Which Prius feature do you use the least?

On my Seaside #9, the Maintenance screen, where some future date to do oil change, etc., can be saved is just sitting there, not used by me.

Bluetooth is only unused until Verizon comes up with the right phone.

NAV is neat for those "OK, I'm on this side of town, so what's the quickest way to get where I want to be on the other side of town?" situations. Roads I never heard of magically coming together to take me where I want to go. I use it as often as I can, since the Home button is nice when the trip back starts.

Homelink would require me to buy a house, or at least something that can be controlled. I'm don't think I'd be allowed to buy a Homelink-controlled lock for my apartment anyway...

 

Maint. screen is unused by me as well - hopefully soon though I'll fill it in.

Bluetooth, NAV - especially in the greater DC area - is a must for me. It's already been worth the $2G for the few months I've had it, I'd say.

Never used Engine Braking, tho it may be useful across the mountains on trips to Ohio and Michigan.

Absolutely will never want another car without SS/SE - I think that it's the most important feature of this car to have, out of all of them.

Also, I hope to never use the optional curtain air bags, not to mention the front and side ones.

-m.

 

1. Never used "B" other than to see if it worked.

2. Maintenance Screen/Calendar -- not necessary UNLESS the bluetooth was able to sync with software from a PDA or something.

3. The KPH/MPH button. What is up with that? Also, it changes to metric but not from F to C?

 

Wow...that would be a cool feature! Oil change automatically put on my PDA based on timeframe and mileage! I think we all agree the ability to sync contacts from your PDA, to then be able to use with your Bluetooth phone, but to also put service needs on your PDA automatically...that would be awesome!

And it would just be a software/firmware issue, right? Couldn't Toyota just add that feature into the car's software when you took it into service?

Tim

 

Great thread. The SS/SE has been one of my "most want, but not sure I need" features for the car I've got on order; nice to see so many people feel its worth the $$.

Does anyone use fog lights as "driving lights" -- i.e., drive during the day without your normal lights on, just your fog lights, to make it easier to be spotted by other cars? I thought this might be particularly appealing if you have a package with HID lights.

 

Don't use the voice aspect of the nav at all, or the fog lights, or bluetooth. SE/SS is my favorite feature by far. Out of curiosity I looked to see what other cars I could get SE/SS on, and all I found was that it is a $1000 option on the LS430. Guess we got it cheap :mrgreen:

Peace

 

I REALLY think it is worth the money. I would give up the NAV to keep that. I love the SE/SS, it is worth it's weight in gold!!!

Brian

 

Since I don't have a cellphone, I don't use bluetooth. I didn't think I would use the navigator much, but I did yesterday. My wife and I were in Santa Barbara and have never been able to get on the freeway without driving around for a while. I told the navigator to go home, and it routed me perfectly to the freeway! As often as we have gotten lost over the last 19 years, I think we will use the navigator quite a bit in the long run.

As for smart start, I just love it. This is the coolest of the features to me. I just love walking up to the car and having it beep "hello" when I reach for the door handle.

Jeff

 

The fog lights only go on when the headlights are on. I have had the occasion to use them a few times in heavy fog, and they help to illuminate the area directly in front of the car pretty well. I think they go off when the hi beams are on, which makes sense, since driving in thick fog with hi beams only makes things worse from glare.

 

Nope, in my package 7, the fogs only come on with the low beamers.

 

Of course, NAV does not know about the freeway onramp 1/4 mile from my house. The ramp is bit unusual; it goes through a 270 degree loop underneath the freeway starting from the left side on a one-way street (it's joined halfway up by the corresponding ramp from the other half of the couplet). It is quite amusing for routes starting from home to be directing me hither and yon, but fixing themselves once I acutually am on the freeway.

[For those of you who are curious, the ramp is the I-580 westbound ramp from Harrison Street in Oakland, California].

 

Well, I don't have a Bluetooth phone, so I really can't count that. Other than that though, I'd have to say the voice activated stuff. Its much easier just using the steering wheel buttons than pushing the voice button and saying something so the computer understands you.

 

I haven't used the passenger eject feature yet.

 

You'll be happy with the number 7 package. It has the best combo of nifty features, safety features and price. Option 9 would be very cool too, but I couldn't afford nor justify the extra 2,500 bucks. I don't use my cell phone often enough and not in the car, to warrant bluetooth and I don't have a garage door opener to program. As a pilot, I've gotten used to using charts and maps and you can by a whole lot of them for 2k.