Hud

My local Toyota dealership tried to tell me the new Prius has a HUD. I looked at it and said, "no it doesn't". He goes on saying it did and that what you see is a reflection from inside the dash. Since the HUD is not available in North America, I knew better. It was clear he didn't get it as I tried to explain to him that this does not make it a Heads UP Display.

Are all Toyota sales people this uneducated about the Prius? You would think with the Internet and forums like this one, these people would learn as much as possible about the products they sell.

Yeah, but cut them some slack, they have to know details from Yaris to Sequoia. Most I have talked to at my dealership seem to want to learn about the Prius. Maybe we should hold classes for salespeople!

Lee

The MID and speedo on the Prius come close to being a HUD, as they are projected onto the line of sight and at a longer focal distance. However, since you don't look through the MID and speedo, they are not a HUD by definition.

As far as sales mis-information goes, this one was fairly minor. When trying to explain these things to a sales animal, try to remember the old saying: "Never try to teach a pig to sing. It only wastes your time and annoys the pig."

Tom

It's also not a HUD because you simply do not keep your head up to see the display in the Prius.

I think many sales people were misinformed because the Prius marketing campaign launched very strong a lot before the car was actually arriving in the showrooms... So, most of them were just disconnected and trying to learn, but now I think, they are catching up…

Depends on your height. It's pretty close to heads-up for me.

Tom

All new Prius (2010) delivered in Europe has real HUD. It projects the speed, navigation arrows and hybrid info on the lower part of windscreen. You can adjust the height and brightness of projection. It is the same system as the new Lexus Rx 450h.

Anders
SWEDEN

This is a real HUD system. Unfortunately we can't get it in the U.S.

Tom

My last post referred to the European Prius HUD, which is projected onto the windshield.

Tom

I understand but isn't it their job to know the products they sell? If they are popping off wrong information then they are being sloppy and not telling the truth.

It is not even close, what are talking about? A HUD is completely different animal than a reflected gauge that is still in the dash.

Some of the salespeople are pretty uninformed, the real problem is they don't know how to say "I don't know the answer but I'll try to find out" they just make something up.

Earlier this week I had one give me a test drive in a Prius III and try to tell me it was a Prius V; I had another one tell me that Plasmacluster was the type of display used for the Nav system. If you read the brochure and use this forum you will know more than most of them.

HUD displays are great I wish the Prius had one, at least for speed and mpg. I drove a Corvette with HUD a couple of years ago and fell in love with it.

I know all about HUD's, from the military and from my Corvette. I don't understand why the U.S. version of the Prius never gets these great options. We probably buy more Prius vehicles than Japan does.

This is the Prius HUD for Europe - sorry it's not a great photo. Show this to your dealer and explain

http://priuschat.com/forums/attachm...772-uk-features-options-round-up-dscf0504.jpg

A HUD is a reflected gauge that is still in the dash, just as you say. The difference, in the case of a real HUD, is that the reflection is done by the windshield or a piece of flat glass behind the windshield. In the case of the Prius MID the reflecting surface is just below the windshield. The effect is very similar, only you don't look through the MID. The rest is quibbling over semantics.

Tom

For those who wish for the Prius HUD, you might be a *little* disappointed with its optical performance.

Yes, technically it is a HUD and its VERY useful. In a stricter sense, it isn't a true HUD.

Unlike the military versions. images projected onto the windscreen isn't focused to infinity,

You'll find your eyes having to re-focus between reading projected symbols and the outside world.

I think tone_uk's image pretty much illustrates what I am trying to describe.

You are incorrect. With an in dash reflected gauge you have to look down in the same place a regular gauge would be. HUD stands for Heads Up Display, meaning you do not have to look down at the dash to view the information.

My speedometer isn't located anywhere close to where a normal speedometer would be. In the case of my Prius the speedometer is up at my line of sight, just below the windshield. I don't have to look down to see it. Perhaps you are a tall person.

I fully understand your point. I have a fair amount of experience with military HUD systems. With real HUDs you can adjust the height to put the image right in front of your center of view. They are also focused to infinity so that they stay in focus as you look at distant objects.

I am completely aware of the similarities and differences between the Prius MID and a real HUD. Given these similarities and differences, I stand by my original assertion that the MID is similar to a HUD, but not a real HUD. This is my opinion. Your opinion is that the differences outweigh the similarities. Either way, the MID is not a HUD. Either way, it is a quibbling argument. The MID is what it is, and whatever label we wish to use doesn't change the fact that the MID is a mirror reflected display located just below the windshield. This discussion is much like the argument over whether Pluto is a planet. Planet, not a planet - it's still the same hunk of rock.

Tom

I think it's a pretty minor distinction... my sales guy told me that EV mode would take me 25 miles. He also told me that winter gray, silver, and blizzard pearl were, respectively, his favorite colors as I vacillated between them throughout last week!

I am not quibbling, just stating facts. Yes the systems are similar in that they use a reflecting type of display. Just because the gauge cluster is closer to the bottom windshield line than others are, does not make it a HUD. You said it wasn't a real HUD, this is true because it is not a HUD system at all. Should I call a car a train just because it has wheels?

The bottom line is that the North American Prius does not have a HUD and Salesmen here should not tell customers that it does. That's all I'm saying.