2013 Prius Report

Good eye. I agree with you that 3rd gen dash / controls are unrefined and they don't impress me too much.

I've found 3rd gen seat pretty good. How much did you have the seatback reclined? Can't put 3rd seatback too upright because ...

The 3rd gen seat cushion (bottom) has a lot more tilt than that in the 2nd gen (front edge up higher), pretty sure this is true at most height adjustments. This is good for thigh support, but I've found the seatback must be reclined enough to get enough seat bottom to seatback angle. If seatback is too far forward, this might happen:

* Headrest may jut into back of head
* Too much pressure on thighs, feels sort of like sitting in a hole
* Could cause lumbar support problems

For taller people, trick with reclining the seatback is limited telescoping wheel range (i.e. hard to reach the wheel).
tilt range also very limited.

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I don't know if you rely on using the door armrest. I do (why else is it there?) I've found Prius door armrest to be about 2 inches lower than that in Camry. I have to go to Toyota for rattle issue and will be looking at Corolla, etc also. I'm using 1 1/2" foam block on armrest in mine which makes sense because it's so much lower than Camry and I think most other cars.


I agree with you a lot about the center gages. I don't like them. I like digital gages up high, especially speedo, but I would prefer a 'driver centric' set of gages, more like Civic (speedo centered up high, other gages through the steering wheel).

If they are making center gages to save on costs to slightly move gage set from LHD to RHD cars, well, ok, but, all cars have LHD, RHD models and they suck up the costs.

Other thing is, who the heck is following the Prius trend in centered gages? Mini? Who cares. I think virtually all other high selling cars have gages in front of the driver.

I know the headrest is a personal thing, but is there any chance the seatback may have been too far forward? When seatback is more upright, headrest will jut into the head more, when more reclined, it moves back....

FWIW, I think it's good to have the seatback slightly reclinced because it takes some the weight off the butt and distributes it onto the back which I'm quite sure decreases lower back pressure....

however, reclining the seatback in Prius is not so easy because the steering wheel telescopes very little. btw, all 3rd gen Prius have telescoping steering wheel (that does not favor tall drivers).

I'm not crazy about the floating bridge / waterfall console. They ought to make a standard center console found in most other cars and ultimately people will like it better - Civic is a good example, except I like foot parking brake.

Ah, the good 'ole Prius steering wheel - tilt and telescopic range of adjustment is scant, not much there. Duly noted years ago by Edmunds, Consumer Reports. All 3rd gen's have telescopic which benefits the shortest driver's the most, tall people get screwed.

I'm thinking you might be under 6ft tall. At 6'2" 2nd gen seating was a nightmare for me:
* seat very small
* no height ajustment, seat cusion very flat, no thigh support
* no telescopic steering wheel
* brake pedal bit too far to left
* seat bottom side bolsters were too hard, jutting into my hips
* upper seatback small, not supportive for shoulders.
* seat permanently set too high in car, top of windshield / roof block upward view, have to duck to see
* dash generally weird in 2nd gen, not appealing to me

 

Atleast you can only find personal opinions to discount the car.

Most manufacturers, are not that lucky.


I dont think they ever intended to make everyone happy. It may not be the best choice for you if your that disatisfied.


I like

MPG
the ride quality
power
quiet
handling
reliability
room

 

+1

 

Yesterday was my first time riding or driving in a Prius and I bought it. One thing you all mentioned is not liking the gauges off center. I like this in the car. In other cars it seems the steering wheel is always blocking some part of the info I want to see. Not a problem in this car. I was pleasantly surprised in how the car rode and also the quietness of the car. I was expecting much harsher ride and lots of road noise. I did test drive a Prius C also before coming to the conclusion the Prius III was right for me. Much more room inside.

 

I can see where you guys are coming from with the center mounted gauges. The only reason I don't mind them is because they are integrated into the rounded style. In other words, it's a good execution on a bad idea. Just out of curiosity though, how tall are you guys? It seems like alot of the problems you have would be associated with the taller kind. I'm 5'4 which I know is short but I fit in the car perfectly.

 

I really like the center instrument pod, although in the v-wagon it is almost dead center of the car (in the regular Prius and Prius-c it as at least biased towards the driver so that you don't have to look quite so far to see it). It's nice not ever having the steering wheel obstructing my view, and I really like the "clean" look given by the empty space behind the steering wheel (somewhat unique to the v-wagon since the others have a contour line that sweeps down from the cluster).

I agree with Cycledrum about the Civic dashboard...the information you use the most (speed and fuel) up above the steering wheel, right in front of the driver. That's probably the ideal setup.