Likes and dislikes afetr 6 months with a v3

Things I like and dislike about my Prius v3

Likes

1. It’s a wagon and has gobs of trunk room. 6 foot Xmas tree, check. 3 months of groceries and house supplies from Costco, check.
2. It gets very very close to the EPA MPG figures and I don’t have to do anything funny to get there. I just drive it, I don’t hypermile or pulse-glide. I respect the other drivers on the road.
3. The clarity of the instrument dials.
4. The wonderful amount of cup holders for the front seat -3!
5. The two glove boxes, door cubbies, center console size.
6. The way the console is cut away near the dash so the knee can splay over that area. Makes perfect Kleenex box place during pine pollen season.
7. The 2 hidden compartments under the rear trunk area. Perfect to hide a few golf clubs to use on the range.
8. The hidden mag wheels behind the hideous hubcaps.
9. The easy to change clock time setting buttons. Trivial and obvious.
10. Bluetooth and making a hands-free phone call.
11. Easy destination entry on the GPS. Interface seems very logical and easy to use in contrast to the one on the 2011 Avalon my wife has which I’d almost pay to have removed. (And I’ve been using computers for 40+ years!)
12. The reclining and sliding rear seats.
13. Rear seats that can fold down and not force the front seats to be moved forward.
14. The armrest in the back seat keeps the grandkids away from each other.
15. Heat is distributed to the back passengers.
16. That I can get the “factory” Softex as a “dealer installed option” on any trim level.
17. That the radio displays the genre of radio station in addition to call letters and frequency.
18. The clarity and display of the heating controls settings.
19. That it doesn’t waste display space with a tachometer. That it doesn’t have a speedometer with a 160 MPH limit like so many other cars (the useful area of such a dial is so small as to be useless).

Dislikes

1. Noise level. The single weather stripping around the doors and hatch seem marginal and there is little sound deadening seemingly used. Every stone thrown up against the wheel wells comes through to the cabin. My old ears need all the help they can get.
2. The center placement of the instrument dials. Quirky styling element but they sell enough LHD and RHD to differentiate and put the gauges in front of you.
3. The lack of standard LED DRLs.
4. That it isn’t made in the US of more US made parts.
5. The unlighted shift knob.
6. The placement of the PWR, ECO, EV buttons so near a cup holder exposes them to spills.
7. The lack of side mirror turn signals.
8. The lack of survival when offset crash testing
9. The lack of standard mud-guards.
10. The heating system low amount of air flow to the feet with the fan on less noisy settings and direction set to only feet.
11. The lockout of some GPS functions when moving. My navigator controls the GPS on long trips and it is perfectly safe for her to change settings while underway. I do understand the need for drivers not to use it at speed.
12. The backup buzzer duration (reset at the dealers now to only one beep).
13. The seatbelt buzzer duration (can be reset at the dealers)
14. The limited number of directions in which the front seats can be adjusted. The inability to slant the seat bottom up in the front in particular.
15. The comfort of the seats.
16. The useless card holder to the left of the steering wheel. Make it an area capable of storing change, a pack of breath mints, etc.
17. That the trunk area with rear seats folded down is not perfectly flat.
18. The amount of road dirt collected on the door sills.
19. The amount of road dirt collected on the rear trunk spoiler, hatch and bumper. Sure shows on a white car
20. The fabric used on the 3 trim level (see likes).
21. The lack of mud guards on the wheel wells front and back. I worry about stones creating rust spots.
22. The SET & SWT “distributor options” which aren’t options and are vastly over-priced. (Go to Maryland and see the price difference.)
23. The dealer administrative fee. $599 is ridiculous. (Go to Maryland and see the price difference.)
24. The lack of a true ‘seek - scan the dial and present each station for 5 seconds and go on to the next station” on the audio system. Having to touch a button to move between stations is poor as is the placement of the button to do it is very far from the driver.
25. I’d like a more squared off steering wheel bottom.

Glad I bought it, heck yes. No car is perfect.

 

So is there any lighting that shows where the shift lever is in your v? I've never seen it, others say theirs is lit at night.

 

I guess the lighting I'm expecting/wanting is in the knob itself lighting the PNR indications on the knob and also indicating where the knob is. Yes I can look at the dash but I'm used to stick shifts and shifting from memory and the pattern of the Prius is so different from any other car ... going from a 3 on the floor or column to all sorts of knobs in-between the seats and even dash mounts like the CRV had. I'm gonna have to look for the green glow around the base of the knob, maybe mine isn't working or I just didn't notice it.