Advise before I buy my first Hybrid

Yep, would be nice to do something other than vegetate.

 

Agreed!!

One aspect, for "routine" commuters, is the integration of a Uber-style autonomous vehicle network. Your diary has "work 8:30am (just me)", so a small vehicle calls for you 34 mins before that, takes you to work, then heads off somewhere to take a retiree to the dentist. It'll be clever enuf that your diary also has "finish work 4:45pm, pick up wife and kids on way to gym", so a 4 seater vehicle with a baby seat calls for you. None of these need parking during the day, and at night, those which aren't used are stabled in the suburbs ready for the next day's work.

They'll all be computer linked, traffic lights won't be needed (in an all-autonomous environment), or in a mixed environment, the autonomous vehicles will have speed and traffic lights timed to eliminate or reduce stopping times. In cases of congestion, it will automatically find another way (hopefully).

Bring it on. Can I have a red one?

And yes - there will be places (off-road, out of town, remote locations etc) where you'll still drive yourself.

 

Since I could not get a red one nobody does.

 

We've only had 4 WHITE in showrooms, but a dealer about 2 hrs away (I drive past a dozen or 15 dealers on the way) has put this up on their website yesterday:

New & demo & used Toyota Prius for sale in Noosa, Gympie - John Madill Toyota

I just might go for a drive.

 

I called my dealer and told him, that if by any remote chance he sees a red one with the same specs as the dark grey one I ordered (and of which I know nothing about) and it's free to get, I would be interested, assuming it gets here before mine.
And why the red, because I read on the tech docs that red has an additional metallic neutral color layer underneath the red transparent one, so that the car reflects more light and hence the car is cooler when sitting under the sun. Hence the extra 400€ cost. I thought it was just a marketing gimmick!

A friend of mine commented "you are not getting yours, and if you do, it will arrive the same exact day as the other one - I bet a dinner on that!"

 

I think that's the Thermo-Tec GreenyYellow paint you might be thinking of:

"Which brings us to this 2017 Toyota Prius that customers in Japan can get in a seriously questionable lime green paint job. “Thermo-Tect Lime Green” (hey, there are worse names) represents the auto industry’s first production use of solar reflective paint. The paint, for now available only in Japan as a $350 option, is packed with tiny reflective titanium oxide particles and doesn’t contain carbon black, a common ingredient in paint that tends to absorb lots of heat." ... "in other words, the car heats up less, which lessens the need for air conditioning, which in turn improves fuel economy. And fuel economy, of course, is what the Prius is all about.

"White paint also does a good job of keeping the sun's heat at bay, but Toyota actually says that its Thermo-Tect paint outperformed white in a two-hour summer test outdoors. Basically, this technology means that you might be able to get the color of your choice on your next car and still reduce your AC use. Granted, lime green may not be your first choice, but there doesn't seem to be anything stopping Toyota from rolling it out to other colors as well.

Googling Hypersonic Red or Emotional Red came up with nothing as far as solar reflection.

And, sadly, TOYOTA won't bring it into Australia - only Japan.

 

Hey, I said it boils down to whether you enjoy driving or not.
You shouldn't take my dislike for the concept of a world filled with self driving cars as a negative personally....
I LIKE driving.

Sounds to me like you don't like the environment you are most often driving in, and simply do not enjoy driving very often. For you? I guess a self driving vehicle WOULD be something you'd like....

For me? No.

I live in the Pacific Northwest in the USA. Where we do have a plethora of drivers that range in skills from Great to Horrible around us. Of course there is risk and danger driving out in the world. Even with everyone doing everything right, there is risk of injury, accident and even death. It comes with the territory when you choose to move yourself around in a big metal machine that you control, in an environment surrounded by many others choosing to do the same.

But again...I don't care.
I love to be able to "Pilot" my own vehicle. Don't tell the highway patrol, but I also enjoy speed. I enjoy winding roads with vistas and views, and guess what? With a Prius? I even enjoy cranking up the tunes in a traffic jam, as I inch along, NOT using gasoline.

For me, a robotic world where we trust in sensors and software divorcing us from the vehicle and operator driving interface is something I would rather NOT enjoy. If I want to get into a transportation device I don't have to drive that will take me to point A to B, I'll take a bus.

But if any individual looks at the horizon of a world filled with self driving vehicles and wants that reality? More power to you. My hope is that reality is very slow in coming. My belief is that people will always want to drive, so that there will be a limit to the appeal and reality of self driving cars, and I will be dead by the time this theory is either proven or disproved. -Thank God.

 

For you that's a problem?

 

WOW. If that doesn't scream "Look At Me" I don't know what would.

Oddly enough, I kind of like it.

 

Sorry I didn't remember correctly, and I checked the tech docs again - it essay that "Emotional Red (code 3T7) has been designed with a new technology to create a brilliant and sporty presence with high intensity and vibrant clarity".
Moreover "A reflective layer contains aluminum flake to add a 3-dimensional appearance to the surface. A separate translucent layer contains a deep red pigment. These 2 layers combine to create a strong reflection and deep red hue."

No mention about the vehicle getting less warmer - sorry.
The green lizard color is not available other than in Japan because it is honestly quite a challenge to see and drive in EU...
I must say that the choices of colours for EU, like for gen3 leaves a lot to be desired. There are essentially 5 shades of grey, and 2 "colours" - Emotional Red and Dark Blue (which tends to look somewhat violet in particular light conditions. Still better than the blue of Gen3. But if you check the colours of the Auris or the Yaris, those are really nice ones. Oh well...

 

Thanks - your quote of CODE 3T7 has confirmed a question which TOYOTA Australia has neglected to answer - "Is Emotional Red the same as Hypersonic Red".

A Google search of Toyota 3T7 comes up with Hypersonic Red - so, yes, they must be the same - schizophrenic, maybe.

 

Color codes are the same worldwide. And the same color when sold on a market is the same for all other markets. Only the marketing names/sales names, change.

 

I have to tell you. After straight piping my gen 2 and modding the air cleaner a bit, the car is so much more fun for me. I'm a recovering hot rodder, so....
That with my torque app and custom gauges makes for a lot of fun.

 

Hold out for the red. It really looks that good.

I am holding out for a red urn.

 

I am already glad if I get mine anytime soon, with the option (IPA) I wanted it with. The dark grey is actually way darker than Gen3 and more towards a shiny black. The Prius black is too matte, even if with mica/metallic paint.
But if a red one gets there before, exactly in the same way as I wanted the grey one, I will get it for sure.

 

Maybe the dealer could still order you a red one and hold yours instead for display/stock? Worth asking him - he could even have someone else wanting grey.

 

In Germany orders are legally binding. You cannot simply cancel and put on hold etc. There must be some extraordinary events for that to happen. And in any case, he ain't getting any...
So I simply have to sit and wait and hope my order is actually being built at all...in whatever color I asked for.

 

Salsa with red hot burnt chili peppers.
So what is the latest at Lake Wobegon?

Lake Wobegon - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Last I heard, Pastor Liz had left and they were waiting for a replacement. Meanwhile at the Church of Perpetual respons ... .