Mini-review of my 2006 vs my 2004 Prius....

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(benbethel @ Jul 1 2006, 09:24 AM) [snapback]279706[/snapback]</div>

Hm? Package 3 does not have VSC:

By the way, please remember to update your forum profile to reflect your new vehicle!

 

Yep, the 'swervy' car icon is traction control, stadard on ALL Prii.

VSC would beep at you if the rear end was skidding, trying to come around up front (think black ice...wait, you're in AZ...uh..think curvy gravel road or even a paved road with ball-bearing gravel over the top...VSC prevents you from skidding on such surfaces).

I've convinced my big bro that he needs a Prius. Thanks for the great compare.

Cheers,

Curt.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Jul 1 2006, 01:06 PM) [snapback]279726[/snapback]</div>

They need a 8-10" subwoofer inadition to the speaker upgrade.

 

That's AWESOME ... another 2004 and 2006 owner. I'm glad I wasn't the only one.

But I didn't change it that much I went from a 2004 BC (#9?) to a 2006 #7. (Then I added aftermarket leather with seat heaters and lumbar.)

I would like to add the 2006 navigation control is about 100% better than in my 2004. In fact, it is so much more accurate it feels like a different car. You can actually TALK to the car and put in the destination while you are driving as opposed to stopping or doing the override easter egg. The map window is much more readable since they changed the fonts of the street names so that they are seen and understood faster. When on the highway, it has a new exit feature that shows icons and milage to next gas/food/lodging which actually looks and works so amazing that I've found it to be my favorite screen now.

The VSC/Traction control IS much better integrated even with the OEM tires. (I had to swap out he OEM tires to keep from Traction Control all the way up my hilly california (badly maintained) road.) So, you're actually correct that the VSC isn't has subborn. I've noticed that when I would come to stop on slippery painted roads that it would start chirping the traction. 2006 doesn't do it as much.

The seats on mine sit really harder now ... and taller. I find that maybe the afermarket MAY have changed out the lower seat cusions ... but I was thinking that Toyota was just trying to update the horrible seats. That I think is the Prius' weakest feature. I'm all for air/cooled and heated seats. I loved my Volvo seats that I could sit in hours. It makes me irritated that I actually enjoy sitting in my friends Honda Insight for long trips than I do for my Prius. What's up with that right? ... I've contemplated changing out for Recaros but I really want Air Bags...

Anyway, ... that's pretty much the differences that I want to add.

Oh ... the high end JBL stereo actually rocks WAY better than the older higher zoot stereo. They learned about putting insulation behind or just better installation and selection of speakers.

Please don't attack me too much but I found that the fit and finish on '04 Prius was pretty darn good compared to the 06. This one has a little more loosy goosy feel. Not as precisely done. It doesn't rattle and it is a little quieter at road speed, so I guess that's good.

OH ... another thing, I HATE the "PASSENGER" printing on the airbag switch side ... it's very badly tacked on. Why do they need that? ... I am contemplating rubbing off the print or finding a way of switching with the '04 before I sell her.

 

I, too, have an '06 after driving an '04 for 48,000 miles. traded only because of the $3150 Bush hybrid incentive. We found that the used car prices were depressed here, Minnesota in May of '06, and got only $18,000 for the '04. We have again a silver after having an '04 silver, the '06 color is slightly brighter and a pkg. 4 which has all of the pkg. 7 from the '04 except the HIDs.

I love the mp3 capability and have recently gotten an mp3 player, a ZEN Microphoto, which is fun to have.

Yes, the rear camera takes a bit of getting used too, it is not a good parking aid, but certailny does give a great view of things behind.

I'm a little disapointed in the change in the instrumentation in that the fuel level and miles minder has been tucked in to the right side of the view and the passenger can't read it to write down the fueling detail and remind the driver of a low fuel situation.

Another item I only recently discovered driving at night. There is a faint reflection up on to the windshield from the blue high beam indicator and the ready-headlight-cruise control indicator lights and those cannot be dimmed as the recessed spedometer readings can be.

Other wise the '06 is just a cool as the '04 only more s o. Love it.

 

Headlights~
"Why don't they turn on automatically?"

