English/Metric

The button doesn't change the values on the computer, it only changes your speed. Also, your odometer stays in miles. I don't think the conversions are exact enough to convert like that.

 

The speedo is dual but the recording of distances and consumption is based on whether your vehicle is metric or US. Don't know if this can be adjusted otherwise or not.
Darn ... beat me to it.

 

I bet it could be adjusted by a dealer or by loading a different version of the Prius software, but I don't think it's something you can just have changed for the fun of it.

 

Henry does the temp readout change or just stays at F? on the CDN model nothing outher than the speed change Classic or new model.

 

The nav system units can be changed between miles/yards and kilometres/metres in its Setup screen. Doesn't affect the Trip Info screens though.

 

Our cars do NOT have the "km/miles" button that you guys have. We are 100% in the metric realm and everything is celsius, litres, kilometers, kilograms etc and couldn't easily change the car configuration even if we wanted to.

It has been sooooo long since I used miles that I am afraid I have lost that intuitive feel. Even more so with temperatures - today was a cool to mild 21C (heading into winter now) which I understand perfectly, but if someone said it was 72F I would have great difficulty visualising it - just as the reverse would be true for you.

Despite the fact that we changed to metric in the 1960s, many people here still measure people's height in feet eg 6 feet and babies are STILL 7lb 3oz when born - this is true of younger people who have only known the metric system - go figure.

 

The Oz model is strictly kilometres, L/100km.
No switch - we can't actually drive to a "miles" country!

kenmac

 

Hi kenmac

Interestingly - the Aus and NZ cars are actually identical models - I suppose they get loaded in Japan, toss a coin and head to whichever country comes up.

So much so in fact that my i-Tech Prius came pre-loaded with the Australian navigation map, the NZ DVD has to be loaded. I come from Melbourne originally and could find my way to the old house I lived in - there was only the question of navigating the 2300km of Pacific Ocean - LOL.

 

Here in Japan it is strictly kilometers too - except the readout says I am currently averaging 22.1 kms/litre...

 

I suppose with Canada being right next to the United States our cars require the km/mi button. It only changes the speed: the odometer, fuel economy, and outside temp stay metric.

Canada also records newborn babies in "official" metric for records and traditional inches and lbs for everybody else. I think it just makes for more confusion.

 

Im in Germany with a German version. Metric only as well. Its a bit annoying as when I go home to the UK, I would like to be able to use MPH as well. I have an open question with Toyota about this.

 

I'm one of those more aged gents who still thinks in lbs,ft.in.,F* and mpg.
I have to admit that the metric system is an intelligent step in the right direction.... calculating in metric is so much easier than the other. It was mentioned by fjef that in Japan the consumption readout is in km/l whereas in Canada it is in l/100km. I'm more comfortable with mpg.
Being left handed I've managed to deal with such confusion. :lol:

 

Imperial or US? The confusion never ends...

 

I tried the kmh/mph switch, too, hoping to get a quick readout of mpg. No such luck. Not that it couldn't be designed that way - I used to have a bicycle computer that would change from metric to imperial and back again, odometer and all, and it was way simpler than the Prius electronics. So, I had to pull out the calculator to make some comparisons, because most of the fuel consumption figures I read here are imperial. I recently pumped up the tires to 42/40, and went from an average of 5.6 litres per 100km to 4.1 km/100km, or about 50 mpg to 69 mpg if my fingers hit the right buttons. The 4.1 was only 60km driving like a granny, and the 5.6 was over a much longer time with different drivers and conditions, so I can't attribute that huge a change to tire pressures. But, I'm not about to put them back to 35 just yet.

 

here's a good fuel conversion site, one that I use.
http://www.packexpo.com/education/ref/fuel..._conv_cal.shtml

 

Thanks for that link, Frank, I've filed it in my Favourites>Prius computer grab bag. . Now I won't need to haul out my Thomas J.Glover Pocket Ref. which I recently updated to version 2.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Canuck\";p=\"73074)</div>

I think L/100km is a bizarre measurement... km/L (analogous to mpg) makes much more sense. Plus it's more useful intuitively... I care about how far I go on a set amount of fuel; I don't care how my rate of fuel consumption.

 

My previous car (of 7 years) was an Audi 100 and that measured in km/l (less is worse). The Prius measures in l/100km (less is better) so I have had to do a mind shift.

It is somewhat difficult to adjust and I have resorted to an Excel spreadsheet with a table of values so I can quickly see how I am going while getting my mind back into l/100km mode.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Potential Buyer\";p=\"73185)</div>

Well, I had a hard time with the Metric system and still do. That said, I do believe L/100km enforces a very important point that "less is better," not "more is better."

The More Is Better crowd is what gave us bigger cars, bigger homes, Super Sized meals, etc. It tends to enforce paradigms that you need More and Bigger.

OTOH, Less Is Better tends to enforce paradigms that you should use less, eat less, consume less. I think L/100km fits will with conservation in general.