Dealer.
I wont have my leasing price until the end of the month as they wont be releasing fleet pricing until then. I cant imagine it would be much cheaper. Looks like I will have to settle for the basic + nav, and ban the kids from the back seat (really wanted leather as it is so much easier to clean)

Can't wait to hear from you Pat. I'm a little dissapointed about the pricing.

Sorry peoples, a bloke has to work in the morning and I'm still not ready to publish. This is getting a bit long, I'll split the review in 2, pre-drive and drive impressions. Stay tuned!

Where did you end up posting Pat ?
I had a quick look in driving impressions but couldnt find your thread.

ta

I feel Aussie motorists are being exploited by Toyota with their pricing of the new model. The i-Tech has risen $8000 from the previous model which is too much for this little Koala to bear. While the extra features are welcome, the changes are incremental from previous models, some are taken from Lexus, so development costs are minimal.
Compare our prices to the US where the new models are $1000 less than the previous model. When you look online at the US Toyota website, you see that the i-Tech OnRoad cost is US$32520 or approx AUS$41000 at 80 cents exchange rate. With all the current economic talk about 'level playing fields' and 'Free Trade Agreements', a 41% slug for Aussie market pricing is over the top. If it is good enough for the US to have cheaper motoring, then it is good enough for us Aussies!
In a number of press articles Toyota Australia apparently has got the goal of increasing the 'private' ownership numbers compared to 'Government' numbers. Most of the NHW20 Prius vehicles I see on the road are Government cars. I don't think they have got their implementation strategy correct with their new pricing model. Couple this with the fact that the new model requires Premium Unleaded fuel, you see that we are copping a double whammy.