Hello, all.... just signed up for Priuschat despite having owned a 2005 Prius for 10 years (and been a lurker much of that time). I just traded it in for a 2015 Prius Three, and am so far pretty happy, despite limited time to drive it in NJ because of another snowstorm. Here's my question to veteran Prius owners who have upgraded to a newer model - what were you most surprised by with your Gen III model? What feature/hack/extra are you most happy about, compared to your earlier model? My initial thoughts here are that satellite radio is a nice addition, as is the rear-view camera. I miss the garage door-opening rear-view mirror, but that wasn't a deal breaker. The nav screen looks smaller and crappier than my '05 Prius, but finally having Bluetooth audio is awesome. The EV mode is great when trolling a parking lot for a space - no need to burn gas. Some of the display screens seem superfluous, but I'm getting used to them. Overall, not bad. Anyone else?
I had a 2006, 2010 and now a 2013. I don't know how I ever got along without my backup camera. I totally rely upon it. Every change in model, I have had to adapt to a new display. Not sure they are always an improvement, but it's just been a matter of me adapting. Still the great car. I can see no reason to ever own any car but a Prius.
I have the Prius Plug-In, which comes standard with heated seats. As far as I know, it's the only car to come standard with heated cloth seats, biggest surprise by far. The rear seats no longer getting hot during long road trips. Some owners don't like it, but the center console offers a very convenient place to put stuff I'll grab for work.
We owned an 2006 and now have a 2014 Prius three. I liked the display in the 2006 better. If I'm wearing sunglasses the 2014 display is nearly useless. Satellite radio is nice on long trips with grandkids. It seems easier to get good fuel economy on the interstate in the '14. We have the solar roof, and love it! Seems like the 2014 is lower to the ground. I like how the rear head rest folds down when you fold the seats. It is a little difficult to fold the headrest with fat fingers, but they are nicely out of the way with the seats folded down.
I miss the dual layer upper and lower gloveboxes. The hidden drawer is replace with a tray with a 12V charging port. It's convenient for storing small items (like small purses or takeout boxes). The 2015 is missing the tray inside the centre console box (2010/2011 models have a tray). The EV Drive Mode is more limited than the EV mod I have in the '05. The steering ratio is slower than the '05. Pluses? Quieter interior Smoother engine start/stop I like the extra power. The "normal" mode setting is quite nice. You can use ECO mode if you prefer the Gen 2's feel. I like the wider and taller (greater height under the tonneau cover) cargo area. Wider front seats Leaf motif dashboard and seat fabric design are a nice touch. My leather has a "wave" motif instead Felt-lined A & B pillar instead of plastic was a nice surprise. It makes the interior atmosphere just a bit nicer (Prius models equipped with leather or SofTex) I do like the BT Audio as you pointed out. I see my friends needing to take out their phone and plug it in every time they get into the car. It can get a bit tiring after a while. We just get in and it automatically connects for phone and music and plays where you left off (iPhone 4 and iPhone 5S). It'll last a while too. ~40% battery usage for a "day's worth" of driving (~6 hours of connectivity) so you still have 60% left for other stuff IPA/APGS may be a gimmick to most (and it probably is, since a good driver can park faster). But after work, I just want it to park itself in the garage or on the street lol. Extra? I'm most happy about the Solar Moonroof, heated seats (finally!) and DRCC/PCS features.
On the convenience side, I like the large flat storage area under the new center console. On the information side, I like the trip statistics, esp. the cost of the trip, when you power down.
My gf owns the 2009 and I own the 2012 Prius Four. To be honest, the genII interior feels a lot roomier. The nav screen is more responsive on the genII, more storage compartments as well. The backup camera sucks on both because there are no warning red lines. I don't even get how Toyota managed to design such a poor camera. Of course the genIII offers a smoother ride, but that's about it, I guess.... The Sirius radio is useless to me because I stream Google Music via bluetooth. I enjoy the HUD display, but that comes at high cost. And now what I would really love to have are the Lane Departure Alert, Dynamic Cruise Control, Pre-Colliosion System, Park Assist Sensors, Blind Spot Monitoring, etc.
Doesn't the HDD nav versions of the 2012 have camera guidelines for the backup camera? I'm pretty sure they do.
My Prius Four w/solar pkg do not have the backup camera guidelines. And I am pretty sure they are all like that. When backing up in the garage I always have to come out and double check the back. Very disappointing.
Why do you need to check? isn't that the whole point of a camera? So you don't have to get out of the car and look? You can see out the back. It's a good camera (you wanna see crappy camera? Check out the 2014 Corolla. It has guidelines but the camera is poor at night. The camera on the Prius has a clearer image with less "snow" in the dark)
This thread was interesting for me, and full of good info as I am really seriously considering trading in my 2007 Level 5 for a 2013 Level 2 this week.... I plan on adding the backup cam to interface with the OEM touch screen because I have really grown to rely on that. I will also add aftermarket heated seats... and maybe Clazzio seat covers again, although I was a little disappointed in the quality after only 2 years of use in my 2007. Might just put heated seats under the factory cloth. After test driving a few Gen 3's, I can say... the power is NICE, seems the steering is tighter feeling. Much easier to attain high avg mpg's in the 2013 I have noticed. And I disagree - to me it seems the Gen3 is bigger on the inside. Although I definitely will miss the big door storage pockets and the "hidden drawer" in my Gen 2.
I've had to check myself sometimes but am slowly getting the hang of it. I think what it is, is that the stock reverse camera is either not centered or angled weird so even if in the camera it appears that you are perfectly centered in the parking spot, you are actually pretty crooked. Best backup camera /interface was on my old charger RT. Always aligned perfectly in the parking spots and the screen was something like 9"...
It's a wide angle lens so the image is going to be distorted. Yes, it also doesn't help that it's not mounted directly in the middle. Depending on the person, some people can get used to it, while others can't. Unfortunately, there isn't much you can do about it (using a wide angle lens helps capture the corners of the bumper but distorts the image).
