I wish I could order the following Prius

I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY (you get the idea) hate built in GPS/Navigation in cars including the Prius. I wish there was an option to get everything BUT that.

I wish they had a good iPod/iPhone interface for the Prius. What I've seen and heard about for the 2010 doesn't impress me at all. It's more like the interfaces on the MP3 players that people don't buy very many of.

Ok, everything except XM/Sirius. Radio including satellite radio sucks big time. Now if they could have a TiVo like thing for radio I might actually listen to it. But then only if you could hit a button to skip past ads and songs I don't like.

I also would want to find a body person who can get rid of the stupid bump on the front of the hood. And an interior person who can get rid of the center console and replace it with something decent.

Decent means, put stuff where your arms and hands would expect to find them. Like cup holders that don't get in the way of your arms. Like putting the shifter back on the dash where it should be since it isn't a manual stick shift so you only use it to put it into drive to get moving and rarely touch it again. And I'd go back to the previous dash and start over, dumping the current one.

Having said that. I LOVE a lot about the new prius. Basically everything else that I didn't mention.

my 2 cents worth

I'd love to see, also a "wish we could have this" list:

1. a III and a IV with sunroof, but not bundled with NAV. That would be a brilliant marketing move for Toyota right now. Make the NAV and the sunroof package each be a 'stand alone' option.

2. A IV or a V model with sunroof and 17" wheels and fog lights. (A Sport model)

3. a II with a simple, non solar sunroof, like the one in the Scion tC. Something that would retail for approx $1000-1100 or thereabouts.

4. A green Prius. Meaning, a green color - whether it be silverpine, tideland pearl, or even the green we now use for the Highlander. NOT the awful avocado green on the 2010 Camrys. Introducing the GREEN car without having a GREEN color for it was a surprise. After all, GREEN is the new black!!

Re: my 2 cents worth

I thought pink was the new black. Hmmmm.... Nope - can't see me in a pink car.

Re: my 2 cents worth

I wish I could order the following Prius.

Prius Model II $22,000
Solar Sunroof with out Nav $1,800
Winter Mats $200
Destination $750

I would add remote start and a few other options later.

It’s to bad Toyota does not sell the Solar Sunroof with out a GPS/Nav system.

I agree 100% with OlsonBW that all factory GPS/Nav units are horrible. You can spend $250 on a high end Garmin and get the best Nav system with traffic updates and a lot of other options not available on factory units.

I refuse to pay $1,000 more for a Prius III over a II because it has a little better stereo and a 6 CD changer. Who still uses CD’s? An iPod is like having a 6,000 CD changer on steroids.

The Prius IV is nice with leather heated seats and some other nice features but it does not warrant a $3,800 price increase over the Prius II.

Re: my 2 cents worth

:rockon:

I still use CD's. I only listen to music in the car, so it doesn't warrant the purchase of an expensive iPod. Of the 4 people in my family, I'm the only one that doesn't have an iPod, but I funtion just fine thanks.

Audiophiles can hear the difference between "lossy" compressed music formats like MP3s and CD's. They would usually prefer CDs.

And beyond that are those who assert that vinyl analog recordings sound much better than CD's. Kind of impractical to have a turntable in a car, however, so CDs would win out here.

Having both CD and IPod/MP3 capability serves both the "quality" and the "quantity" camps, IMO.

Re: my 2 cents worth

My sentiments are with you but I am afraid that too many people are buying the solar/nav just to get solar. I keep reading about how the demand for the solar package has exceeded expectations. So Toyota is selling more nav units that they would otherwise have.

As a sales person, are you seeing people choose against that package because the nav is bundled with the roof? I am one of them. I am buying from a dealer 1300 miles from my home in order to get a IV whthout solar/nav but I seem to be in the minority.

I also like your idea of the Scion Tc roof as an option.

Re: my 2 cents worth

Frankly, those who want the sunroof are getting their sunroof cars with little or no argument. In III's (scarce) and IV's are my biggest demand cars.

I have heard from just 1 person that they would have preferred to not have a NAV because they have a Garmin already.

The ideal car for ME would be a IV with sunroof and NAV... because I use the NAV often and frankly, I have a preference for the way the bluetooth works into the NAV and prefer the traffic aspects of the in dash as well as the screen size!

