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Plus vs Premium/Advanced UI

Discussion in 'Prime Main Forum (2017-2022)' started by SteveMucc, Jul 13, 2018.

  1. SteveMucc

    SteveMucc Active Member

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    2017 Prius Prime
    Model:
    Prime Advanced
    I have a friend whose thinking of buying a Prime. I have an Advanced and have some questions on the Plus. When I bought mine I never considered the Plus (wanted the HUD and the additional safety features).

    I know the Plus has hard-buttons for the AC (which is nice), but aside from that, are there any significant benefits to the UI on the plus versus the larger premium/advanced screen?

    Is the navigation the same? Does it have the same crap radio controls?

    Unfortunately I live near Bowling Green (home of the Corvette) and the local Toyota dealer has no primes for sale (the only public charger anywhere to be found in a very large radius of the corvette plant is in the local Hilton (they have one spot and near as I can tell I'm the only one who has ever used it (happened to drive by a few months after I was there and the cord had the same "knot" (wrapped through the wire) as I left it when I had stayed there last)). So I have no way (nor does my friend) of comparing locally (he's going to have to go out of state to purchase).

    So how to the interfaces compare?
     
    #1 SteveMucc, Jul 13, 2018
  2. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    My understanding is that the underlying software is the same. It’s the hardware (the knobs and buttons) that differentiate the two. Well, I guess the layout of the radio and climate screen is different.
     
    #2 Tideland Prius, Jul 13, 2018
  3. schja01

    schja01 One of very few in Chicagoland

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    #3 schja01, Jul 13, 2018
  4. breakfast

    breakfast Active Member

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    Plus driver here :) Is the UI better? Eh, it's about the same. It's very functional and I'm happy with it.***

    If the local Toyota dealer has a non-prime 2018 Prius, your "friend" :cool: would get a good idea of what the Prime Plus UI is like. They use the same 8 inch touchscreen. There really isn't anything Prime specific on the Plus head unit.

    The Plus has a CD player, actual round, physical volume and tuning knobs (I would therefore say that radio controls are better on the Plus), and does most everything the Premium and Advanced do on a smaller screen -- one difference is that scheduling the charger must be done using the steering wheel controls and the MFD - but that's really not a big deal - it's a few button presses to schedule, say, a charge to be completed at 7:45 tomorrow morning with climate prep. Nav maps are smaller, so by definition are worse... but they do have those nice "up higher, but not all the way up on the windshield" turn directions up on the MFD. It has HD traffic built in. Also, Siri Eyes Free is built-in and I use that every day to read my texts to me and/or to control the music on my iPhone.

    ***as happy as one can be without having Android Auto or CarPlay :)
     
    #4 breakfast, Jul 13, 2018
  5. SteveMucc

    SteveMucc Active Member

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    Prime Advanced
    Is one any easier than the other to use (nav, radio, etc?) Did they change any of the UI flow or just reposition the same buttons?

    One of the reasons i'm asking is because I hear a *lot* of people complaining about the UI for the 11" screen, but not nearly as many people complaining about the 7" screen. The only difference appears to be the hard buttons for climate control.

    Of course this could all be a matter of weighting (how many people on the site have plus's vs premium/advanced models).
     
    #5 SteveMucc, Jul 14, 2018
  6. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    I haven't had much experience with the 11.6" but the 7" appears to have the same logic as my 2010 Prius' nav and our 2005 Prius' non-nav 7" MFD (so typical Toyota layout). While the 11.6" has a slightly different menu structure. For example, the MENU items will bring the 4 large circles to the screen which have their own sub-menus. But you can also access the quick shortcuts by swiping up to reveal the 4 circles arranged in an arc that you can swipe left/right to cycle through them (they are duplicated on the 4.2" MID). So maybe that's why it's less familiar?

    The complaints appear to stem from the lack of physical buttons for the climate control, the lack of a volume knob and the overall Toyota interface (which will plague the 7" version as well).
     
    #6 Tideland Prius, Jul 15, 2018
  7. SteveMucc

    SteveMucc Active Member

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    ok, thanks. I'll let my friend know.
     
    #7 SteveMucc, Jul 16, 2018
  8. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Np.

    I'm surprised no one else chimed in. Where are the Prime owners who upgraded from a Gen 2/3?
     
    #8 Tideland Prius, Jul 16, 2018
  9. johnamerc

    johnamerc Junior Member

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    Model:
    Prime Plus
    Day 1 complete in "Bluemeister" . . . 2018 Plus . . . owned 2 different 2010 s with Nav and many hours driving 2004 level 5 as well as owning a 2001 level 1 for 345,000 plus miles. What is nice is the transition from the '10 to the '18. Lots of similarities. Love the energy screen yet had trouble finding it after I turned on satellite radio. Seemed odd to look for it in the audio screen apps. Should be renamed. EV miles left is a great statistic. An amazing car! I have driven 60 miles and the gas engine has not even come on! That is what the car is for! Just buy one or the other and get going! I am a cloth seat guy so this is cozy.

    I even have a dedicated 20 amp outlet on my circuit breaker panel so I can charge while I decide about a 240 V setup.

    I can put my foot hard on the pedal and still EV mode. after 17 years of "driving" on egg shells this is a dream come true!

    As I pass 800,000 Hybrid miles now I can finally document miles spent in stealth mode.

    And the out of lane "warning" is tame and almost friendly.

    I even rented and seriously considered a Fusion Hybrid as it drives so nicely and is ultra quiet even in gas mode.

    The $3500 Customer Cash and NYS $1,100 contribution helps. Under $25 K drive out even with 8% sales tax.

    This is the right choice for me!

    Just do it!

    John
     
    #9 johnamerc, Sep 19, 2018
    breakfast likes this.
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