First off, there is lots of things I like about this car. No buyers remorse at all. Here are some incremental changes prior to the next model which will have a more powerful battery pack, etc.: Need to somehow recover the space lost to battery pack in the trunk. Otherwise, you have to count on having to own another vehicle for a family trip that will inevitably involve some luggage to bring along. [Yes, I know there are laws of physics involved in terms of having to dissipate heat, accommodate battery packs, etc.] Need an optional spare tire and a way to tie down a spare tire in the trunk. Again, this is a must for a long trip IMO. Acceleration during merging is a major challenge for the Prime. I don't think the "Power" mode suffices, and this is with no passengers on board! Add on three passengers and some luggage, and I would dread merging on to high speed highways. The LCD is way too big for the dashboard area, and many drivers prefer to use maps from their phones. Reduce the size of the LCD and restore some of the space lost to vents. Provide additional USB ports right above or below the LCD. Many of us are using maps from phones and there isn't a convenient way to charge the phone at or near top of dashboard. Thanks, JT
acceleration will be tough to increase. you need to get more power from somewhere. either you have to increase the size of the ice or mg 1/2. either one will have a negative affect on mpg so this is not likely to happen. you can bet your house that the Toyota engineers have daily battles on total system output vs efficiency and what we have is the middle ground that they've decided on. sure, the volt is faster, but it's ice only gives you 42 mpg, so they obviously went the other way. i'm glad we have choices for cargo space on long trips... get a roof rack. they're not overly expensive. if Toyota had not reused the structural components from the non-plug in and had the rear hatch at the same physical height as the interior deck, it's likely that no one would have complained. the prime actually has a pretty good amount of storage. sure, it's less than the non-prime, but something has to give. I actually got a pair of Toyota cross bars that happened to come "pre packaged" with my prime (you take what you get when you're hunting for a particular model/color choice) and they work quite well with an added front deflector (without that the noise is pretty intense). i'm a bit confused as to why you're bitching about the lcd… you bought the premium. if you didn't want the bigger lcd, why didn't you just buy the plus? that would have given you the smaller lcd you want, plus the vents back. seems like you bought the wrong model now.. the spare tire. that's a huge deal and I can certainly agree with you on that one. I regularly drive long distances and cringe every time I think about it. I wonder how many prime owners have actually looked at the inflate-a-flat kit and figured out how to use it (hopefully never) before hand rather then try to figure it out on a barren road in the middle of nowhere on a rainy overcast night.
#1 - Agreed but it is new. The community is thinking about what might work in that space: battery warming pad, beverage carry, or pot cache. #2 - I have the full size spare in the back and already used the jack when putting on the rear wheel shims. Since I have a receiver to carry my wife's wheelchair. The challenge is it would block the license plate which needs lighting at night. Still working this problem. #3 - Passing acceleration is minimized using dynamic cruise control to follow high-balling trucks and SUVs which also minimizes tailgaters. But I grew up with relatively high drag and low powered cars (i.e., 1966 VW MicroBus) and learned how to accelerate, pull into passing lane, flash lights, back into drive lane, and coast down. #4 - Our Plus trim screen works great. #5 - I've already ordered a dual, 12V-to-USB buck power supply board that I plan to mount in the passenger vanity light. It will also power the roof mounted dash cam. Bob Wilson
The LCD is a primary reason (secondary price) we bought the Plus and not the Premium. Also agree the 11.6" screen is too big and their infotainment system sucks. I'll likely replace it when the manufacturer's warranty expires.
I don’t mind the size of the screen but rather the awful UI. I work in tech so bad UI really bothers me.
I've been on five family trips in my Prime, three out-of-state. Two adults, two kids. All the stuff I've loaded into my Prime's cargo area | PriusChat No it's not. I have had no trouble merging anywhere in my Prime, even when the car was stuffed to the top. I have to accelerate to 50 from a dead stop while climbing a 7% grade every day when going to work. I usually use about 3/4 throttle in Ev mode.
