I'm constantly surprised at the seemingly arbitrary and often bizarre differences in Prius spec between one market and the other. e.g. Your US GenII's don;t come with a height adjustable drivers seat and have drum rear brakes. UK models have rear discs and height adjustable drivers seat. I also note that US GenII's came with 15" wheels whereas we have 16". I'm sure there are explanations for most of these regional differences but what on earth would make Toyota spec heated mirrors in Spain and US but not UK? Apart from variations in equipment levels, were there any other features available in one region but not another?
US does not have side marker lights & has a bladder in the gas tank to reduce emissions. Colors are also regional. I'm sure there are others and they may be documented in other threads.
The more important question is, can we order or buy these regional parts to install? Eg. The headlights of the Japanese prius does not have the amber/yellow reflectors. I like the clear look and am wondering if in order to get it to look like this, it's more than removing the yellow reflectors. If so, I am trying to purchase this "regional" part.
European headlights don't have them either. Are the reflectors 'handed' i.e. LHD/RHD? If so, wouldn't you need lights from a country that is LHD?
Side marker lights? Do you mean turn signal repeaters in the wings? We don't have side marker lights in UK.
Headlight reflectors are not transferable between regions, normally. Especially if one region is LHD and the other RHD! And, US headlight installations are illegal in the EU. There are many differences between specs in different regions. The reason UK cars (gen II; gen III does) don't have heated mirrors is because Toyota included them as part of a "cold weather pack of options" which Toyota GB opted not to take. Nearly every other EU country did and therefore has them as standard, including France etc. US cars are unique in the world in having the tank bladder, the coolant thermos and the extra catalytic converter
The reflectors in the headlamps are a requirement of FMVSS 108, the US federal motor vehicle construction standard. There is an equivalent Canadian statute. Much of the rest of the world uses UN ECE regulations, which require type approval of all components and cars before they go on sale. North American regulations are tested only if a complaint is made. These forward marker reflectors are permitted under ECE regulations but not required. The ECE headlamp beam pattern is different from that required by FMVSS 108, and is not permitted in the USA. (Canada's CMVSS 108.1 does permit it.) You could get a ticket if you install ECE headlamps. The basic differences between North America Gen 2 Prius and the rest of the world is the presence, in North America, of the bladder in the fuel tank, and the coolant thermos (hot coolant storage tank). Both components are there to reduce toxic emissions - the bladder, to reduce the evaporation of fuel, and the thermos to pre-heat the engine, to reduce HC and carbon monoxide emissions formed when the engine is cold. That gets it into California's lowest emissions band, Advanced Technology-Partial Zero Emissions Vehicle. California fines manufacturers if their fleet average emissions are above a certain level, so having vehicles that fit the lowest band helps offset some dirtier vehicles. I don't know whether those components were ever entered into ECE type approval, whether they failed, or whether there was just no regulation covering them. I believe North America regulations are generally permissive - things that aren't explicitly banned are allowed - and ECE generally restrictive - things that aren't listed are banned. Apart from the things required or banned by national/international construction regulations, it comes down to the choice of the distributor in that country or region exactly what components or features are going to be available on the car in each trim level that they plan to offer. Obviously there's a cost associated with making items optional, but there's still a parts cost difference with not fitting the part and that may outweigh the design cost. The choice may partially depend on how many vehicles are going to be produced and sold. Toyota GB gets to choose what will go on their right-hand-drive cars, as we're a large market; I suspect Ireland gets less influence and Cyprus and Malta very little. I wouldn't be surprised to find that Toyota Europe specified heated mirrors on all left-hand-drive cars so that they would be available in the Nordic countries, even though that meant Spain and Portugal, having little use for them, would also have them.
Interesting reply, thanks Mike. I can understand the differences in trim levels and fitted equipment etc, I can even understand the additional hardware fitted to accommodate emission controls etc. But the rear drum brake still seems an odd choice? Any idea why that was chosen for US spec? I should add that I'm loving our Prius, it's a good looking car that has masses of rear leg room even when my seat is as far rearward as possible, much more than any other equivalent sized car I have ever seen. As a technology journalist I'm also loving the Prius communities, I've spent hours reading all the posts here. Next job on my list is to add 2 x 12v power outlets to the lower dash, another thing omitted from Uk spec cars!
It's a small omission, but some of these options were included (such as 16" rims) on the Prius Touring.
The customer's perception is not always accurate. The naive view is disc brake = better but that's not necessarily true. Drum brakes work perfectly fine for moderate braking and they have an advantage in that the braking surface isn't affected by the weather conditions - disc brakes get wet when it rains, and that surface of water has to be wiped off before the pad can start to bite. Disc brakes do provide better braking force overall, but the combination of a fairly light-weight car, with low gross vehicle weight rating (maximum loading), and the majority of braking force occurring through the front brakes (front bias), means that they're not really necessary on a Prius. I used to have a 1.6 litre Ford Focus Zetec (2001, Y plate). That also had rear drum brakes. The top speed was comparable - 115mph. The base vehicle weight was 250kg lighter but the car permitted towing, which the Prius doesn't. You had to go up to the 2.0L Focus to get standard rear discs. The question really is why does the UK Prius have rear disc brakes, and I think the answer is cosmetic, for competitive reasons - other cars in the same size class have rear discs, though generally because they're heavy enough or powerful enough to require them. Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) Prius also had rear drums.
I agree. It seems that Prius has different market positioning and price points in the various markets where it is sold. In the US for example, the 2001 Prius started at a base price around US$20K and that price was held relatively constant for 2G. The 2010 base model starts at US$22,400 and is now equipped with 4-wheel disc brakes. I think that European prices are quite a bit higher, so it seems reasonable that the older Prius generations had rear disc brakes thrown into the mix ...
Rear disc brakes should have a higher production cost than rear drum brakes because of the added complexity. The parking brake typically is located in the rear. A rear disc brake will usually contain a small drum brake mechanism (which serves as the parking brake) located within the center portion of the disc. So you need two sets of brakes. Compare to a rear drum setup. The same brake is activated via a hydraulic brake cylinder for service braking, as well as a wire cable which is connected to the parking brake pedal.
