2010 Prius pictures everywhere! - 56k beware!

Yes I do but I'm not interested in factory navigation, radar, etc. I've very happy Toyota isn't forcing a driver to use a touchscreen for HVAC and radio functions.

I hate the touchscreen in my Prius almost as much as the paint flaking off the glovebox.

 

I agree about the tachometer.

The touchscreen on my Prius technically works just fine. The problem is a touchscreen is a horrible interface for a car. You simply can't change settings without taking your eyes of the road and looking at the screen. It is impossible to use a touchscreen by feel.

On the other hand my VW handles all the HVAC functions with 3 knobs and 2 buttons. I can change everything by feel while keeping my eyes on the road. Same with the radio.

 

I just hope that Toyota won't raise the price for at least the base model.

I'm a little dissapointed that the base model won't have a touch screen.

Anyone knows what else the base model will miss out on?

What's "plasmacluster"?

Thanks.

 

I'm going to guess that the base Prius will be $24,000 to $25,000. I suspect they are increasing the features and price instead of trying to battle it out with Honda on price.

 

+1 on everything jhinton has said regarding the climate and radio interface being removed from the MFD. I would honestly consider the base model because it has a standard CD player instead of screen and purchase an aftermarket GPS if I want. One of my biggest complaints on the GenII is the need to jump through hoops while driving just to confirm my climate setting or just see what track my CD is on or radio station I'm listening to. What can I say, I'm a buttons and knobs guy.

 

Remember, it is only the North American Prius that has been plagued with the rear drum brakes. Elsewhere the Prius has 4 wheel discs.

 

Nothing like pissing on your customers, way to go Toyota!!! Are you going to try to zap them out of my brain too?

 

I would like to see interior pictures that match the detail Honda revealed on the Insight today - pics looking into each open door especially.

 

You are about an hour too late, they were here. Now you have to wait till 11:30 am EST for Toyota to give them back.

 

Once all the buzz had passed about the dash, it's the mpg that rules. The MFD would have been a absolutely great addition if it displayed all the OBDII codes and system parameters while in the diagnotic mode.

 

Hi All,

I use the Mycanscan. I find the color changing cues of parameter values an excellent, side-of-the-eye cognizant feature of Mycanscan. The lack of the HSD display on a color monitor takes the possibility of replicating that away from the Prius. Although the present generation Prius use is to indicate active function by color, needed due to the interleiving educational display. Once one has training on the Prius drive train, the interlieving dispaly is not really neccassary. There is an ergonomic trade-off between an educational display, and the simpler, but more information dense display concept of Mycanscan. The color change tachometer and temperature gauges are indispensible in achieving Prius fuel economy, in my opinion.

I think the smaller mono-chrome display will render the HSD display to be an unusable toy. Even if its higher up. Because one cannot descern locational information that far off line-of-sight axis, and there are no color cues.

I do not think the present MFD was an "experiment". It was a device to give synergistic functionality, at reduced cost. And now they have gone back to the "old way" for a new more information dense system, people will be paying $1000 for plastic buttons on a panel, rather than more functionality.

I use Vector Network Analyzers daily at work. The cheapest of these electronic instruments cost almost twice as much as one of these new generation Prius. They are amoungst the most complicated of electronic test equipment. They all use this same approach to break down, and simplify that complexity to an operational level as the present generation Prius. Generation after Generation of Vector Network Analyzer has retained this manual controls approach.

 

I actually threw up a little in my mouth when I saw the 2010 pics. Unless Toyota completely redesigns the PHEV Prius, I'm buying a Volt.

This is just wrong in so many ways.

 

On that note, I agree with you 100%. I usually have my interior lights on blackout at night; I know where everything is by memory and touch.

 

When can we see those pictures again??

 

As engaging as the MFD is, or could be, the driver's eyes belong on the road. The safest display is the simplest display.

The dash should only have the information/controls necessary for safe driving. An MFD is not needed for that. It's an ugly reality that the more junk/buttons/menus/etc. that can distract a driver, will distract some drivers. How many of you have been driving the Prius while adjusting the radio and sound system from the MFD? It's one nasty interface that requires you to look at the MFD to do anything. It's bad enough where every 4th or 5th driver has only one hand driving and their attention focused on the phone glued to their head.

 

I have the bezel function buttons on the MFD memorized. I can find them by touching the lefrt front corner of the MFD bezel, then going right to the button. When there is a gap in traffic, its easy then spot the screen soft button.

Look at the new dashboard. There do not seem to be any touch landmarks. Its all designed to be smooth and flowing. So, I doubt your going to be used it to find the right button by touch. Those buttons are dense and small, due to the multitude of buttons. This is the basic issue the MFD address. It reconfigures based on the function button. The result with this new design is your going to have to glance 45 degrees down away from the road to get the right button, rather than 20 degrees to the side, still looking at the road, as with the present MFD after sighlessly selecting the screen configuration button.

If your looking for a touch orientation control, look at the large round knob down and to the right of the steering wheen on the Insight II.

 

For a thread whose original intent got squashed by the moderators,
this has certainly mushroomed out of control, hasn't it... I was going
to suggest just deleting it wholesale, or leaving it locked with a
single message pointing to the official pictures. An explanation of
exactly what the objection was and from who would have been nice, too.
.
Any control interface is going to present a certain level of
distraction and inattention to the road, no matter how it's designed.
Maybe we should instead be thinking about how closely we follow
other traffic and how likely a short distraction performing a
control operation is to cause a hazardous situation. Are YOU at
least three seconds back before you go to fiddle with something? Even
bumping the heat on that nice three-knob VW climate control could get
you in trouble in just the wrong spot and speed on a highway when
you're thinking about how cold your feet are instead of hawking that
drunk numbnuts in the left lane who's about to miss his exit.
.
_H*

 

I have looked at the Insight II controls, they are EXCELLENT!!! Simple controls and inches from the steering wheel. The styling is awkward but the functionality is great.