Why is the NAV screen of such crappy quality?

I totally agree. It's pretty lame of Toyota to "save money" by putting in a lower quality screen. We have an 09 and a 10 and it's really noticeable. The money Toyota saved with the inferior screen did not translate to a lower price for me. Just a less satisfied customer. Shame on them.

Tom G.

 

Never buy a new car in the middle or slightly after a recession. Car companies will be cutting corners to save money.

 

Its not lower quality per se, its simply a different technology. Instead of having one screen that serves all the functions the screen in the Gen I and II serve, you have a mode in the screen up in the "eyebrow" that now serves the energy monitoring functions, and then the LCD MFD on Nav-equipped vehicles. It reduces cost from an overall perspective because non-Nav Priuses don't need to come with the LCD MFD.

As for quality...its not a Lexus...its built to a price and there are a LOT of areas on the Prius (the Gen II as well) where you can see where they held back to keep the price in check. Personally I like the energy monitor up high on the dash, don't mind the different technology, and like being able to see that energy monitor when having the nav map on the LCD screen.

 

x2...a rare situation where quantity (2 screens vs. 1) is better than quality.

 

+1

Agree

 

Economics are what economics are. The Gen III has a lot of plusses over the Gen II, for not really any more money. Something has to give somewhere. The nav screen is just a nav screen, sure the higher res screen is nice. I like the screen in my Lexus better than the screen in our '04 Prius (before the screeen was updated), but would I trade a higher res screen for better seating, better styling, two screens with info over one, a better control layout with less functions entrapped within a screen, better handling, better performance and better economy for the same money...or less money package to package?

Without a hesitation at all. Obviously you agree because you made that choice. The issue is you have the comparison, the screen in the 2010 is really fine, and very comparable with what is available from other manufacturers.

And for the record, I did not "miss the point". Posters above you were comparing the ENERGY DISPLAYS of the various gen Priuses and were saying that the original Prius had a better ENERGY DISPLAY than the 2010. They werent comparing nav screens to nav screens, because obviously the 2010s screen is higher res than any Prius but the 06-09's. They were comparing the ENERGY DISPLAY quality in the 2010 to the energy displays in the MFDs on previous Prius cars and saying the display in the original Prius was higher quality than the display in the 2010...which is of course preposterous. My point was that their comparison was not one of quality...it was one of technology.

 

From my personal perspective, Toyota took a step backward with the Gen III display. I have no problem with adding the VFD up top, but not at the expense of eliminating the standard MFD and going with a lower resolution Nav. It was a marketing decision, and not one that I like.

For me, I would prefer an even larger MFD, bigger maps, and all options accessible from the screen. Aircraft went to glass cockpits a couple of generations ago. I would like to see the same for cars, especially smart cars like the Prius.

This is one of the reasons I decided to keep my Gen II, even though Toyota offered me a special deal to be one of the early Gen III buyers.

Tom

 

Wow, Tom, you got hung up by the display resolution on a perfectly functional Navigation system that has a more advance software??!! None of the other numerous (and dare I say far far more significant) improvements mattered?! Wow.

Now, if you guys said that the resolution affected the ACTUAL functionality of the navigation, then I can see your point. Hey, this ain't iPhone vs android battle for screen resolution...why does resolution mattered so much to you guys?? You don't play games nor watch HD movies on it!

 

I mean, better resolution is always better...but when you're building a car to a price, which they are doing big time with the Prius, if you add in a higher resolution screen you've got to take something else away to get the bottom line to come out the same.

Its fine to talk about what type of screens they have in aircraft...but the Prius is an economy car...there's a little bit of a price differential between an aircraft...and a Prius. Anyways...not all aircraft have the same displays either...I'm sure a less expensive entry level personal aircraft and a high end Learjet have different quality displays and switchgear. Plenty of more expensive cars with higher end screens...the Lexus RX has an OLED display...just got to buy a car for more than $25,000 to get those amenities.

And...I know what you're going to say "My Prius V with ATP cost more than $30k!" but its still an economy car...they just tacked on a lot of features unusual for an economy car. Be happy with the features you have that no car for at least $20,000 more has and don't focus on what might not quite measure up to the previous Prius...that had none of those features.

 

European and Japanese Priuses also have the head-up display which is where nav info should be, and is in nav-equipped models.

 

My mom echoes all of your responses. Her 2 biggest complaints against the Gen III are not having the bar graph screen on the MFD and the shape of the car. She says she hates how the side window line slopes down (even poorer visibility than the Gen II) and how the front of the car and emblem looks like a nose.

I'm trying hard to push her to get a Plug In but she says she will never buy the Gen III or plug in for the above reasons. She loves her Gen II (2006) too much. In fact she wants to buy another Gen II. I say fine but only if it's white and she lets me mod it like CRAZY!!

Edit: Black will work too.

 

Honestly I dont know why she wants another Gen II. It's not like she can drive 2 cars at once. Lol.

If I got a Gen III it'd be black or white - cheapest trim so I can use the $$$ on mods. Coilovers, not springs. My Gen II has been a guinea pig. Now I know what to do...

 

That's why I clearly stated that I was discussing my personal wants, not necessarily what makes sense for Toyota. I like big MFD displays, and I am personally willing to add cost to get them. Clearly Toyota doesn't think I am an average buyer, otherwise they would have at least offered a bigger display as an option.

I had this exact conversation with the head of marketing for Toyota when we were in Detroit for the launch of the Gen III. The Gen II was targeted at new adopters and technology nuts, where the Gen III is meant to be a car for the masses. A lot of changes were made to make the Gen III more conventional so that "normal" car buyers would feel comfortable. A good example was moving the shifter from the dash to its new position. There really wasn't any good reason to move it, except that the dash joystick was unconventional and felt weird to new buyers.

I'm not sure the Gen III Nav software is really more advanced. In some ways it appears to be a backward step.

As for the other features, sure, the Gen III has many significant improvements. If someone wants to give me a Gen III I will happily drive it, but the improvements were not enough to justify my trading in my Gen II. Perhaps I will be ready when the Gen IV comes out.

Tom

 

Its just cost cutting and profiteering by Toyota. Plain and simple and its cost them. Hopefully they get back on track and start doing the things that got them to the top in the first place.

As those that say the low res screen is cost cutting. That's not true because LCD screen prices have dropped by quite a bit since the G1 and G2 Prii came out.

 

So you say its cost cutting, and then its not cost cutting?

Which is it?

 

The new software tells you the name of the streets. This is minor. I have the "higher resolution" NAVI in my Sienna...not a big deal either way.

The bigger improvement is the integration of my Ipod to the NAVI via USB...and to a lesser importance (for me) is the BT Audio streaming capability.

Rear view camera performance via NAVI screen is identical for both my Sienna and Prius.

So, yeah, i will gladly give up the higher resolution screen for the improve integration with Ipods. Now, if we can actually play movies (via DVD) on screen or play games via internet, then yeah, i can see the point of the higher resolution screen. But, as is, i don't see any difference in functionality (actual navigation functionality) b/w my Sienna's and Prius system.

Maybe, we're looking at this wrong...we need to look at the WHOLE navigation/headunit...maybe this is why Toyota went to a lower screen resolution (while keeping price the same)? Hey, Toyota added USB connectivity and BT audio streaming...and kept price the same!!! Toyota is quite generous in my book!! That, for me, is worth so much more than higher screen resolution for no apparent reason other than bragging rights!!