Other than tweaks to the front, rear and dashboard styling, it sounds like power seats, better ride and handling, and improved sound proofing in the rear are on tap for 2015's v.
But which fool decided to name the cars multimedia system "Touch & Go"? It has to have been someone in France or the European HQ who had heard it as an English phrase without actually looking into what touch and go meant; touch-and-go - definition of touch-and-go by The Free Dictionary "Dangerous and uncertain in nature or outcome; precarious; delicate" Hardly a ringing endorsement Someone needs a kick up their behind somewhere.
I do not like what the "re-working of the bumper corners...that extends from the headlights to the new air intakes and LED daytime running lights" did to the look and lines of the front.
Thanks for sharing this with us. Classic mid-model refresh is what I see. I don't read of any safety improvements.
How about this tid-bit; "New sound absorption material has been introduced in the side of the rear compartment to reduce noise intrusion in the cabin." That alone gets me thinking/wishing to upgrade when it comes out in USA. But I'll probably stick with my 10 year plan and keep my awesome 2012 Prius v with ATP.
The Continental release did mention some that the UK release left out. http://media.toyota.eu/pressrelease/4078//2015-prius-significant-upgrade-europe%E2%80%99s-only-full-hybrid The Prius liftback in Europe already has the 1st one from the 3rd generation in 2009. The PCS one is nice. I wonder what the maximum speed is for our current version to come to a complete stop. The 3rd one is nice. The current method of activating Hill Start Assist is odd and the blinking VSC light just doesn't make sense.
Number 1 is a handy feature and I've activated it a couple of times with my driving technique . Many cars here have that feature now too. Not sure what happens your side of the pond but if there's a reason to come to a standstill on a fast road/motorway (accident, sudden congestion etc) people will manually flash their hazard lights a few times to warn the driver(s) behind so they don't get rear ended, esp if vehicle behind is a big truck. Seems to work. It started a while ago on the continent and then worked its way here. I suppose it's handy that the car now does this automatically. Much more useful that flashing brake lights. Number 3, I like the hill start assist as it is now. It gives me the control of when I actually want it. Sometimes you might want or need to just roll back a little on a hill without having to engage reverse. Get too close to someone at the lights on a hill and you can just let the car gently roll back a few inches or a foot without scaring the car behind. Engage reverse in the same situation and you're going to get them blasting their horn at you thinking you're a fool about to try an insurance scam on them.
I do not share the extreme fascination of many with the front 'look,' but I have to say that Pixar would be proud.
It's not a requirement on this side of the pond. I manually activate the hazard lights if I'm braking to a standstill on a highway. I'll also flash my brake lights. If there's no one behind me, I'll keep the hazards on until I see someone approaching and braking. I've seen people run into others because they didn't perceive the vehicle in front as motionless until it was too late. I suppose but shifting into neutral will disengage the Hill Start Assist and you can gently roll back and reengage D and brake.
I'd be curious what our litigious friends in the US do. Do they do similar or just sit there waiting to be rear ended? We all like a good whiplash injury to pay for our hols, but being hit by a car at 70 mph is somewhat more serious. Seriously though, I read on here that they don't use their turn signals, so I'm guessing they'd not do the above either, or am I wrong?
No idea. I've seen it done in Canada but not very often (and I suspect those people are not your average Joe but either car enthusiasts or have visited Europe and had to do an emergency stop and discovered that feature by accident). I don't know what the laws are in the U.S. but in Canada, it's typically the person behind that is at fault unless you can prove it's the person in front. (e.g. they braked as they approached a green light for no apparent reason) Examples of Rear End Collision Cases (.pdf)
Same here. Almost universally the fault of the person that hit you from behind. But you don't want to be hit hard at 80 mph. A low speed shunt in traffic is fine, but you don't want to be stationary in traffic in the fast lane with some sleepy fool tanking up behind you. A nice little whiplash settlement in an accident makes a bad situation tolerable, but being seriously injured, maimed or killed because the guy behind hit you fast is not what you want. Maybe our American friends could consider it? It does work. Note: Just googled it and it appears it is legal to do in most of the US and recommended too. I guess nobody bothers. Hazard Light Use | AAA/CAA Digest of Motor Laws
That 2015 front end... Aaaarrrgggghhhh!! Butt ugly compered to the '12 thru '14s. Glad I got mine when I did.
