What changes do Prius v owners want to see?

• It would be nice if there wasn't a ditch in the cargo area when the rear seats are down. My prior car (Matrix) had hard backs on the rear seats so the cargo area was nice, firm, flat, etc. Since Matrix is a Toyota I know they can do it.
• A serious cup holder that holds a larger cup, Tervis, large water container.
• Charger for rear seating area. Where the kids are using tablets, phones, etc.

 

This is a thread I like!

I know I've only had my Prius v (with ATP) for less than 3 weeks, however I already have a list ready!

• Plastic, plastic... the dashboard is awful & cheap looking. They need to step up with the competition.
• Nav & overall entertainment center interface has poor graphics (looks like it's dated from the 90's) and 6.1" is way too small.
• No back seat 12v charger for phones/tablets
• No automatic cargo lighting (that's ricidulous, come on Toyota!)
• Heated seats button (no adjustment options, it's on/off). I came in from a Ford with a dial wheel with settings from 1 to 5. It was awesome and why are they hidden so far?!
• No proximity/obstacle sensors (I had them on my previous car and loved them)
• No turn signal mirrors
• Cheap plastic antenna
• Eco/Pwr buttons prone to spills with the cup holder beside them
• Fish eye back-up camera (my previous car had a perfect/non distorted camera)
• Lane Departure Assist (it's useless, you can barely hear the warning beep when music is playing).

I seem to be highly critical of this car, but I got used to higher quality materials and more advanced technology with my previous Ford Focus. However, I got rid of it due to its overall reliability and terrible transmission. I love my Prius v for its huge cargo space, leg room, quiet & smooth ride and awesome MPG. I am blown away so far with its efficiency.

 

I don't care about 7-passenger seating but think we would have been a lot happier with the content of the European Prius+ Premium instead of the U.S. Prius v Five with the Advanced Tech Package we bought. The Euro Prius+ has real leather, privacy glass, roller blinds on the rear side windows, rear seat headrests a person can see over, turn signals on the exterior mirrors, head-up display, proper LED DRL, a rear fog light, rain sensing wipers - and that is just the tip of the iceberg.

I would also want adaptive cruise control and advanced PCS that functions all the way down to zero mph - similar to what Toyota is trickling down to the 2016 Lexus RX, an 8-way power adjustable front passenger seat, seat position memory at least for the driver seat, dual opening panoramic sunroofs and the Lane Keep Assist (LKA) that has been available for several years on the regular Prius.

Maybe Toyota could call this better equipped version the Prius v Six or put the additional content in an "Ultra" package. The retail price of this better equipped Prius v "Ultra" should be no more than a few thousand dollars more than the price of the current Prius v Five with ATP.

 

A touch screen that doesn't become unresponsive several times a day.

 

I've got a very brief 'this is wrong' (or at least annoying) list on our v5:

• non-adjustable multi-function(Nav) screen that is nearly useless when sunny. How about a tilt function a la Sienna.
• enlarge the hatch opening to more closely match interior capabilities. We've had a few things that "should" fit, but couldn't get through the hatch
• seating- 'meh' seat heating, somewhat iffy comfort on the long road trips

Although the handling and acceleration aren't up to our regular Prius' capabilities, overall it's been a great car from an overall basis. I'm just hoping that the above items are 'fixed' in the next iteration.

 

Ford may have had more advanced technology, but what good is that when overall reliability is problematic. That will not be an issue with the Prius.

 

Yes, but the Lexus RX is a much more premium vehicle than the lowly Prius V.

 

I never considered the Lexus RX to be very "premium" having driven a number of RX "loaners" provided by the Lexus dealer while one of our LS sedans was in for service. IMO, the Prius v Five with ATP compares quite favorably with a Lexus RX although the comparison would be closer if our Prius v Five was more like the European Prius+ Premium.

Regardless, Toyota is going to have to offer all-speed automatic braking and all-speed adaptive cruise control on the Prius v simply to remain competitive with other car makers.

Features like Vehicle Stability Control, Traction Control, and Brake Assist were once available only on the Lexus LS but are now standard on all vehicles that Toyota sells in North America. It's going to be the same with all-speed automatic braking, all-speed adaptive cruise control and a number of other features that were formerly available only on the Lexus LS.

Heck, I remember when air conditioning in vehicles (and houses, schools, businesses) was once rare. Who would even consider buying a vehicle without A/C these days?

Technology trickles down from high price vehicles to low price vehicles - always. That's just the way the auto industry works. Nice, isn't it?

 

I agreed that to a Lexus LS owner, a Lexus RX would not be viewed as "premium, butI really don't see any comparison between the Prius V and the Lexus RX in terms of "premium quality". The Prius V is a low rent vehicle compared to a Lexus, and the retail price of each fully loaded is quite dissimilar[

 

- the electronic nannies like turn signals on the mirrors, blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise, parking distance warnings, lane departure, etc
- sound deadening
- more adjustable seats (angle of seat)
- controls more centered to the driver
- a touch screen more shielded from glare
- LED DRLs standard
- an option that, after accepting a legal warning, allows the navigator to operate the GPS (passenger seat must be occupied)
- scan function of the radio that seeks the next station, plays for 5 seconds and goes on. Useful when far away from home.
- GPS functionality and map updates updated over the phone

- And one I've only see on one other car is a smaller display of the critical info from the GPS screen right in front of the driver in a nice hooded instrument panel next to the speedometer. If a critical warning needed to be displayed, it could replace the GPS screen.

