Please Toyota, just a little bit more.

Toyota model line is not meant to compete with luxury car brands, this is where Lexus comes in. Perhaps a CT200h would be a better fit for your requirements.

SPH-D710 ? 2

 

the money is in the hybrid system. you can't have your cake and eat it too. that being said, improvements were made from gen I to II to III. we now have adj./power driver seat and steering wheel. i'm sure genIV will be even better. if you want better highway stability, look into new tires, but you may have to sacrifice some mpg's. i wonder if people on bmwchat are saying,"c'mon bmw, if you would only get the mpg's upto 50, for $25,000., i would be a customer for life."

 

Changes in toe-in and tire model and size would probably all improve the steering feel, but at the expense of fuel mileage.
Toyota's walking a fine line to keep the Prius the benchmark that it is for efficiency without missing its price point.

 

Thats alot to ask. When BMW and VOLVO offer cars for 23k that get 50mpg and have better seats you will have a point. I'm 6'2" 230lbs abd find the seats are fine. I have done 16 hour trips in my car a few times. Like the other poster said you could try out the Lexus hybrids they should fit your wants more.

 

Sell it! The Prius is obviously not right for you. Go get a car that fits your requirements. Be happy!

 

they probably won't consider the improvements you suggested, but they will make improvements. if you're lucky, one of yours might make it! stay tuned for gen IV.

 

The Prius is what it is. Not to say certain things can't be refined or improved. After one month of first time Prius ownership and about 600 miles, I'm not disappointed with anything. Current other car is a 2011 Lexus IS 350 (comfort, power, looks), and previous to that, 2005 Mercedes SLK 55 ///AMG (power, looks, retractable hard top). I assume, I'm good at adapting. Thought the Prius Plug-In would be fun for a couple of years. So far, it is.

 

There are all sorts of improvements that can be had for lots of extra money, but there are others that would cost Toyota little or nothing, I'm a "taller driver" and, although I have no personal issues with the Prius seats, I don't see why the seat rails couldn't be an inch or two longer at almost no added cost.

Richard

 

good point. i wonder if there is an engineering issue, or if it just hasn't occurred to them.

 

There might be an issue of air bag effective range when changing seat track lengths.

 

I would guess you are right!

 

There are some nice Lexus models out there... a family member had one as a loaner and we were all fighting to drive it back to the dealership...

I know the Prius is not for everyone but mine met my expectations and makes driving fun for me... my extended family over the years has owned Corollas, Rav4s and Tacomas... the Rav4 was totaled by a distracted driver but protected my mom from the initial impact. I hit a four point buck in the 1994 Corolla I drove and other than a slight dent in the hood and some deer hair left on the car, the car and the deer faired very well.

 

I agree with you. My Gen III seats are better than the wife's Gen II. The same with the suspension and driving dynamics, So Toyota has made some changes. They just need to improve more.

 

Even the 2012 seats in my PIP are an improvement over the 2010 seats, particularly the 8-way power seat.

 

Agreed.

 

Most BMWs are not luxury vehicles, they are performance first, then everything else vehicles. They perform exceptionally well, but have you been in BMWs? they are, imho, ugly and very plain on the inside, especially compared with a benz. My father in law has a new Z4 and it is highly capable, but the interior is as plain as can be. Also, it's mainly in the States that so many people consider all bmw's luxurious, when I was stationed in Germany, there were obviously tons of bmws there, the most were the cheap variety, especially the taxi version. Buddy bought a used 5 series and it didn't even have power windows! Lmao. and his moon roof was also the manual variety. It's like slapping some extra leather and insulation and calling it lexus and selling it for a ton more money in the States. The japanese don't fall for that gimic, and neither do germans for that matter. For a bmw to be really nice in germany, it has to be well optioned or its just another car over there.

 

I can remember when a luxury vehicle was defined as having power windows, air conditioning, AF-FM radio, vinyl top.

 

Not any more. It has to be soft, inviting and sexy.
We're all doomed.