What did we learn from the Chief Engineer?

I thought it would be good to compile our knowledge of what we learned from the chief engineer. As well as other tidbits that will be exciting to have in this next generation prius.

With the language barrier and it being so hard to hear in that room along with the fact that we were broken up into different groups, so we really don't know what each other talked about?

I'm just going to start off with some stuff I remember off the top of my head while its still fresh.

I"m sure as the list grows, some will think they heard differently or maybe the first wording will be easily misunderstood and will need enhancement and fill in by others who heard or know more.

Lets try to go back an edit our list if we find the facts of what we remembered and wrote down were wrong the first time for the benefit of others reading.
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1. The 17" wheels and low profile tires will knock off about "one" mpg for the average mpg to rest at 49 instead of 50. However, he said it would be funner to drive with those tires with better control etc.

2. I believe the low profile tires were Michelin.... I'll have to review what type and size on my video. Note they are wider than stock tires too.

3. There are 3 modes of driving... Eco, Normal, and Power which basically affects the way the car performs in rpms, responsiveness to the pedal and acceleration for the first "50 percent" of the pedal usage from zero.
Once the gas pedal is pressed past that point, the 3 points tend to quickly converge into one meaning there is no difference.

In other words..if you have it it eco mode and stomp the pedal, you will have the same power and acceleration as if you were in power mode.
This prevents the need to fumble for buttons to press at a critical time or need when situations or circumstances on the road do now allow looking away.

4. The center console has a jack for an ipod "same as before", but there is also an option for USB. The system will not read files from a usb stick.

5. There are two coolant reservoirs. One for the engine radiator "as before" and the other for the smaller inverter. Reason being that in order to operate at maximum efficiency, both need to be at different temperatures from each other at any given time.

6. The car will now reach the same speeds with lower rpm's for better efficiency.

7. The max rpm went from 10000 to 13500, but was unclear what max EV mode speed was or if top end speed was raised to higher than 115???

8. Same HV traction battery, but different means to cool.. "new configuration".

9. The engines computer has a "no need to run" logic now whereas when you first start the car, it will not turn on just to heat itself up but rather wait will it senses you are actually driving in such a manner than it needs to turn on.... "did I remember that right?"

10. All windows have the "auto" feature now instead of only the driver.

11. Air conditioner is all electric, as well as the water pump... there are no belts at all.

12. There is now no plate below in the rear to stabilize the horse shoe configuration of the car. "many replaced that flimsy plate with the BT plate" and or stabilization bars.
Now there is a thick round bar running all the width across "approx 3/4 inch in diameter "under the drivers seat area", as well as a brace running the full width approx 5 - 6 inches in width bent into a bracket for extra strength " "behind that bar, but still in front of the rear storage compartment"..... and no... neither are flimsy... very stout and strong with thick metal. Video here

13. The Headlamps have several options. HID lights are gone due to large expense if maintenance is ever needed.
They are replaced with up to 3 high intensity "yes they are bright!" LED's focused to spread across the road "for low beam" and a Halogen bulb that comes on when high beam is pressed.
It was unclear as to whether the whole assembly "when turned on high beam" would be more or less bright than current HID configuration. Rear tail lights are styled slightly different... a little more pointy.

14. We lost the rear dual cup holders behind the console "as the console now goes back farther anyway" and now they are in the flop down middle section of the back seat....only negative being they are inaccessible to the driver while driving as they are too far back.

15. There are heated seats now available.

16. There is an electric button that controls rear lumbar support in the seats.

17. The current Gen II prius runs in what we now know as "normal" mode in the Gen III prius.
The "new" epa figures of 50MPG are for "normal" mode. So it is expected that if you run in power mode all the time, your mpg will be less, however if you run in eco mode all the time it will be a city/hwy average of greater than 50mpg!.... YOO-HOO!

18. Towing capacity is unchanged if I remember right.

19. Although the car is lighter, cheaper and more efficient, don't expect the price to drop as they explained the extra money and resources went into making a better more efficient car. So final price is still unclear.

20. The car gained 5 cubic feet of space overall.

21. The airfoil is different now... the tallest part of the car is farther back to give the rear passengers more head room. There may be other reasons too now that a sunroof is an option.

22. Engine coolant is now looped and piped back to the Catalytic converter to reach desired temperatures quicker for less ICE running time and better efficiency!... there are also "two" catalytic converters if I remember right.

23. The doors now unlock in a slightly different manner. The front passenger works by pinching your fingers around the front part of the handle... some type of "capacitance" technique.
And the rear hatch unlock and lock button is not hidden above the license plate not visible without looking underneath to see it.

24. The plastic cover under the car covering the bottom side of the rear cargo space has two small fins for airfoil.

25. The sunroof solar panels will power small fans that prevent excessive heat buildup on the car on not days.
Although this may be more gimmick than real practical useful feature when we see the price, I expect it will attract allot of attention going down the road and be a great conversation point with laypersons as it will hopefully be interpreted as the beginning of great things.
The front portions flips up to make an airfoil that keeps wind from coming into the car. How much this affects gas mileage was not discussed that I know of.

26. The rear headrest not only go up and down as before, but also flip forward for more room when folding the seats down.

27. The hood appears to have a slight bend just before the wiper blades to allow airfoil to go over the wiper blades "which may be recessed more now too" and hopefully prevent bugs etc from hitting the windshield as easy.

28. On the standard wheels, the covers still pop off as before revealing a bit snazzier wheel underneath. The 17" wheels are what they are... no covers.

29.

 

There is also this "pre-collision" feature. It has a radar that is able to be set for 3 different distances to prevent pre-collisions based on how aggressive "or crazy" we drive.
Not sure how it works yet, but I assume it applies the brakes when the target distance in front of the car to then next car or object is breached.

I'm not at all sure I'm going to like that as I could see how that would be dangerous in certain situations if something is playing with your brakes besides you!

But I will reserve judgment until I know more.

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As far as the idle dance, a guess would be that the car has no real way of knowing if you are doing a momentary stop at an intersection verses going to stop and stay stopped for a longer duration, so it "waits to see".
The way its set up now may be to help avoid the ICE turning off just to immediately be turned back on again when you accelerate from your momentary stop allowing for a smoother experience.

I'm assuming there will be some of this logic built into the "eco" mode, but who knows how much and what logic that may be.
I do remember that the logic is now built in mind that the ICE will not run when its not needed "for instance to merely warm up the engine when not moving"..... but not sure where they draw they line on that.