My thoughts on GenIII vs. GenII

So have you re-adjusted the tire pressures yet?

 

You're welcome, but for what? :lol:

 

Wow !! I've never had a difference that big. Mine is usually 2.2 - 2.5 MPG higher than calculated. I've never seen it in the 3's, like yours is at 3.6. I bet it was a fuel shut-off issue with the pump or something like that.


REV

 

All those years of heavy bass probably shook the panels loose.

 

Congrats on the purchase man! As you know, I was on the verge of upgrading my 2007, but I've given up and am just holding out for an EV at this point. I've got 87K miles on the Gen II with 0 issues. I do prefer the looks of the Gen III though.

 

My first couple of tanks were lower mpg but they got better each tank.....except the tanks that I didn't care going 75 mph with the a/c on at night through central California. :lol:

 

Now that I have had my gen III on the road for a couple of months, I have found that I am now preferring it to the gen II.

I am not a mad mpg (or in my case lp100km) follower, but both cars seem to run about the same for me. One thing that I have noticed is that the gen III seems to drop into electric mode much more quickly than the gen II. Also, I note that the battery seems to get charged more quickly, but that could be the difference in the drives that I put both cars through - the 2007 just gets me from point A to point B, but the 2011 is bouncing all over the place as I transport passengers here and there.

At first, I did not like the cockpit style of the gen III. I liked the simple dash of the gen II. But now I am liking the gen III much more. All the controls are easy to reach, with the key buttons (principally the hazard lights and the park button) in a position where I hardly need to move my arm from the centre arm rest.

There are, however, two items that I now hate in the gen III interior:

1. The fact that there is only one available cup holder in the front. Sure you can use that removable cup holder in the centre compartment, but that means that you have to slide the arm rest back, which make is hard for a passenger sitting in the centre of the back seat.

2. The rear cup holders cannot be used when you have three passengers in the back. The gen II fold down from the centre compartment was a great idea.

The reason for my dislike on these two similar issues is that I have had a number of passengers climb in with cups of coffee in hand, and have nowhere to place them when they need to pay me. Far too easy for spills to occur .

One thing that I have just noticed, as I swap between the two cars is that the dash on the gen II appears to be much lower in relation to my eyes than the gen III. I have not measured the actual windscreen visible area, but I certainly feel that I have more glass in front of me in the gen II. I also seem to be able to see more out the rear window on the gen II, especially out the lower section.

 

Great Writeup Justin; now, i also had both and it took a bit of time, but i now prefer my 2010 over the Iconic.

now, the one thing that bothered me at first and one you alluded too was the increase in steering ratio. i thought it to be a bad thing, but after driving 1000+ mile trips in both, i found the 2010 to be easier to drive on long boring freeway trips. the 2004/06 had a more "go cart- like" steering making it harder to "stay the course" especially if you were in the 3rd hour of a 10 hour trip and more interested in playing with the radio.

the 2010's steering is less sensitive on the freeway, so gentle flowing between the lines is relatively effortless.

other than that, did not have either the 2004 or 2006 long enough to develop rattles, but did notice the doors on the 2010 seem to be heavier and more solid feeling (gues i am judging by sound so i guess great door seals could be fooling me)

i will say that dont store change in the door pocket on the handle which is what i did because certain songs with higher base will cause the rattle and it took us over 2 hours to figure out what it was...but at the time we were in the middle of a 25 hour drive to Disney and were bored anyway~!

 

F8L, I could not agree more with the rear view mirror, I always feel like I need to duck down to see past the mirror. I was thinking they need to design a slimmer mirror and/or make it so you can adjust it up and down. I am sure someone who is 5'7" has a much different view than someone who is over 6' tall.

 

F8L, I almost always record the car's average for the tank & compare it to the calculated average. Over the last 52 tanks (23374 miles) it is high by 6%.

 

I just went and measured the two cars. They are sitting side by side in the garage, so it was easy to measure both. I put a ruler on the join between the windscreen and the roof lining, just next to the rear view mirror. The gen II measures 200mm to the top of the wipers, and 220mm to the top of the dash. The gen III measures 200mm to the top of the wipers, but 210mm to the top of the dash. Of course, the dash on the gen II then slopes down from the screen towards the driver, and it has a much smaller digital display area, whereas the gen III has a much higher digital display area, and I now think that it is this expanse of black dash that makes it feel that there is less windscreen space.

To me, the rear view mirror is the same on both cars, especially after I take the rear view camera screen off the gen II mirror. I also have a safety camera system mounted above the mirror in the gen III, so I am probably used to the limited vision around the mirror.

 

Did I mention I dislike these tires? lol

Yes, several times. I'm not being critical F8L, but for the life of me, I don't see where you've named your new tires on the '12. I must have missed it in another thread.