 

I was comparing Prius v Five with ATP with the accessories we have in ours with a basic FWD Lexus RX350 which was what I usually got as loaners. The price difference is about $4,400 which I don't consider to be very much. I don't put much value in the Lexus brand name even if I did drive Lexus LS cars for 24 years. Under the surface there are remarkable similarities among all vehicles made by Toyota regardless of their brand - Lexus, Toyota or Scion. It's a decent vehicle but I regard the RX as nothing more than a higher riding Toyota Camry on which it is based. The RX of just a few years ago was an irritating ill-handling, raucously loud vehicle but it certainly has been improved.

Really, just about any vehicle can be made to seem "luxurious" with the right trim and options. Just look at how Toyota turned the nondescript Toyota Prado into the Lexus GX SUV by replacing its 6-cylinder engine with a V8, adding sound proofing and nicer interior and exterior trim.

 

After one year and almost 50,000 miles, I can say that I would like to see the following changes / improvements in the Prius v.

1) Different angle for dash pad. It's really annoying putting things on top of the dashboard only to have them slide off during acceleration because the dash pad is sloped too far downward.

2) I would like there to be controls where you can choose how the power is diverted. As in, you press a button and even if the ICE is running, the hybrid system will drain as much power as possible from the traction battery, at least down to the point where it reaches two bars on the battery gauge. This would be useful for power saving if you know you're approaching a really long downhill grade. Many a time have I had it happen where I am gunning the engine to climb a hill (which charges the battery, up to 6 bars on the gauge), and then on the way back down, I run the regenerative braking for so long that the battery charges up to full capacity and the regenerative braking no longer works.

3) Along with #2, I would like a control option to keep the ICE from turning on at 46.5 mph under low / no throttle. If I'm coasting down a hill, I don't need the engine to be on, burning gas.

4) A radio option that doesn't have a touch screen. I just don't like touch screens. Plus, a few months back, an idiot driver pulled out in front of me, causing me to have to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision, and something in the back of the car flew forward as a projectile and smashed the touch screen. Dealership told me $3,200 (!!!!) for a new radio. If it had been a different type of radio without a touch screen, chances are it would not have suffered much (if any) functional damage in that incident and also it would cost far less. I would have gladly paid less for the car to get a more spartan, though functional, radio... like they've had on cars for decades before the touch-screen invasion.

5) I'd like them to make the car bigger. I use the Prius v to haul musical equipment to dozens of shows per month, and sometimes things can get mightily cramped... especially if we also have to haul the necessities of being away for days at a time. You can't tell me that they couldn't make a bigger version, even if it came with the same engine and system and yielded maybe 37 mpg average instead of 42. The Highlander hybrid doesn't count because its cargo volume isn't all that impressive and also, it is absurdly expensive. A stretched Prius v model (maybe called the vX) wouldn't have to be that much more expensive than the current v model, as it would share pretty much all components of the regular v... sort of like the old-school full-size vans. There was the small one, the mid-sized one, and the really long one. All that differed among them was the body, the frame length, and the driveshaft length.

6) I don't like the "electronic fob" key thingy. Give me a real key with a real keyhole, and an electronic transmitter if need be (but NOT one that is required to start and operate the car). Keys are easily copied for two or three dollars if you lose one. $300 to replace a lost or broken fob? I fail to see how THAT qualifies as "economical" for a car that is supposed to be all about economy.

7) More ground clearance. This thing can't hardly run over anything without it scraping the undercarriage.

8) A tachometer and gauges to show the temperature of the various fluids. I like to know how my car is operating.

9) Allow EV mode to work at any speed, and provide an option to defeat the auto-start (at least until the traction battery runs down to two bars) if you're only driving a short distance. I really don't need the engine to start up, or warm up, if I'm just driving a quarter mile down the road to go to the store (and back). Why would I drive that short of a distance instead of use my bike? Well, the winters do get extremely cold around here. I imagine that preventing an engine start (or two) under those conditions would prolong the life of the internal components responsible for the engine starting.

10) Provide a lever that engages the regenerative braking generator only (without also engaging the brakes). This could improve energy efficiency and also reduce wear on the brakes. I can make this happen to an extent using the cruise control but it doesn't run the generator as much as it could, and it cuts out below 25 mph.

Now - that said, I have been quite satisfied with my Prius v thus far. I'd still recommend it to anyone. Almost 50,000 miles, and not a lick of trouble (yet). I also recognize that most people wouldn't be intelligent enough to be able to control the car and figure out how it operates, the way I can. Thus, I would be fine with most of my suggestions coming in the form of an options package. However, it'd be a really NICE options package to have.

It is possible that sometime down the road, I will add a #11 which says "design the next generation model for ease and cheapness of repair". It seems like repairs on most newer vehicles cost a fortune compared to the same repair on older vehicles (even when those older vehicles were new, and adjusting for inflation).

 

Where do I begin...

Put the responsive Camry power plant into the Prius v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon) ( I will suffer the 4 mpg fuel penalty.)
Give me the Camry Hybrid's power tilt/ slide sunroof.
Power Hatch
Instruments in front of driver (where they should be....)
More sound proofing.
EV at any speed.
Real breathable leather seating.
Put some padding in the center armrest.

 

It always amazes me how my wants so often differ from those that others suggest. A reminder that each of us is different and that's OK.

 

3 door SKS with cloth
Include a cargo cover for the rear seats (make a cargo van version with no rear seats and a level load floor)
I wonder if the Liftback's final drive ratio would give better MPG, at the expense of acceleration.
Mostly I am very happy.

 

More driver leg room: The driver's seat is about an inch in front of the passenger's seat, and some of us would really like to have that extra inch.
DRLs on the v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon) 3.
Headlight bulbs that last longer than 2 1/2 years and are easy to replace.
More soundproofing.
A much better user interface on the sound (etc.) system.