Hello, I was at a dealer today and was told if I wanted the Navigation Package I had to buy the Prius with leather seats. He said Toyota is only building that package in the Prius IV. Is this true? I was already stretching to pay the $3000 to get the Navigation package and now I'd have to add another $3000 for the Prius IV. I called another dealer and he said the same thing. Any word on when the nav will be available with cloth seats?
Prius III should be available with Nav. We still bring them in that way. It's exactly what I ordered because I didn't want the leather seats. As far as I know, the main thing Toyota is having a hard time with is the Solar Roof. We have a total of 6 on order and can only get 2 units with solar roof a month... This is for the state of Hawaii. Problem for us is that there is currently no stock. You could order one and get it in 2-4 weeks at the soonest. That's if it has already been built, is on the ship over, and hasn't been spoken for yet. Most people will have to wait at least a couple of months just to get a Gen III.
Personally, even though I have nav on my 06 Prius and like the cool factor, convenience of it always being there, larger screen, some of its features, and not having to worry about having to put away/take out a portable navigation device (PND), I don't think the price premium is worth it anymore. $1800 is just too much to pay when good PNDs can be had for <$300. If I my Prius got wrecked and I were to replace it w/a 2010, I'd buy a nav-less Prius II or III. You can see some of my thoughts at http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/58107-2010-navigation-8.html and http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...dvd-nav-vs-other-nav-system-2.html#post675023. One update is that the 2010 now finally reads street names aloud. Legal DVD updates for the nav system are quite expensive (but this isn't really Prius specific). You can buy a new PND at those kind of prices. FWIW, I also have a Garmin Nuvi 350 for use in my nav-less 350Z.
There are Pkg III + Navs around but it may be a regional thing. SoCal has plenty. Eventhough I think the option price of $1800 is overpriced, I like the convenience of a builtin, larger screen and the backup cam which I probably will use consistently. I may still get a portable for my older vehicles. I predict by mid lifecycle thru the Gen III the price of Nav will drop considerably (of course I said the same 5 years ago). The feature set of Navs today I think are pretty much complete except for those 3D rendered views but features like XM, BT, Voice Rec, TTS, POI, Traffic, Weather are standard fair on Navs and even budgetmobiles like the Fit have them as options.
Gen III is the first Toyota vehicle ever offered with Nav in Hawaii. I had to get it. Also, I need to be an expert on Nav operation. What better way to totally understand it, than drive a vehicle equipped with it.
There are some other reasons to get the nav, such as bluetooth audio streaming and much easier use and setup screens for other functions like phone and contacts, etc. And despite the naysayers, it does good enough at the nav functions usually, on a much bigger, built in screen. I'm much more impressed by maps and info on my iphone than by my garmin. Garmin should be very worried by the TOMTOM app that is on its way.
In Southern CA, the way our region is currently bringing in cars/packages is this: II's are all the same - no extras other than PPO's. III's: some have standard audio (EJ) and some have NAV. A small margin of these have SR now, but they are few n' far between. IV's: every single IV has either NAV or SR. V's: all have AT Sunroof cars are all slim pickings, but when you have a lot of cars, you also have a lot of sunroof cars by ratio. If you're frustrated about not being able to find what you want, reach me? I can obtain cars that are seemingly impossible to find. Even ones that don't come to the LA region!! I have my ways........... Di
I like the new Nav system... and all of the screens you get with it. My 2007 has the NAV and this new generation of NAV has lots of cool new display screens with logic to how they are menu-set-up. The tabbing between the audio choices is really nice, and the sound quality for the 2010 is WAY better. I mjiss the calendar reminder featured, as I used that all the time but with our cel phones and PDAs are such, I think they dropped that to enable other things. Still getting used to the new vocal/verbal commands and how to speak to the car... geez, the old way was 2004 and forward... but the old "I'm hungry" for restaurant icons still works!!! Also very appreciated was the change to the display set up screens -- the "back screens" are WAY easier to work and manager and pair phone etc. Bravo to Toyota for that change!!! Di
COMPLETELY UNTRUE. Pkg III already @$23000 base sticker already has Nav. option available, for another $1800. DON"T GET RIPPED OFF BY DEALERS. If they don't have it, be patient, find another dealer, or go to another state for purchase. In this economy, you don't have to worry about waiting in line for cars.
Since he is in another state, the people he are talking to may be referring to their own region's ordering. By the way, the base for the III is $23,000 + $750 freight + 1800 NAV. I feel badly for him, but he's GOT to widen his search and find a dealership who's willing to find the car for him like he wants it. They are out there. I have a winter gray/misty one right now, and a white/charcoal coming shortly, just NAV n mats. Dianne
