Confused about body style?

What is this "space shuttle" sound you guys are talking about?
Is there a sound clip? I'd like to hear to it.

And good point above about a speaker of some sort being needed.
But i bet that working "speaker" will be a new requirement for inspections... you think?

 

As others have said, it is your right not to like the aesthetics of the refreshed car and it is your right not to buy it. Myself I do not like the look of the 2010/2011 Gen 3 - it is a look that just has not grown on me. The only piece of advice I'd give is to wait and see what you think of the car in person - you might be surprised that it looks quite a bit different. In my case take 2 cars - in photos I thought the Acura ZDX looked terrible and the BMW 5 series GT looked pretty good. Now that I have seen them I think the ZDX looks pretty good (a strange car that I'd never buy, but it does look decent) and the BMW is absolutely awful - the back end looks like the Battlestar Galactica.

 

I'd tell the OP what I'd tell anyone. You should purchase the vehicle you want. If the refresh and the noisemaker are deal breakers for you? Then they are deal breakers. I'm not thrilled by what I've heard from the youtube video with the noisemaker...but since I'm guessing it would be easily defeated that wouldn't be a deal breaker to me. Plus if legislation does get passed and eventually enforced, it may be that all hybrids/electrics will need to have noisemakers, inwhich case having one with all the elements in place will be an advantage.

It's really a testament to Toyota Prius's success that there are now enough of them on the roads and side streets and parking lots that anyone cares about the "loudness" of them at low speeds.

But it's just kind of "normal" decision making. A few years back I really liked the "Boxy" Euro/Asian original version of the Scion Xb. The new model came out and I really was disappointed. (It's grown on me a "little" since but I still like the older ones better). Well, since I was heading towards buying "new", once the New Xb's came out I had to cross them off my list.

It's personal preference and YOU are the buyer. If the refresh and the noismaker are indeed deal breakers for you? Then my advice would be buy a 2011 now, or look to buy used in the near future...OR you might have to go with one of your alternative choices. Nothing too confusing about that.

Plus a Yes/No poll that asks an opinion about two distinctly different things simultaneously is flawed.

Personally, I have no qualms with the refresh, and am only slightly disappointed in what I have only witnessed on Youtube as the Toyota Proximity Alert System. I would of hoped for an optional off switch, and/or actually adaptable sounds would be cool....

 

i like the noise BUT, you will not hear it inside the car, at all... in fact, others have commented that it is VERY low even with windows down.

plus it is going to be required by law and you can turn it off... nothing to complain about.

 

I am betting there is more than one Toyota dealer in California, you should use another one.

 

From what I can discern from the first post (the OP's stream-of-consciousness posts make "confused" an appropriate title for this thread, "confusing" would be even better!), he's planning to buy in February 2012. When it'll probably be hard to find a new 2011. And the dealer may not be able to order a 2011 at this point from Toyota; Toyota may have closed the MY and not be accepting orders.

 

If he's planning on buying in Feb 2012, he may not have anything other than the 2012 Prius (original) to choose from! The PHEV and Prius v may not be available yet and the 2011's may all be gone...

 

I assume your phone's auto-correct changed "bumper" to "number".
In that case I think your dealer is blowing smoke up your bum, telling you what you want to hear so he can make the sale.
The official press release and photos from Toyota show the new front facia and new led tail lamps on the regular 3rd gen prius.

 

Seeing as I have both a Volt and a Prius I will chime in on your thought about skipping out on the Prius for the Volt... You really need to take into consideration the longest distance you will be driving, access to a 110V outlet, and oppertunities you will have to charge the car if your goal would be to use it as an EV... The Prius is far better for long distance drives as far as fuel economy is concerned, as the Volt is only EV for the first 40 (and that fluctuates based on driving habits)... I usually only burn half the battery charge on average, but it still takes 4-6 hours to re-charge to full. If you drive 40 miles or so per day you need 10 hours about to re-charge it from empty. The Volt is definately a very nice car, and I do like the way it drive/feels compared to our Prius. I think though for the money you cannot beat the Prius in value for the amount of money it costs. I agree with you though that the 2012 refresh is not very appealing.. Glad we got the 2011 when we did.

What is this noise you guys are referring to, and what is it supposed to sound like? If it is the ped sound gen our Prius does not have one. On our Volt it is a button on the end of the headlight stalk, and emits a high pulse beeping like sound.. Requires manually pressing though, and there is no kind of automatic mode. I would go nuts if the thing went off all the time when I was low speed driving. Granted I almost had someone walk into the side of the car the other day when I was driving through a parking lot.