Prius vs. Insight (leaning to Prius... have lots of questions)

I'll take a stab at these:

No decrease in headroom, the moonroof slides up and over the top vs. down and in (where headroom would be a factor). I'm not sure about weight difference. See the Picasa album in my sig for pics of the moonroof. I've also got a vid of it in operation on YouTube (same user name)

I suspect more of the contact patch than anything else. The wheels would carry a higher unsprung weight as well. The 15" rims use less metal w/ a wheel cover to compensate for aerodynamics. Take a peek at my picasa album in my sig link for what each wheel looks like for your own comparison.

Can't answer this one until after 3/25.

There's no technical limitation alone here except for additional wiring/plumbing for LED headlights, which include headlight washers, leveling sensor on the rear suspension, and associated ECU and wiring harnesses. I imagine the weight of LED lights itself wouldn't be a factor w/ solar, but since they're bundled w/ the 17" rims, that combined could be a factor. Toyota's position was weight vs. MPG.

I made noise about this, and would consider a retrofit w/ the understanding that I don't get washers or auto-leveling (w/o significant mods)

For premium systems, Toyota's head units output a fixed output, and volume control/equilization is handled in the Amp (connected to AVC-LAN for mute or volume control operations). Low end sounded somewhat improved in the 2010, but some of us feel it could benefit from a decent sealed sub to round out the bottom. W/o an SPL meter, it's hard to quantify the differences between the two, other than to say the 2010 is improved. They ditched the useless center speaker as well.

For reference, the premium system on the Gen 2 was 7 channels into 9 speakers. I imagine Gen 3 will be 6 channels into 8 speakers. I call them channels as in outputs as fronts are actively crossed over at the amp and use dedicated lines for woofers and tweeters. The rears use a passive crossover near the woofer and split the frequencies @ the door. The 7th in Gen2 was for the center channel. Input, of course, is only 2 channel stereo.

Most going aftermarket end up tapping speaker level outputs from the amp into their own amps, however there's a fair amount of processing going on that may make any further post-processing moot or left w/ less than desirable results.

Yes they are, as they are in the current generation. With the 3rd gen, they double as tail lamps at reduced intensity vs. a separate bulb in the 2nd gen.

I imagine you could, but more likely, you'd want to unscrew it (if possible) and replace the entire knob.

Can't comment on that until after 3/25.

Yes, displayed in the climate control display.

From "the chief" engineer, presently it won't be possible to retrofit NiMH to Li Ion. That doesn't mean someone else won't try it.

Adhesive only - some fishing line and heat would be all it takes to remove.

Yes. I've got a video on YouTube demonstrating this. There is no song title display on the MFD though as tested from a Blackberry Curve 8900.

Not based on ambient light, but rather from the tail lamp signal. In other words, flip the interior dimmer all the way up, and you'll get day brightness full time.

Yes and yes. I've carried 10' PVC and an 8' ladder this way.

No hard points, but yes, sufficient room. A popular aftermarket mod is a receiver hitch which bolts to the shipping tie-down holes which can accept a hitch mounted bike rack.

Hope this helps,
-Rick

 

Hello and welcome to PriusChat!

Not much. The reason is that the glass slides up and over the roof instead of into the roof so rear headroom isn't compromised. I'm unsure of the weight.

Didn't check this. However, I noticed that the leather-trimmed seats and the fabric-trimmed seats felt different. I felt more comfortable in the leather ones. In addition, the power lumbar support on the leather-trimmed models is a great addition.

Could be both. Another minor factor could be the larger gaps between spokes.

25th

Probably weight but due to EPA regulations. In other words, there might be a weight range that the EPA allows their published MPG figures to be valid. Go outside that range and you'll need a 2nd vehicle with that weight to be tested.

Decent. Not the greatest but an improvement over the 04/05. (The 06-09 models have an improved sound too but I wouldn't know since I don't have those model years). The bass isn't as heavy as the 04/05 models so you can actually crank up the bass to the max and not overburden the speakers and get muddy sound. I believe Doc Willie wrote an article on the sound system. It's in the forum somewhere. I'll see if I can find it if you're having problems locating that article.

yes

Most likely. Shifters are usually screwed on.

25th

Yes. It's located in the small MID beside the speedo, next to the clock.

Can't be done according to the Chief Engineer. Like htmlspinnr said, that doesn't mean someone won't try it.

TOYOTA logos are drilled. I believe the HYBRID emblems are drilled but the PRIUS and HSD emblems are glued.

See htmlspinnr's response.

Not in the US because US-Spec cars don't have automatic headlights. They will automatically invert if you turn on the headlights.

The front seats fully reclines. It doesn't fold forward so yes you can put longer items but you won't have a seatback to support it.

The rear seat folds nearly flat, yes.

Nope but again, that didn't stop people from attaching kayaks to the roof of the current Prius.

Yes. In the current Prius, I can find a 26" mountain bike.


From john1701a's site

 

Not as far as I know and you'll need a hybrid 5.1 and 7.1 disc (which may or may not work and use at your own risk).

 

Some other threads have outlined that some features in NAV (i.e. Previous Destinations) will be available while moving. This new system is a Gen6 system, so the hack would have to be re-engineered. Also, because the voice system recognizes street names (spelled out), that should be a more viable option.

The "I agree" prompt does disappear after 5 seconds (another one of my YouTube clips)

http://www.youtube.com/htmlspinnr