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Common features that seem to be missing on Prius III

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by tony2654, Jul 8, 2009.

  1. tony2654

    tony2654 New Member

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    I ordered my Prius III couple weeks ago. In the part of Europe where I live, the car is offered in 4 trims, Comfort, Advance, Executive and Premium. The price differences are not that big between them thanks to the tax system here, so I ended up choosing Premium which pretty much has everything, including HUD, solar panel, Pre-Crash, leather, parking assist, adaptive cruise, etc (no LKS though and of course no 17'' alloys). This is obviously fairly impressive list, still there are a few 'common' features I wish they were there as well:

    dual-zone climate control

    powered front seats

    leather trim in door panels

    parking sensors front and back

    CD-changer

    Powered tail gate

    Air-vents in the back


    I came up with this list after comparing Prius with the Euro Accord (TSX in the US) I was considering. I won't see my car until September, and dealers won't have demo-cars ready until August, so I wonder if someone can give a confirmation on the things I wrote. BTW, has anyone already tried to fit 16'' or 17'' wheels on models with solar panel?
     
  2. creativeguy

    creativeguy Member

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    Have you looked at the Lexus RS hybrid? It has everything you are looking for, I think.
     
  3. Bavarian

    Bavarian New Member

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    In germany you can buy as enhancement:

    front parking sensors (EUR 330,--) and

    back parking sensors (EUR 290,--) as far as you have NO navi with backup camera
     
  4. RickFlashman

    RickFlashman New Member

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    Those are "common"?
     
  5. 12parsecs

    12parsecs Junior Member

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    Can confirm the following missing features:

    dual-zone climate control

    powered front seats (leather seat option has powered lumbar support, but still stuck with manual seat adjustments)

    Powered tail gate

    Air-vents in the back


    Can confirm the following available feature:

     
  6. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    Only "vents" are floor heat vents under the front seats for the rear passenger. There's also the intake "vent" for battery cooling (bottom right rear passenger seat), but this isn't for user comfort.

    Since the CD Changer is my vid - I'd say yea, it's there ;-). This is specifically for the NAV version's 4 disc changer. The 6 disc in the Prius III w/o NAV is standard and has a visible slot.
     
  7. fred garvin

    fred garvin New Member

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    no offense but "powered tail gate"?

    you put your hand on it and it unlocks. a slight upward pressure and it opens. then you close it when done. to each his or her own but i don't want the added complexity and weight and another thing to maybe go wrong (even with rock solid toyota reliability)
     
  8. drspielman

    drspielman Grand Master Chief

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    I really wish that the HUD would be offered as standard or an option, or even aftermarket in the US... it sucks
     
  9. 1 mad scientist

    1 mad scientist Junior Member

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    Hood light
     
  10. Argyle

    Argyle New Member

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    I did not think that the car was big enough for dual zone to be overly effective.

    The motors and acuators needed for powered seats and hatchback would add weight and affect mileage. I don't share the car with anyone, so the seats don't get adjusted much anyway. I know that is not the case for other people.

    The parking sensors would be nice.

    And an interior tire pressure indicator would be a logical add on. From what I can see in the owner's manual, there is an alarm when your pressure gets low, so since the car must know the pressure to know if it is low, why can't they display that. And with the number of people who are concerned with tire pressure, it seems like it would be a popular feature.
     
  11. msirach

    msirach Member

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    I can do without the stuff mentioned, but a tach is one thing missing. A visible tach in conjunction with the HSI screen will tell you a lot more about what the car is doing.
     
  12. TheHorsts

    TheHorsts Junior Member

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    Auto-on headlights.

    Now that's a common feature that is missing from the US models. (It's in the documentation, so it must be provided in some markets, but not here.)
     
  13. khowardrn

    khowardrn New Member

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    Have had our Prius for 2 days now and love it, but I agree, the following would be very nice (especially considering the vast other tech Toyota thought to put in the car):

    -Yes, the auto on headlights
    -Power seats (at least drivers) is something I will miss from my old car

    -Dual Zone, in my opinion is a bit overrated, especially for this size of a car. Had it in my FX and rarely used it, as it "adjusted" temp, but fan speed would remain the same as the driver's

    -Powered tailgate-maybe it would be nice, but it is SO light, I barely have to tap it to close it (and I am not a big person). My FX was not powered and is very heavy in comparison.

    All in all, I think they did a good job, and hopefully we will see these features added in future models.
     
  14. Martin37

    Martin37 New Member

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    Never had a vehicle w/ parking sensors - only old time curb feelers - but seems sensors could be useful, especially since the front end seems soooo low; I avoid pulling up to the curb in diagonal parking spaces and fortunately the rig is so short that one can get away with such a procedure. Wonder if anybody has smashed into a curb yet? . . . My wife did complain about the lack of cool air to the back seat early on in 108 degree Goodyear, AZ. :(
     
  15. 12parsecs

    12parsecs Junior Member

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    Oh, didn't even realize there were vents back there! I'll have to take a closer look.

    Thanks for posting your videos!
     
  16. theowl

    theowl Prius Convert

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    It would definitely be nice to have front and rear sensors. I have the rear back up camera that comes with NAV, so the rear aspect is mostly taken care of. However, I'm not tall at all, so seeing over the front end is an issue. Front proximity sensors would help a lot. Other than that, I'd put power memory seats and power liftgate on my wishlist. Those are features that I miss from my now departed Mercedes R-Class.

    However, I bet that almost all of the features we're mentioning here would be available on the Lexus HS250h (except no power liftgate, obviously).
     
  17. ddtaylor99

    ddtaylor99 dd taylor

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    If thats all thats missing then nothing is missing. I want one!

    (actually the steering wheel needs to extend out more, but thats the only fault i can find.)
     
  18. tony2654

    tony2654 New Member

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    Auto-on headlights are mandatory in this country, so I guess I'll get them by default. I also think a dealer can have this problem fixed quite easily. They did this on my syster-in-law's GS300.

    Anyway, thanks for all the responses, I will post the pictures when I get my hands on my car (hopefully no later than September).
     
  19. Martin37

    Martin37 New Member

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    :mod: One can solve the auto-on headlights by simply turning the headlight switch full-on and forgeting about it. Lights turn off shortly after (within a minute?) power button shuts vehicle off.

    Missing: a slide-out tinted extension on sun visor(s). Current visors are rather short and don't cut sunshine at side doors early and late in the day when driving north & south. [​IMG]
     
  20. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    My dad hit a curb in his 2010 on the first day - broke the wheel cover and scraped the right front bumper right near the front wheel well. :(