> I have a 2006 pack 0 silver and I am totally in love with it. I liked the purple dash in the 04-05 but it was so hard to keep clean and scratched easily, the black textured dash is 100x better. Anyways about those non-automatic halogen headlights... I found a trick: They are auto-off (even though the brochure doesn't list this feature) I just keep the headlights in the "ON" position all the time and when I open the drivers door after shutting her off, the lights turn off. And when powered on, the headlights jump back to life. It acts as DRL too I guess as I keep them on all the time. It is really convenient, almost even more than auto-on/off as the lights are on in those dawn/dusk iffy times when I used to be like "come on auto headlights, switch on!!!" I don't have to worry about that now. And its not like the halogens are $200 a bulb like the HID, maybe $10 each and they will last for at least a couple years. I don't worry about bulb life at all...

 

having an ipod has nothing to do with paying music services. ipod owners do not need to buy songs from itunes in order for those songs to be put onto the ipod, HOWEVER, those who decide to purchase the higher quality AAC from itunes (128AAC=196mp3, Rhapsody is 160mp3) can only put them onto an ipod

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(benbethel @ Jul 1 2006, 12:24 PM) [snapback]279706[/snapback]</div>

First time I ever heard anyone prefer halogens over HID. Good to hear because I like HIDs but sure don't like the Prius asking price to get them.

Too expensive.

I don't like auto-dimming. Don't like it adjusting to 'bright' at night when there's no one behind, then having to constantly wait while it dims when someone appears. I prefer to be able to put the rear-view mirror on one setting and it staying there.


Everything else seems to be spot-on. Good feature comparison between a 'loaded' '04 and a 'stripped' '06.

 

But by getting pkg 3 on your 2006, didn't you miss out on the side curtain airbag feature (which I'm not sure if it was in your 2004 or not)?

I think that's a HUGE loss after watching that crash testing video. SCARY!!!

:-(

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Miss_Taz @ Jul 1 2006, 02:32 PM) [snapback]279790[/snapback]</div>

Nope - package 3 includes the side curtain air bags!

That was a major consideration for me.

One complaint I have is the lack of visor extensions - I am tall, sit well back, and am constantly getting sun-blasted driving south on my morning commute. Real P.I.T.A.

Jim

 

I also vastly prefer a set of good halogens to HID.. If you aim the headlights properly, modern halogens are as good as HID, but without the glare-inducing blue-shifted spectrum..

 

Thanks Ben
Really appreciated your review. I have an 04 package 9 and while I completely love it 'twas very expensive for all the upgrades. Will consider a less expensive package on my next model.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(benbethel @ Jul 1 2006, 09:24 AM) [snapback]279706[/snapback]</div>

I'm going to have to disagree here and agree with flareak. I've tried out the Zen Vision:M and was very underwhelmed, the UI was poor and confusing (the touch control in the middle having different behavior when you push down vs. push right was odd too). It's thicker than the video iPod and not significantly cheaper. The click wheel on the iPods is GREAT. The Zen Vision:M was a case of too little, too late.

You don't have to buy a single song from iTunes Music Services (iTMS) but the buying, previewing and syncing experience is great along w/how it suggests other music you might like and also brings up other people's iMixes with that song. The VAST majority of the music on my iPod is ripped from my own CDs. I don't like the idea of paying a monthly fee to have my music work... but each his own.

As for nav system being poor, it worked great for me so far in the Bay Area and LA. But I suppose it's possible it works poorly for certain areas based on the sporadic reports on here. I'm unclear if there's truly a problem for those folks or if it's user error due to how they have some of their options set.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(MarinJohn @ Jul 4 2006, 08:53 AM) [snapback]281002[/snapback]</div>

If you go for a less expensive model, I strongly urge you to get one with VSC. Everything I read about it says that it can save more lives than airbags, and protects not only you but your car (keeps you on the road instead of going into a ditch). I look forward to the day when VSC is standard on EVERY car.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(benbethel @ Jul 1 2006, 12:24 PM) [snapback]279706[/snapback]</div>

Thank you for the review. I'm looking for a really good place to mount a navigation system. Do you rest your TomTom on that cover, or is it attached in some way? I'm glad to hear that your signal reception is so good there. I'd be afraid to use a hard drive based GPS somewhere that my driving could send it flying. I was thinking of a dash-top mount to the right of the steering wheel, just above the air vent. My wife was thinking of a larger screen model just to the left of the steering wheel, where even a large screen wont hinder her view of the display panel. Your placement sounds more convenient than either.

 

I'll have to try that with my 910... never occured to me to mount it down there.