http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-h...5-liter-engine-pretty-colors.html#post1418504 There's an image of the rear seats folded. They don't fold perfectly flat, but do appear to fold pretty well.
Not mine, it's important to me. I think the gen 3 prius' cup holder sucks badly, though. First, it has only one, and yes it's well placed. But, the second is only accessible when moving the arm rest back and then you damn near dislocate your shoulder reaching for it. The shifter is disappointing, but I imagine I could get over it. $19k for 53 mpg city is still excellent.
That shifter is ugly. Makes the car look like a regular non-hybrid ugly cars on the market today What the heck were the designers thinking? Are there any other Toyota's that have round vents? The round thing in the tail lights makes it look like a GM mobile It needs regular Prius taillights :rant: I do like the bright colors though Mike
Dude, this is why you should bring a pitchfork to an Auto Show. Oh sweet! Thanks for linking that image. It looks like it is better than the Yaris, not as good as the Fit, but pretty good. The hatch looks relatively roomy. So happy!
A shifter in anything except an MT doesn't get used much (except hypermilers shifting to Nitrogen) and you don't need to look at it anyway. The best thing to me about the Prius liftback's shifter is that it's small. This looks like it's bigger, so could be more intrusive.
I guess I was expecting a driving review. I've sat in one, but my 5'4" stature didn't find it offensive. Fortunately, Danny's out previewing and driving today - we'll hopefully get a more complete perspective.
The Matrix does, or at least did, have the round vents. Any shifter not on the dash is non Prius like to me. Which means, in a twisted sense, the Dodge Caravan at work has a more Prius shifter that the gen3.
The Yaris (which the Prius C is loosely derived from) has the exact same outboard round vents; the Matrix, RAV4, xD, xB, FR-S, and tC (at least; I'm sure there's more) also have round vents but of a different design.
That's why it's fixed for 2012. The 2nd cupholder is now fully visible and the centre console lid is now a regular flip-up lid (instead of slide and flip). The sliding lid is a good idea in theory but you always have to keep in mind the knees of the rear passengers (in case they're splayed out)
imho this is a rather lame "fix": before, if you wanted to rest your entire right arm on the console, you could, though the front cupholder turned into a "finger holder" as a result. However, on the 2012 models, now your wrist also ends up hanging over the rear cupholder, which makes for a much less comfortable ride. I realize Toyota designs for the majority, and the majority is right-handed people for whom this point is moot, but I'm also not sure what was wrong with the old design – no one forced you to keep the middle console pulled all the way forward, and you could just keep it retracted all the time, giving you unfettered access to both cupholders without having to worry about jamming your rear passengers…
It's the easiest fix without having to redesign the entire centre console. It also frees up a little bit of space as the 12V and USB port have been relocated to under the cupholder (previously they were on the floor of the box and at the rear). I like the 2010-11 version because if I remove the cupholder in the console box, I can fit one of those round rubbermaid containers filled with fruits for long road trips!
You guys are referring to the regular prius armrests right? I've been wondering about the armrest in the C myself. I sat in one at the Portland Auto Show last month, but unfortunately it didn't have the console/armrest in it. From pictures of the C it looks like it's a sliding unit, and my only concern was whether or not it comes forward far enough to rest your elbow on it while grasping the wheel at all. ron
On the Toyota's website there are several pdf files of the owner's manual for the C and it shows two versions. One which looks to be a stripped model without a center storage console but with a molded cup holder in it's place. And another version with a storage which also houses a sliding armrest.