On my '12LB/ATP/BP, I received the Toyo Proxes A20 - 215/45/17, and I am saddened by it. The opinions and reviews of this tire leave something to be desired.

I purchased my car through Miss Whitmire, as you did. After my car was unloaded in Long Beach, it went straight to Port Mods where I had TRD springs and TRD rear sway bar installed. To say the least, I am very happy with the suspension mods. The stance is about 1.3" lower than stock, the spring rate is a bit stiffer, and the car is all but flat in the turns. Still, coming from a MINI Cooper S, the Prius is quiet and smooth. I can't wait for my first 1000+ mile trip the end of this month (to Sun & Fun in Lakeland, FL).

Running 45 & 42 psi, I feel like I am on ball bearings! Steering is very sensitive, but she does not wander (as if out of toe or tramlining). A gust of side wind seems to nudge the rear end to the downwind, but she comes right back without wobble. Steady cruise at 80mph is stable and good for all day. For the most part, I simply love this car.

I'm only half way through my first tank of gas (I had the car shipped to my home from LA). I've only driven around town, though some of that was at highway speeds. I don't expect super high mileage at this point, but I had hopes of seeing better than the 45mpg I see indicated. Presumably, that will change some when I get her loosened up a little and take her out of town for a while.

I don't plan on doing many mods, she being a 5 already. I would love some forged 17's (like Rays Super Eco Formula Silver 17's) but I really haven't found them yet. Window tint is in order - 25% is legal in OK. Underbody braces make sense to me, but I think the '12/5 may be improved over the '10/11 - I'll have to wait & see. I would do a tower brace immediately, if there was a good way. It's really tight in there, and I don't care for bolted dog-leg braces. I'll be waiting on that, as well.

No comment on Entune at this time, just to say that phone pairing is routine and a piece of cake. The 7” nav is perfect so far, and does far more than I need or desirve. I find it fascinating however, and I use it up – every day.

JBL/GreenEdge is simply fantastic! Being a musician all my life, from Surf to Rock to Jazz to Fusion to Blues to Praise to all but Classical, I am thrilled with GreenEdge. I have not reached the top of undistorted volume, yet. I’ve cranked it pretty high, but I didn’t want to start a fire!

My history in auto sound is to order the most upgraded factory system available, then reinforce the bottom with some RMS and cone area. Interesting in the GreenEdge, is that I would add more of the very high freqs if I could (10kHz & up). As it is, the highs are quite good, but I have the Hi-Eq at max. I believe the low bass will satisfy all (or most) users who are not into sound competition. As I understand GreenEdge, the low bass is fed monaurally to all four of the largest speakers. That works very well – if not perfect – causing a lightshow in my side view mirrors (I need to damp that out). Some will still want to add a sub (s), but not many. I’m going to look into a pair of shakers for the front seats, that’s all.

The biggest downside to GreenEdge is the 3 band eq.

Ok, enough for now, but there is always more for later.

F8L, what kind of tires do you have on your ’12?

MrBill

 

Pardon me for jumping in... You're right about the door bins. They are tiny. 4 CD jewel cases fills them completely.

The dealer explained to me that the "flying buttress" center console came about due to women wanting a place for their pocketbook. I guess it would work for that but putting the heated seats switches under it makes them nasty to use unless you're young and flexible. To me the whole concept is wasted space.

I definately would not have designed the Gen 3 center console and it was my biggest worry about buying. But after my first week with the 2012 I can say I don't even notice it when I drive.

Enjoy
...Mudshark

 

............I have noticed this car does not want to glide anywhere near as far as my GenII and I cannot decide how much is due to the car and how much is related to the tires.

I'm definitely not happy that I'm getting less mpg than my GenII.


F8L, my new '12 is the first Prius I have owned, though I have about 5000 miles in Prius rentals - both Gen2's & Gen3's. You, of course are pushing a million miles, right? Still, I thought I would mention this:

I notice a very distinct difference between gliding (or coasting) by taking my foot off of the "gas Pedal" while in "D", as opposed to selecting neutral while at speed. Certainly, the difference must be the re-gen that takes place while in D.

The coasting that occurs when selecting neutral seems truly free-wheeling, and with our low coefficient of drag, it is very tempting at times to coast in "N", even if sacrificing re-gen.

Also, you may be more able to isolate your area of glide/coast concerns by doing a long coast in neutral (maybe on a long and gradual downgrade).

Your thoughts?

 

Yes, but no. You are confusing the terms.

N = Glide
foot off gas pedal = Coast

foot on gas pedal at some angle to allow Glide is as good as N*

So long as you think of Glide and Coast as the same thing you will be confused while discussing the Prius with regulars on the internet.

* The angle will vary based on slope, altitude, ground speed, wind speed, tire pressure, brand/model tires, alignment, temperature, etcetera