Yes, Gen 4 has the DRL's as well in "auto" mode. Those are great, but not at full brightness as headlights would be. You don't get taillights (also important when grey or rainy) with the DRL's unless it's dark enough to trigger the headlight function.
You remind me of a conversation I had in college with a friend in the early 1980s. Metallic Gray was starting to become a dominant color back then, and I was complaining about how gray cars were hard to see when it rains, and should have their lights on. My friend insisted that they were in fact Silver cars, and we went at it for a while. I finally conceded with my friend: "Silver" cars are hard to see against "silver" pavement (especially when wet) on "silver" days! Of course I went on to buy a silver Honda accord a few years later.
. When I worked at Buick in the late 70's - early 80's - they had a lot of silver cars - but none were called "Silver". There was a nice "Firemist" family of paint colors. They actually had a color that we swore was nothing but shiny primer. Dove gray, no metallic. So silver, grey, dirty white, tan, gold, whatever. They ALL disappear into the gloom without lights.
This is where we should distinguish between Auto and Auto-Off. They are different. The version you describe is what we usually call Auto-Off. The light control switch does not say Auto, and there are no smarts behind on-off switch. It is merely linked to the ignition, not to outside lighting conditions. Real Auto headlights say Auto for one of the switch positions, and do have a sensor for outside lighting. All Prii have Auto-Off, but most Gen3s do not have Auto. That DRL substitute mode is just Auto-off, not real Auto. All Gen3 Liftbacks of 2012 and later have real DRLs, though in the U.S. their use is optional. It is a driver choice, not hardwired as they are in Canada (or my Subaru). I can set and leave mine in DRL mode, or everything-off mode, or still use the ignition-linked Auto-Off headlight mode. It seems the Prius 'v's were built without real DRLs, at least initially.
In Europe there is the AUTO position for automatic switching on and off depending on the ambient brightness. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Wait, what?? Four positions, right? OFF = No DRL, No headlights Parking = DRL, Parking Lights, No Headlights Auto = DRL, Parking Lights, Headlights automatically turn on if ambient conditions warrant, ON = DRL, Parking Lights, Headlights regardless of ambient conditions
Yes, mine has 4 positions, but don't exactly line up with your choices, and has no AUTO position. The Owner's Manual shows several configurations, none exactly matching mine. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
Followup: Here is my light switch: Headlights = all lights on except DRL Parking = Parking Lights (immediately) and DRL (once in gear and emergency brake released) DRL = DRL only, no parking or headlights OFF = No DRL, no lights at all My Owner's Manual shows several possible headlight switches, Type A/B/C, depending on how the car is equipped, or maybe what supplier's parts were available at production time. My switch matches none of them.
Happens to me all the damn time and mine is red with lights always on. I feel like they think, "oh it's a Prius, I have an hour before they catch up to me". It happens too often for it just to be rude people.
I think (we) Prius drivers need to give up their victim mentality. I've only been a Prius owner/driver for two months - but people have been pulling in front of me, blowing stop signs and red lights, tail gating, and generally driving like I was "invisible" for at least 40 years before I even got behind the wheel of a Prius. I've experience this in both rural and urban driving situations - and driving everything from a Mustang to a full-size Chevy van. It has nothing to do with what you're driving. Yes, "rude people" are a big part of it, but it's also unskilled, incompetent, uncaring, oblivious, and distracted drivers.
I don't feel like a victim, I do get windows up road rage though. I did have a guy after passing him on the thruway try to block me from getting back into the right lane so I can exit. That was total Prius complex he was suffering from. You're right though, even when I drive my 1 ton Chevy van these people are fools doing everything you just mentioned. I wonder how some of them have gotten so far in life.
'Round here everyone rolls stop signs; ditto if turning right on a red. I get honked at for coming to a full stop. I'll wager that's an extremely common cause of "accidents", and impacts with pedestrians.