Dianne

I started down the road of getting a model V with all of the options possible. Then I realized I was looking at $32k, when I could be almost as happy with a model II for $22k. I use a Garmin when I need a nav and will probably upgrade the stereo with an HD model. My stock radio has poor reception. I wonder if the JBL upgrade is better... To be clear, I am thrilled with the car, just not pleased with the radio.

here is one;
Black Prius IV, with bisque leather interior (not allowed), sunroof, nav, and ATP package with LED lights and Fog lights. And, the best part: Only 22,000. Now THAT"S sweet

I agree in most items except satellite radio, which I really like. I like sunroofs, they can really be used for a long periods of the year in the Midwest and I enjoy them. I was not sold to the solar ventilation thing, though it's a cool idea, it seems useless in the Midwest for the most part of the year. What I like about sunroofs is just having it open totally or partially to get that fresh air experience and cooling down without A/C use, but Toyota screwed up big time not offering the sunroof without the freaking useless navigator, which many people hate. The IPod connector is also expensive and crap compared to others like the SYNC system that comes with the Fusion hybrid. I will rather just connect my IPod though the auxiliary cable, great sound quality, and I like to control my songs in the IPod wheel, not in the steering wheel. That's the cool thing about the IPod... its wheel. I'm really careless about not having the IPod charged... its battery lasts for my whole trips or my commutes anyway and sporadic charges in the car tend to lower the IPod battery life anyway. Also, I’m glad I did not get the leather. If later on, I feel like I should invest in a interior renovation, I can get aftermarket leather put in for a much reduced price and much better quality, given the poor quality of the current leather. I kind of like the center console but it does cause “stronger” drivers like me to feel cramped.

I'd be happy with a spec IV with a sunroof, without NAV or solar. As it stands I intend to buy a plain IV, I am not paying $3600 for a sunroof (when I don't want the other stuff). I assume Toyota will eventually separate NAV and the sunroof options, but I doubt they split sunroof and solar or I might wait.

Not in a car driving 60MPH using mass produced speakers and a radio that is built from the lowest bidder.

Most audiophiles want to bee’s can not tell the difference between mp3 and a 96 KHz 24 bit recording in a studio.

Most people over the age of 30 could never tell the difference between 96kHz/24bit and a CD (44KHz/16bit) in a audio studio.

Adding road noise, wind noise, engine noise, mass produced cheap speakers, and a radio that cost sub $40 to build makes everything a lot worse.

I would bet if you took 100 people from this channel they could never tell the difference between a 128Kb/s MP3 and a CD going 60MPH. A lot of people think things sound betters because the numbers are higher.

I wish I could get a Prius II with 3 door SKS, ATP, and the solar ventilation system (without the moon roof).

Unfortunately, to get the option I really want (DRCC), I had to order a Prius V with ATP. This gives me the features I want, and a bunch of features I normally wouldn't have purchased. I also can't get the solar ventilation system because it is bundled with the moon roof and can't be ordered on the model V.

Re: my 2 cents worth

Expensive iPod? They start at $49 and you are buying a $25,000+ car.

Sorry, but CDs are too much of a hassle to me. It's rare for me to find more than a couple of songs I like on a CD so I see no reason to pay for the whole thing. iPods (and other MP3 players) let me listen to only the songs that I like and I don't have to worry about swapping out CDs. But if it works for you, there is on reason to switch.

Both XM and Sirius bit rate is around 50Kb/s. 20 million sat subscribers are perfectly happy with 50Kb/s. Most MP3’s are 128Kb/s or better.

I am an Electrical Engineer and have a background in audio design.

The best human ear can hear between 20 and 20,000Hz. Most people around the age of 16 can hear 15KHz but not much higher. Most people at age 22 can no longer hear 15KHz and above because of loud music in their life.

Here is a site to test your how high of a freq you can hear.

Free Online Ear Training - Test Tone Downloads

Nyquist theory states that you have to digitally sample an analog signal at double the freq so when it is reproduced back from digital to analog there will be no loss. When the CD spec was created they took the max the human ear can hear 20KHz and went a little higher 22KHz then used the Nyquist theory and doubled it to 44KHz.

Sampling anything at 96KHz has zero effect on play back. The reason recording studios record at a higher sample rates is so they can shift some of the higher frequencies to an area of the sound domain that people can hear. Again it has zero effect on play back.