What do you dislike about your Plug-in Prius?

overall, nothing. this car is twice my 08 prius. if you want to nitpick, the lack of a spare tire 'option'. oh, and the gen III bridge could be rearranged for more storage. i.e. place for iphone, better cupholders/cubby's, etc.

 

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The lack of bass. (which I will be rectifying with the addition of an amp and sub)

 

thanks ken, i've seen that, but it just doesn't seem very convenient trying to place hot coffee in there for a sip every few seconds.

 

Ah, OK. Yeah, I use the cupholder by the shifter for that. I like having separate compartments like that tray, even if I throw sunglasses or something else in the "cupholder slots", and use the built in ones for actual cups.

 

I absotively hate running out of electrons. I have the dreaded "range anxiety" but not as acute as the Leaf driver's I imagine. Just when I'm driving through a city for instance, slow speed and have no EV left. That just leaves me with slight pressing of the go pedal so as not to start the ICE. And I incur the wrath of those behind me.

(But I wouldn't trade this car for any other at this time.)

 

The overall build quality leaves plenty to be desired--at least based on my expectations of what I should get for a $33K car. I know I know...apples to oranges somewhat since you're getting amazing technology that comparable vehicles lack. But close that rear hatch and the doors and it feels really flimsy. Close the door with the window part-way down and it sounds like a toy car rattling around. I had to install sound deadening material in the doors and floor because it was so depressing the first few months.... I have a '94 Toyota pickup that has nearly 300K miles and just keeps coming back for more. The durability/longevity of this vehicle...hard to say. But it's amazing technology and I love being able to drive the juice I'm pulling in from my wind/solar system. And I love the quiet hum of the electric engine....so I wouldn't trade it, just wish it were a little more solid overall...

 

Traditionally, I'm very picky, but I'm still in the honeymoon period. Overall, very satisfied. My only current complaint which is minor, Toyota's choice of light color carpet and equally light color floor mats. Not sure if it's the same with all 2012 Prii with gray interior.

 

I'm very pleased with the plugin Prius as it is.

I would like the option to preheat the car while it's plugged in. And I wish for a bigger battery for next gen.

But nevertheless the PiP is the best car I ever owned.

 

Overall I am pleased with the PIP.The HVAC is overly complicated, the AC comes on when you don't want it, then you have to shut it off. Push another button and it shuts off after 3 min. I would rather the car be totally manual. ON/OFF should be discretionary. My other car, a 9 year old Honda Civic puts the PIP to shame , all controls are clear, simple and fast. As for some other Stupid decisions, not having a spare tire is on top, a bigger trunk would be nice. And they can throw that tire jack in the garbage. All designers responsible for that jack should have to change a tire every working day for one year. The quality of the Gen 2 jack was the same. Given the choice of cars in the market today, I could very well buy a PIP again. But in 5-10 years there will be more choices

 

What if you turn off auto? I almost NEVER use auto in my Gen 2 Prius nor my previous car (350Z) which also had auto.

 

21,000+ miles, 11 months' ownership, two really long multistate trips - one with my son and his parrot(!), the daily 18-mile round-trip commute... and the one nit I had to pick was the crappy flexy body road handling common to all factory Prii. Some of Rude person's's underbody braces, a Cusco front Strut Tower Bar and a TRD rear anti-sway bar fixed all that some months ago. Otherwise, it's a great car. Yeah, the EV battery could be bigger, and a spare donut tire would have been nice... but it's still a great car. Plenty of room inside, idiotically good mileage, and kinda fun to drive. I have the Advanced PiP, so the speakers are great as well.

 

. I never use Auto, I do use OFF all the time to eliminate this annoying system. OFF is the most useful button.

 

I want an Engine Off Switch, to keep the ICE off when I don't need it, like Incidental accelleration into the Power Zone.

 

Great idea.

 

I just thought of a teeny tiny nit: the ECO and POWER buttons seem to have two setting (eco and power) but there's a 3d, in-between, unannounced setting lurking in there. The nit is, if an occasional driver hits either of these two buttons just right, the car will work in the in-between setting and it's sometimes a while before anyone notices (like when my son got his meathooks on the car, and I didn't notice for two days until I realized the mileage had dropped). IMHO theres' no point in this 3d stealth setting - it should be just Eco or Power.

Thoughts?

 

i've never used anything but eco, but i see what you mean about another driver. i wonder why 3 buttons weren't used?

 

Then, I'm confused why the AC would turn on by itself when auto is off.

If auto's off, the only time the AC should come on is if you turn it if you turn it on or if you use one of the defrost/defog settings.

 

Got Toyota all-weather mats. All mats except the driver's mat moves around. I think the rubber is too thin and light. I had no problem with all-weather mats with gen2.

The steering feels cheap compared to gen2. The screen resolution is lower too, since I have the Basic.

I thought the bass is nice. I am not even thinking of adding a subwoofer. I think they gave up the door cup holders to make room for that bass effect from the doors.

The lack of spare tire is another nitpick.

Love everything else, especially the powertrain -- smooth, quiet and efficient.

 

As long as there's no drama going to where I'm going and back, I can't complain about the car.