I am going to be purchasing a Prius next week and was wondering if I should upgrade to the Moonroof package. Does the remote air conditioning work well? I'm in sales and hate getting into a hot vehicle because I come out a sweaty mess.
You have to be within range of the remote. It is effective once it's running, but limited to three minutes at a shot. Just as worthwhile is the ventilation from the solar powered fan. If you tilt the sunroof up to vent, the combination of the three should work well for you.
I have theses features and also find them useful to keeping the temperature under control a bit. Key word is a bit.....if you are looking to get into a cooler on a 100 degree day then you will want a third party remote start unit that does heating as well as cooling. Stays on longer, etc. I also like the solar powered fan system for when the vehicle is shut off. I believe the purpose is to keep the interior no hotter than the outdoors taking the meltdown away. It also blows on your lower leg which is probably a psychosomatic cooling response that, for me, gives a cooling sensation. The key to effective fan function appears to be tied to the amt of charge available to the solar roof.....more energy, better fan function. It's a pricy package, but I there isn't anything like having all of these options, again for the way I drive. So buy it if you like it, but don't buy it if you think it's going to save you a bunch of money.
I really liked the solar roof on my old Prius. It did a great job of keeping temps down during those 100F days. In conjunction with a quality sunshade, window tint and smart parking you may not need to use the remote AC often. When it's really hot outside, all of the above mentioned items will help you cool the car down faster when AC is needed. I wish my PIPhad the solar roof.
I tried to use the remote AC once. Then I got to my car and realized, what in the world can the 5-10 seconds of AC it would take for me to walk to the car do that rolling all 4 windows down, couldn't? Seems like it would only make sense if you're within range either at home or at work. I park in the garage and my desk is far from where I park. Seems like the solar roof would work better for me.
if your car is parked outside your office window. my neighbor has a remote start on her suburban. she fires it up from the kitchen on cold mornings, and an hour later she goes out with no coat on.
I have a neighbor who has a Cadillac Escalade with remote start. Every morning he fires it up about five to ten minutes before he leaves, regardless of outside temperature. IMHO, it is adding to air pollution, regardless of how clean modern engines are supposed to be, not to mention a waste of gasoline. Sorry for straying off-topic.
The Solar Power Ventilation System works well as it vents out the hot air. Remote A/C just brings the interior temperature a further few degrees cooler (best used in conjunction with the SPVS of course). Just don't expect to get into a cold interior but the combination of the two works very well. I don't use the Remote A/C function on mine very often except on the hottest of days as I found the SPVS and heatshield windshield sunshade work well to keep the interior reasonably cool. The other downside is the rather short range of the remote fob. I wish it had a longer range. It's best if you're able to start it from your office (or home) before you head out rather than waiting until you're walking towards the car. Wait, when did you get a PiP?? I missed that announcement. I thought you had a BP P3 that you picked up from Dianne?
