Finally. Our voices (and those of countless reviewers) have been heard, and the offensively hard/cheap plastic steering wheel on the Prius C has been replaced with a classy, comfy, and stylish leather/SofTex wrapped wheel that, quite honestly, us 2012 owners should have been given from the start. I was just at the Washington DC Auto Show and the 2013 Prius C models on the floor looked pretty much just like the 2012 models except for this one notable improvement (I also noticed that the budget Prius c model still appeared to have the hard-plastic wheel). This new wheel looked identical to the wheel on the new Prius v (and I think regular Prius as well). Seems everybody's the same classy/comfy SofTex/Leather steering wheel in the Prius family for 2013. Folks, this makes a huge difference, and I'm not exaggerating. The new wheel is not only covered with the SofTex material (I assume... didn't look quite like leather), but also it's padded as well and very, very comfortable. You could easily drive for hours on the highway with this new wheel without any discomfort. Anyone have an "official" word on this besides my anecdotal experience looking at the 2013 models on display? What I'm really hoping is that this wheel could be purchased as a part without the added cost of the horn and airbag assembly so those of us with the 2012 model could upgrade to steering comfort without having to pay $$$ amount. Otherwise, I may just make weekly calls to the local junkyard in hopes they get a totaled 2013 Prius/Prius-v/Prius-c (which all seem to share the same wheel).
Yep, according to everything I've heard (and I didn't see anything else on the 2013 models that looked any different from the 2012). In fact, the reps didn't even seem to be aware that the SofTex wrapped wheel was a new change for 2013... officially the 2013 models are just a "carry over" from 2012 based on most of what I've read, so I was a bit surprised to see such a (welcome) change.
I'm pretty sure this is the "premium" wheel we have on our i-Tech model, albeit ours doesn't have the bluetooth on/off hook and speech recognition buttons. It would seem unlikely you'd be able to get the wheel without the airbag assembly. EDIT: Toyota Prius c - 2013 Models: Prius c One, Prius c Two, Prius c Three, Prius c Four Toyota US website has these descriptions: One and Two: Tilt/telescopic steering wheel with audio, climate, Multi-Information Display and Bluetooth® hands-free phone controls Three: Tilt/telescopic steering wheel with audio, climate, Multi-Information Display, Bluetooth® hands-free phone and voice-command controls Four: SofTex®-trimmed tilt/telescopic steering wheel with audio, climate, Multi-Information Display, Bluetooth® hands-free phone and voice-command controls
I love cheap plastic, not covered with anything, steering wheels. They do not wear out and have the friction between the hand and wheel that makes driving a pleasure.
I love the softer wheel myself. When I drive my Mother's Corolla now (basically when I take it in for servicing for her) I just can't believe it. I know it's not that bad but it brings back memories of the playground near my grandmother's house that had an old disabled steamroller (with a metal steering wheel) for kids to play on until it was removed by the fun police in the late 80s.
There are other changes from the 2012 C to the 2013 model. For example, the 2013 version of my Two, the plastic dash has been changed. Mostly minor changes this year. As for the wheel, I like the grip from the plastic one, but it's very obnoxious when you drive 8 or 9 hours a day as I do. I bought a steering wheel cover that doesn't quite fit. It looks great, has the soft leather feel, and only cost about $10. Makes a huge difference on long drives. I'll post a picture in this post when I can. I wonder if it's possible to get the 2013 wheel installed on a 2012 model. I bet it would be very expensive. Edit: Pic of my steering wheel cover:
2010 2012 Toyota Prius C V ZVW30 Hybrid Piano Black Wood Leather Steering Wheel | eBay will something like this fit the prius c?
Posting to note that I have added a picture of my steering wheel cover to my previous post (2 posts up).
It doesn't look bad at all, aside from the problem of fitting it to the flat bottom of the wheel. Where did you get it?
