Wow toyota really cut corners on the PIP

Having a 2010 I can assure you the cargo net and bumper decal were options, not standard equipment.

 

yep. 80 plus MPG is too cheap for my blood. wow. gee. Toyota shorted us all there. gotcha, i bet they're saying. time to check how the rest of the world is doing in the efficiency versus cost department. hmmm...

 

I think Toyota is realizing their sales of the PIP aren't going as well as expected- now that they have thrown in 0% interest (at least that is what the local customer relations lady told me the other day.) I sense there will be more promos coming down the line. There seems to be big difference in the head units in the two models of PIP, not worth $8k of course, but the base model really does suffer in user experience because of the display audio system. No reason to be defensive about the car, it's still a good one, but I think alot of complaints could have been delt with letting us "cheapskates" with the base model have the better nav as was on the 2010s. Of course then they might have to get a sunroof into the advanced model...

I did add the cargo net as an optional accessory to my 2010 (which I transferred to the PIP.) While they did go cheap on some things at least I now have keyless sensors on the hatch and passenger door, and heated seats that the 2010 III w/sunroof didn't have. AND yea, twice as better mpg...

 

^^^^
Yes, PiP has 0% financing in the Bay Area per
Toyota Dealerships - New & Used Car Deals & Special Offers | BuyAToyota.com
. I think I've seen local TV ads mentioning that too (and they fortunately mention the green CA HOV stickers too).

 

I love Toyota because of the low maintenance cost, great mileage and HOV eligibility. There are two things that do give me that cut corners feeling, though. When I close the driver door, it rattles like it is loose and there is quite a bit of windshield/roof wind noise on the freeway. My 2005 wasn't like that. The only issue with the 2005 was the thin paint, with white primer on a black car.

 

my door doesn't rattle, perhaps you should have the dealer look at it? and i have no wind noise to speak of, but i don't drive over 55 mph.

 

I purchased the base and promptly had the seats /centerconsole/door panels redone in leather in the color of my choice. With the seafoam green, I had dark green bolsters and light green (matches outside of car perfectly) for the center panels of the seats. Looks 1000% better than the interior if the advanced....IMHO (also replaced steering wheel with wood and leather which looks awesome) (again IMHO) Still saved almost $7000.00 I'm not overly concerned about spare. Haven't had a flat for ... I can't remember last time! Stage 10 shifter also but that was a little pricey...but very cool.

 

felt the same way about the spare, but have read a few stories here about flat tires by people who also couldn't remember the last time they had a flat. i would like to have a donut for longer trips.

 

. Could you post pics ? I'm particularly interested the door panels and center console, to see what you did and how it looks. Did you happen to get upgrade the mirror to one with Homelink?

 

Actually I had a Homelink/dimming/compass mirror I had purchased for my Fusion Hybrid that I never installed because the mirror base was not the same. Luckily the base is the same as on the Prius so I used it! Love having the dimming/homelink mirror. Sorry the pics are sideways.I hate my iPhone/Mac combo. Can never tell how they are going to come out and I can't figure out how to rotate them. So... rotate your head so's you can see em.

 

beautiful!

 

Niiiiiiiiice

 

Thanks. The center panels are light green (similar to the outside paint), not white like it seems in my lousy pics. Door panels are same light green and are not leather. They found out over the years that leather on these door panels will crack in a year or two because they don't flex like the seat covers. They use vinyl on the door panels only (and I actually like that because I now don't worry about how I clean the door or if they get dirty.) Leather seats need more TLC but are worth it for your backside!

 

ralteredstates: Can never tell how they are going to come out and I can't figure out how to rotate them

Try some command-R & command-shift-R if in iPhoto. On iPhone, tap photo, tap “Edit”, tap arrow in lower-left-hand corner.

Interior looks great.

I usually cannot sit still until I’ve customized (or broken) my possessions, but I’m taking some time to think about the PiP. (And what I’d really like is access to the software.)

 

doing anything like that in the UK would increase the insurance, big time. any mods are pretty much a no-no.

standard spec half leather and the full leather UK option is a dark grey / black - it looks nice

 

I know what you mean about the lack of luxury feel for the plugin. Before purchasing, I also drove the Prius v Five as well as the base plugin. For less $$$ I could get so much more comfort and really feel like I was driving a car that I was going to spend ~ $30,000 for. The nav was so much larger for my aging eyes, and the "leather" and power everything plus more roomy interior was hard to walk away from. What really added to the "cheap" feel of the plugin for me was the felt floors under the floor mats. Yes, the Prius v was so inviting and only 7 mpg less than a regular Prius. And I didn't fit the profile of a driver that would benefit from the EV miles on a plugin. . .

What finally lead me to the plugin though was sensibility and the peppy responsiveness that little car had. 10 EV miles doesn't sound that great and the typical salesmen really don't know how to market these cars. But I figured even if I could shave off 10 miles between charges, I would be that much better off. Little did I know that I would exceed the posted 90mpg from the sticker. Now if I'm not doing over 100mpg, I think something is wrong. I'm also going to install real leather on the interior (thanks so much for posting the photos). The smartness of the car has far outweighed any "cheap" feeling I had about it. How does it know that when my 82 pound dog sits in the front seat to peep because the seatbelt is not fastened? But yet when my 35 pound dog sits in the front seat, it turns the airbags off? I must say satellite radio is a real luxury I may need to move it over to the necessity column. I can actually enjoy the radio even with the windows down because the aerodynamics somehow also allows the air to cool me down as well and road noise is minimal to me. And how cool to be able to sync my phone and MP3 players- no more dangling cords and phone to the ear! I added a small wire messed basket to the center console to make it more useful as well as a tray in the top glove compartment.

No, I'm not regretting my choice. I don't think the value of the plugins will erode once people truly understand what the EV miles are all about- how you start out with 10, but it can increase with driving conditions and practice. And if you are not mostly driving on the freeways, you really are going to get close to the posted 90mpg.

 

at least you went in with your eyes open, unlike some who test drive a car and then notice all kind of prlems after they buy it.

 

I bought both of my Prii without doing a real test drive. I think I sat in a Gen II for all of 5 or 10 minutes before I put down my deposit. At least with the PiP, I had rented a bunch of Gen III's, so I was already very familiar with the general layout of things and the comfort of the seats.

I'm not disappointed with my purchase decisions. Any minor annoyances are easily forgiven or worked around.

 

i really like the people who compare it to a gasser. they want a $30-40,000. car with all the quality, comfort and amenities of a gasser, and they want the plug-in/hybrid 90 mpg stuff for free.

 

it's called value ... how else would one measure the car - by the way, both me and my other buddy don't get 90 mpg ... i think if you just drive it like a normal person it's signifigantly less, like 50-60 ... not complaining, just saying what it is ... love the car and the hov sticker, but as far as value, it seems like a 30000 car at best ... and i have the advanced which still aint so great