Will the 2012 Prius III get Entune upgrade?

My wife and I are considering getting a Prius as our heavy duty commuter vehicle (I am getting ready to start a new job with a much longer commute so gas mileage and maintenance costs are becoming more of a concern).

We test drove the 2011 Prius and she was pretty happy with it. I thought it drove okay, if nothing like the sportier sedans I am used to driving.

One thing that really bugged me though was how dated the nav/instrumentation is. I really don't want to spend $28K+ on a car that can't even fully integrate with my iPhone.

I did some research and saw some info about the Entune system coming on the Prius V. It looks like it will be more of what I would want to get on a new vehicle (for comparison purposes the Ford Sync system on the new Focus is an absolutely top notch telematics system). I found a previous thread on this subject but it's over two months since the last post.

Does anyone yet know if the 2012 regular Prius will get this as a model year addition? My dealer had no information on the 2012 and said that with the parts shortages, etc, he expects the 2011 to be rebadged for 2012 with absolutely no upgrades or changes. He said not to expect them to even start rolling into dealerships until Jan or Feb of next year and the supply will be very very tight all next year.

I am unclear why we would have more authoritative information than your dealer does.

I would not expect Entune until each model 'needs' a refresh to keep selling. As the Prius is selling well, it may not be on the top of Toyota's list.

Do I have any inside information? No.

Out of curiosity, what's dated about it? Most PNDs still don't have voice recognition entry of addresses that the Prius has had since model year 2004. I posted this brief comparison of my now old Nuvi 350 vs. the nav system on my 2nd gen Prius at http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...dvd-nav-vs-other-nav-system-2.html#post675023. The 3rd gen adds stuff like traffic info, Bluetooth A2DP streaming, USB port, and some iDevice integration.

Since you mention Ford Sync, the replacement now is MyFord Touch. It's been criticized at places like MyFord Touch: Consumer Reports, MyFord/MyLincoln Touch: A touch of intuition, or insanity? and 2012 Ford Focus SEL - Comparison Tests - Car and Driver. CR did mention receiving an update at MyFord/MyLincoln Touch: An update (literally) SYNC.

There was also a mention of its bugginess at http://priuschat.com/forums/other-c...s-second-gen-sync-system-off-buggy-start.html.

The reason I asked here is that I don't believe my dealer is actually very well informed. The sales person seemed to be just "winging" it and did not even check with the sales manager or purchasing manager.

I don't want to get into an argument about the telematics in the prius vs. other systems. I have owned/driven a lot of cars and it really did not impress me very much. Newer systems can do a lot of additional things, such as control of Pandora on my iPhone through the vehicle audio controls, bluetooth download/sync of contacts, text messages, etc.

As I said, I was just checking for additional info that my dealer might not have had, did not want to get into a debate.

Gen 1 was 2001 to 2003 no refresh
Gen 2 was 2004 to 2009 with a minor refresh in 2006
Gen 3 is from 2010 to 201? a refresh in 2012 or 2013 seems likely

If they need to make changes due to the Plug in Hybrids, then adding Enture seems wise. If the Plug in needs no interior changes, I bet they pass. I am not in charge at Toyota, however, so my opinion is worthless.

I can't see them selling the 2012 Prius with such a crappy NAV screen that we currently have when the 2012 Prius v (wagon)'s system totally smokes it so I think it's a real possibility. Just the Entune system alone would make a nice refreshing.

LOL! Unfortunately, dealers and sales people not being very well informed isn't that unusual.

As for telematics, the bolded part the Prius can do.

Here's the probem: we have car manufacturers building their own entertainment systems based on the cheapest set of components available. They are in no rush, and face no competitive pressure, but they know that people will pay thousands for "premium audio systems". So they keep connections and software proprietary and shun aftremarket systems made by the likes of Kenwood and Panasonic who actually do automobile entertainment systems for a living in a very competitive world.

It would be great if car manufacturers would just leave the auto entertainment systems to the experts and support a modular standard that they and other automobile entertainment systems could adhere to.

But as long as they can make big bucks on the entertainment system (and they DO make big bucks) that's the way they are gonna go...and please nobody.

Well, the reality is that entertainment and NAV systems, etc, are one of the few places that dealers can add a relatively low cost addition to the car that turns a very large profit for them.

However, aftermarket systems have their own headaches.

The way that this stuff will inevitably go is that the user's mobile will set up the car infotainment environment through a BT or hard cabled link and it will also be used to set up the car's power seat position, mirrors, etc.

Eventually the car system will simply be an apps suite that talks to the phone, with differentiation being made for the degree of integration with the largest number of phone manufacturers, the size and quality of the on screen display and perhaps a few value added features that users subscribe to on an annual basis to give the vehicle manufacturer more money.

I believe that my original post might have ruffled some feathers. However, I am genuine in my report that the current system in the Prius, from what I have seen of it, comes up lacking compared to some of the other manufacturers offerings. I definitely don't want to by a 2+ year old infotainment system when the newest one, which will be far more upgradeable is just around the corner.

If they refuse to upgrade the system for next year I will have to decide if it is even worth getting the nav/ipod integration at all, I might be better off simply going aftermarket at that point.

I disagree about "no rush" and "no competitive pressure". There clearly is and has been for awhile, at least for telematics.

As for the makers you mention, many of Toyota's stereos come/came from Fujitsu Ten which has the Eclipse brand. Some have also come from Panasonic. Some have Honda stereos (at least in the past) have come from Alpine and I hear some come from Panasonic. Some (all?) Nissan stereos come from Clarion.

Most dealers will tell you any BS you can to get you to buy a car from them sooner, rather than waiting for a car to come out and potentially buying a car from someone else later.

I would argue that the majority of dealers know less about cars than the majority of users in this forum.

Thanks Paradox, that's kind of what I thought. From my experience with other enthusiast forums, the members often are better informed than retail/dealer networks are about model year changes.

Looks like I will need to hold tight for a few more months to see if the info on the MY12 becomes available.

I might also arrange another test drive to see how good the iPod integration, etc, is on the current Prius telematics system.

I can confirm the point about dealer knowledge... the guys I spoke to around here, are pathetic in their knowledge about the Prius...

I agree too, its quite sad.

....... Ford Fusion Hybrid???????.....

What about the Ford Fusion? (I don't understand what your post is referring to).

The Ford Fusion Hybrid will get Ford SYNC & Toyotas will get Entune.

I hope next year's Prius gets Entune....