What I don't like about the 2016 Prius

What about ships, trains, planes? Will they still run on diesel and aviation fuel in 2050? And will it cost $100 a gallon? The big oil companies will have to make up for all the money they lost in auto gas sales.

 

Maybe the automobile, ie: a single vehicle for an individual or five, will become obsolete? Kind of like standalone houses?

 

There was a news story today. The government came out with some kind of rules for autonomous driving cars. There's been quite a few wrecks.

 

They're all looking at economising - there's talk about high speed rail being more economical than short haul air. Existing freight trains are being reconstructed with economy in mind, locomotives rebuilt with greater efficiency, or replaced by electric.

Planes - no idea, but I'd suspect they're looking at greater efficiency. Alternately, if prices were to rise, air-travel (and long distance holidays) may become less desirable than with today's very cheap prices.

Tricky though, big changes coming maybe - just one - with 4000+ oil tankers - what happens to them if demand for oil drops dramatically? Convert to TESLA/LEAF/BOLT vehicle carriers maybe.

 

or standalone HORSES

 

Henry Ford is rolling over in his grave!

 

Well back to the 2016 Prius. Toyota broke out of their conservative styling and decided to go with a bold look on the 2016 Prius. It may not appeal to everyone's taste, but certainly retains the Prius overall look. The fact is that there is much more to like with the 2016 Prius then there is to dislike. Just buy it in red and enjoy a great car!

 

Definitely retains the PRIUS look - particularly from the side. I've got white, as it was going to be at least a few months to get a RED - I like the red. Maybe Gen 5 - or my 5 seater PRIME .

Not sure if you've seen this compilation I saw a while back - of the distinct Gen 2/3/4 profile similarity.

 

What I don't like about the 2016 coming from a 2006 Gen2...
- Loss of cabin storage space
- Loss of a below dash power source
- Can't find a *good* spot to mount my phone (in the Gen2 it was on top of the silver band on the left side of the MFD). Best compromise for me is a vent mount. AND...
- When using Android / Bluetooth / Google navigation, the turn-by-turn voice won't play over car speakers if I'm listening to music from another source!!!! (It used to on my Gen2!!!)

 

There'll be a lot of 90s/2000s cars that are collectible. The NA Mazda Miata and the R32 through R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R, for two opposite ends of the performance spectrum, come to mind. The original Lexus LS400 is another example - it's very historically significant. The Hummer H2 also comes to mind, being a very historically important vehicle - a lot of very inefficient trucks and SUVs are also collected. Conversely, the NHW10, NHW11, and NHW20 Priuses will all be collectible. 1990s EV products will be (and already are) collectible.

I predict that ships and planes will still run on distillates, although it may be possible for ships to offset some electrical loads with things like solar panels, and possibly even sails for wind assistance. Trains, those may well electrify, as is common in Europe, and I suspect that a lot of air travel will have to move to rail, and increasing oil costs will be the driver for it.

 

you mean i should have kept my '91 miata?

 

Another 2 things I found out I don't like about the 2016 Prius, besides the loud brake booster vacuum pump.
1. There is a device in the dashboard that requires a fan to be on to keep cool all the time. You can hear it when stopped with no outside noise with the cabin fan off and engine off. Just a minor thing, but really, maybe another ounce in heatsink material and then it wouldn't have needed a fan, a noise maker.

2. The included USB port does not make my Motorola G4 happy. No matter what I do, it will discharge slowly. Whether at idle with screen on, or screen off/sleeping, or the phone screen on and number crunching BOINC. Looking at ampere at current draw from the port. Could be just my phone. Seeking a good dual Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 capable (can adjust voltage 5V to 12V in 200mV increments) cigarette lighter charger.
Port seems to be able to draw a max sustained of about 1.1 amps with my phone. Adequate, but again my phone is very unhappy with it and Ampere says the max current the port will do is 100ma so something is not hapy.

 

Are you sure that that isn't the battery fan running on its lowest speed? It's not in the dashboard (it's under the rear seat), but...

In any case, it seems that that port may only be a 500 mA port, and your device might not even be negotiating for more power properly (which means it drops to 100 mA). 500 mA ports in 2016 are pretty useless...

 

Especially when it comes to tablets. The fact there's only one power port (AKA lighter socket) and it's by the arm rest instead of by the dash shows Toyota engineers are asleep at the wheel. I bought a 4 plug expander that connects to lighter socket. I have it attached under dash below center console, by the floor. I use my phone as GPS, so need it visible, not down in the QI charger. The tape on the backing plate for the expander wouldn't stick to I had to use silicon adhesive but it's removable at least.

 

Of course, the other thing is that they want the phone kept away from you, and to use the car systems, which #1 generate Toyota more revenue and #2 have lockouts to limit what you can do in motion.

(I wish there were Android Auto support, although my phone overheats on the Qi charger if it's actually doing anything more complicated than playing a podcast...)

 

What I like is its ability to handle 1:20 hills with extreme ease.

My interior is the white /. Gray.

 

I agree with you on the "Drive Mode" it is a pain.
The shifter is bezel is ok.
The steering wheel is ok and I noticed that in hot weather it stays warm to the touch. Even after I leave the car sit in the hot Fla sun.
The problem I have is with all the tech stuff, why doesn't the tire pressure monitor tell you what tire is low?
The side view of the car looks alot like other cars. The only thing going for it is the rear which is cool. The car is more roomy and drive smoother. I am getting pretty good mileage and happy with this car. I own a 2016 Prius 2 Eco..

 

Actually, speaking of the TPMS, why isn't a full display of pressures available in the instrument or stereo display?

The car's computers know the individual wheel pressures, you can look at them in Techstream quite easily, and they look to be pretty accurate...

 

Yes I am positive it is a fan in the dashboard, not coming from the battery pack.
USB port can provide 1amp or so. But my android hates it. Even when sleeping, device will not charge, nor if active though draw from the port increases.
I-phone 6 likes it fine though, 10000mA draw or so. Will buy Qualcomm quick charge 3.0cigarette lighter charger.


ANOTHER thing I hate about the 2016 Prius is that when cruise control is on and the car is descending to a point where the car no longer needs any forward torque, and the car begins to coast, so it regens slightly like if u had your foot on no pedals. BUT, instead, the engine running indicator is on, so the car behaves as if the battery pack is full, turning the engine instead of putting energy back into the pack. Is that stupid or what. So I have to disable cruise control in order to slightly Regen without the engine being on..
So cruise control can hurt MPG.

 

Every time I'm behind a Gen4 driving down the road, it looks so small and skinny. (I'm thinking to myself... How the hell do I fit in that car?! ) Maybe it looks skinny because of the vertical tail lights? I like the horizontal rear lights on the new Prime much better.

Cycling thru the various drive modes is no big deal... Only 2 seconds out of your life. Better yet, just leave that baby in the PWR mode! My gas mileage improved.

7 months in, and I have ZERO rattles, no squeaks, no vibrations, no unusual sounds... knock on wood. It's all good! I just get in it, and drive it!