Summary of proposed improvements for future versions of Prius

The driver's seat in left hand drive 3rd gen Prius seems to be mounted slightly to the right, laterally from the controls (steering wheel and pedals).

If they could put the seat and steering wheel / pedals inline laterally in the next generation Prius, that would be great.

 

+1. This is a serious turn down for me, especially as the 3rd gen Prius was tested in Canadian winter; they should have fixed this.

The other big issue in winter is the lack of a windshield washer fluid gauge/light. I was stuck yesterday in heavy traffic, near the freezing point, without any fluid left. I had to pull off the road as soon as I could to fill up. This can be a security issue and I simply cannot understand why my $15,000 Echo/Yaris had a empty light while my $30,000 Prius doesn't.

 

edit - floating bridge console not as obtrusive to front passenger legs as originally thought. I needed to slide seat back a little. Still, we all know the floating bridge should go in next generation.

---------------------------------------

Sitting in the front passenger's seat with long legs, it's definitely little tight legspace with the floating bridge console.

There's actually more legspace side to side on the driver's side for me.

So, definitely open up the space in front of center console for 4th gen liftback Prius.

 

Visibility to the rear, but most particularly the right rear quarter, must be improved.

 

I've never had an issue with the defrost not working. In fact, it works so well that once defrosted I can turn it off, wait for it to re-fog and then defrost the entire windscreen and front door windows in less than 10 seconds.

(Canadian who knows cold and lives sometimes in the Rocky Mountains at 10000ft elevation and sometimes great lakes Ontario)

That would be nice to have. Although it is recommended maintenance to pop the hood when you fill up with gas and do a visual check of your oil, windshield washer fluid, and other visible reservoirs. Also a good time to walk around the car and look for any damage and check the inflation of the tires by eyeballing how much they deform under load.

I had a 1989 BMW that had an LCD in the dash that displayed the idiot lights. It had a low windshield washer fluid icon, except it was permanently turned on for some reason. So as you drove, no matter how you drove, you got this 8 frame image of windshield washer fluid being sprayed onto a windshield then it would go blank, then repeat the image forever...

There are varying grades of washer fluid and varying additives. In the summer (which lasts about 2 months) I run the neon green coloured stuff that is only good to above 0C but has antibacterial additives as well as cleaning additives so that it gets bug guts off really easily. In the winter (the other 10 months) I run the deep blue stuff which is good down to -45C according to the bottle but I find that Toyota's pumps stop working around -35C until the engine compartment warms up a little. The blue stuff does not freeze as easily and has a de-icer built in so if you just have that haze of ice in the mornings or after being parked outside, you can just spray it on and it melts the ice.

If you use the green stuff in the winter, it just smears and freezes instantly.

I think it would be too general to say all dealers do or don't water it down. However it is much easier to just fill it with water or the much cheaper green liquid than the deep freeze liquid.

You always need the best tool for the job, and bringing summer formula to below freezing temps is a recipe for disaster in any vehicle (except the newer luxury cars with the steamed spray, but then you are stuck with the possibility of it freezing over before being wiped off if cold enough).

 

Knobs/sliders vs buttons.

I believe knobs and sliders should be used to adjust things.
And switches to turn things on and off, or select modes.

So, I suggest to make the temperature, and fan speed into Knobs or Sliders. Buttons do not make sense to me when you adjust how high or low something is, you have to look down. Knobs you know where it's at, by it's position.

I think Prius went upscale to Lexus style controls, but in this case, I think Knobs are better.

 

i like knobs. but with positive stops. never use climate control.

 

Yeah, my civic is free rotating. But i never had to look down to get my hand in the right spot. With the big knobs on the civic, i can get to the control i want right away.

With the prius, i know where the button is, but i have to fumble and feel around to get to the fan adjustment. A toggle, or knob would be better.

Look at the corrolla and yaris controls. I suggest knobs like those.




The prius's is nice looking, but harder to adjust:

 

On my former 350Z, there was no display at all for the HVAC system but the temperature and fan speed knobs had positive stops. Its HVAC system did have an auto setting.

 

I have not owned a car without climate control in almost 30 years -- I rarely change the settings ..... 72 in winter and 70 in summer. In the few days I have had the P I have had to change it many times .... So at least mine does not work as well as they normally do.

Also, I prefer ACC units that automatically turn on the AC -- Toyota I guess did this for MPG -- You need the AC "on" in the winter to eliminate the fog. Like the "auto" and "econ" better.


Thanks for the info on no washer fluid level -- should have that!

 

I haven't read all the replies here, but there are some good ones. Please forgive me if I repeat something that's been mentioned.

Performance and MPG can be improved with a diesel hybrid version of the Prius. Diesel is expensive, but I think Toyota could near the MPG of their plug in with diesel, especially a turbo diesel. That would remove the extra cost of "plugging in", as well as the inconvenience. At the very least, an option for a turbo on the petrol Prius will answer any need for increased performance. As long as you keep your foot out of it, you would see similar MPG's as the current Prius does. If you want to scoot, well power would be there. The Gen III Prius is not slow, and the looks have improved IMOP. This car is seeing a aftermarket boom, and with the addition of performance,,, well this car will change the Hybrid scene forever. Now that Toyota is racing the Prius, I'm sure we will see a boost... pun intended... in performance.

Keep up the great work Toyota. I love the Prius Gen III 2 I currently own!

 

We've heard this before and hopefully it's highlighted on the list ....

Pad the door and center armrests!!! Not that my elbows are aching but good grief, it's only a thin layer of fabric over hard plastic. Come on now.