A little Prius Bashing (with love)

Hi All,
I do love my now 6 week or so old prius - but there are some things that just make no sense to me at all - the prompt for this post was the COMPLETE lack of documentation (that i could find) about voice tags for dial by name - so anyway, i thought i'd just vent a little with some of the things that i think are outright ridiculous - i know (or hope) some of them have been addressed in the 2010, but here goes anyway!
1) Voice tags - for that matter, much of the MFD operation
2) inability to see temperature at all times
3) miles/km button - um, it's nice that it is a separate button, but really, how many times are we going to push that thing? contrast to outside temperature
4) auto window up/down for driver - but not for front passenger?
5) no moonroof
6) no electronic seat
7) inability to shut engine without killing all power (have to cycle through power button to get to "accessory" or keep radio playing
8) climate control on/off button on steering wheel - but not a/c (i think it does say a/c - i'd like to toggle the compressor on or off without the menus on the mfd)
9) no ev button
10) partial leds on the back (makes no sense to me why there is also incandescent) - i know, addressed in 2010
11) inability to select and "lock" gps routing style (i'd always opt for short - and when you compare, you get quick 1, 2, and short - and short for me is also usually the quickest - it's basically what my acura would default to)
12) did i mention voice tags?
13) mfd screen seems to determine which voice commands will be accepted - so saying "go home" while on hybrid screen gets me an error
14) did i mention voice tags?
15) airbag indicator light - why does this thing have to light up even if the passenger seat is empty?
16) cheap "feeling" instrument lights - when you change angle they get darker - seems like bulbs are recessed into a groove - versus EL lighting
17) no coolant temperature - i'd like to know what's going on with that thermos!
18) no factory XM (and more importantly, no factory antenna) (though radio is compatible - unless you have the ipod adapter)- i think 2010 addresses the antenna?
19) no remote windows up or down from remote - nice feature i miss
20) dead 12v means dead car computers - despite having a couple of hundred volts just waiting in the back
21) no side view mirror signal lights
22) no automatic dome light off if a door is ajar
23) no subwoofer - kinda puny bass

okay, now that i bashed, here are some things i really like:
1) mfd - nice and clear, and turns the car into a video game while driving - pulse and glide, anyone?
2) $60 and an hour and scraped hands later, i have EV mode
3) decent sounding audio - not the best, but certainly not the worst
4) mp3 playback! 150 songs on a cd - almost like having an ipod!
5) factory ipod adapter - sweet! (though i would trade it for factory xm)
6) aux jack - my xm adapter plugged into it sounds pretty good
7) lots of little storage pockets - the center console, 2 glove boxes, and even that little cd/kleenex area under the radio
8) car is much larger inside than outside (probably via some star trek like warp field/holodeck)
9) though not a corvette, decent juice when you punch the accelerator
10) pretty quiet ride, good highway ride, easy to speed if not careful (lack of analog speedometer doesn't help)
11) how can you beat 46+ mpg?
12) seats are fairly ergonomic (though could have more support)
13) fold down rear = decent storage
14) prius community loves their cars! (i never ONCE went to the acura websites (if there are any) when i had my TL - mods and accessories
15) i just plain feel good about driving "green" while i also got a "steal" on a 2009
16) you really can't beat the gadget factor

okay, enough fooling around - thanks for letting me vent - feel free to let me know if i was way off base on anything -- or if i forgot to mention something!

 

Dave, we'll see how the 2013's are when my lease is up in some 35 months...meanwhile, even with the gripes, i got (what i consider) "such a great deal" that i didn't want to wait for the 2010s

 

Thanks Dave - while at it, and since you have the solar roof (which i believe means the remote air conditioning as well) - do you have any idea why it is not available on the parking package? just curious...

 

no offense taken - i just used my new (for prius) battery pack?air compressor to crank the front tires to 44 and rear to 42 (versus roughly 36 all around from teh dealer). i'm having a hoot with the thing. unfortunately, mostly short trips which i know kill the economy. my average (still on my very first tank) is around 45, and i expect to periodically hit 50 - still getting ghost under control - enjoyed driving onthe new jersey turnpike today, going 65, in only battery mode (only lasted a few seconds, and not from use of EV)
i've been using EV when i am less than a mile from home to run the batteries down a bit, and when i'm 1/4 mile or so from my office - i figure the ICE will run anyway on startup, so might as well let it top off the pack. i also use EV as a demo, and also when i'm just moving the car out of the driveway and parking it, etc.
the Coastal EV kit cost me roughly $60 - i would need to save about 25 gallons of gas over the course of my lease using EV to break even (never gonna happen) so intead, i enjoy it as a proof of concept, and a way to get yet more control over my little beastie.