The centralized instruments probably make the cables the same for LHD and RHD. The actual instrument cluster is completely different in the two versions. The cable assembly is very expensive, with much of the cost in the setup. Making it one setup for each option group (Toyota no longer includes wiring for options not included) will significantly drop the costs. In either car, (GII and GIII) I find actually using the speedometer in traffic dangerous. I use cruise. The GIII "radar cruise control" makes this very convenient. Pearl S will follow traffic at whatever speed they are going, up to what I set (the actual posted speed plus about 3 km/hr). Something else I have found with Pearl S, is the cruise speed IS the "real speed", not messed with by legislation or "rules" set by some weirdo bureaucrat. The speedometer displays a different speed, which WAS set by said bureaucrat. If I don't use cruise in traffic, I find I am often speeding (by a lot - enough that I'm in danger of getting extra road taxes in the mail), trying to get around slower vehicles. I don't get a very good sense of speed in the Prius, it's so quiet and sneaky when it accelerates.
Have you ever gone to work for some new company, and encountered some strangely outlandish policy. Companies can get like Australian flora/fauna: isolated, evolving off unfettered in new directions. Everything normal, yeah right. No, I don't buy this centralized instruments concept. Is there any other car company following suit? They might as well put the steering wheel and pedals in the middle too, lol.
Plenty of shared platforms out there with the gauge cluster in front of the driver. A same length cable harness was they only thing I could think of that might save on production costs for the two markets. Regardless of where it is mounted, the same gauge cluster can be shared between LHD and RHD versions of the car. Components of the dashboard itself are the only parts that aren't truly interchangable between versions, but being mostly plastic, they should be comparatively cheap.
I find the speedometer position in the Prius just fine. Better for me than any other car I drove. The speedometer is at the side of the MID, for me about 8-10 deg. off horizontally and about 8-10 deg. off vertically. No destruction from traffic sight which is well inside my sight field (and a glance is enough). This is much better for me than if it was in front but 25-30 deg off vertically and inside the steering wheel like in other cars. Another virtue - the MID is shared by all occupants, as it should.
The gen2 had the speedometer and fuel gauge display pratically at the base of the windshield, in front of the driver. Probably the best spot for it, since it is just on the bottom edge of a person's field of view, or close to it. A HUD can be better, if the driver can adapt to it, and light conditions don't wash it out. I haven't paid much attention to the cluster placement in other, newer cars, but the Sonic's is actually above the steering wheel. I am actually checking the Scangauge more, which is mounted above the car's cluster. About in line with where the gen2's gauges would be.
I also like the placement of the speedometer which can be seen at a quick glance from eyes on the road. Much better than having to brings my eyes down under the steering wheel in order to see the speed and hope the spokes of the wheel are not in the way. Of course I believe all speed readings should be HUD. Seeing what you need to see on the windshield so your eyes do not have to depart the road view.
Based on the pictures, I have to admit that I am disappointed with the rear and the console. I agree with most of you, center gauges are not appealing to me in the least. The rear of the car looks like it was melted in an easy-bake oven. I will be in the market for a new vehicle in 2019, but I don't think the fourth year refresh is going to help. I may actually have to keep an eye on the reliability ratings of the Gen II Volt... And, this is coming from someone who has three Toyota's in the family, and the previous two being '07 Prii.
OK. Just read Tony's description and other notes mentioning styrofoam in the rear storage area. My take on this (a guess). The Prius C has a large styrofoam block in the rear for crash energy absorption. The 12V battery is under the rear seat. Note that in the "current" Prius "hatchback" (the normal Prius) the spare tyre is used as a crash energy absorption element. They warn us in the owners manual and with stick-on placards to make sure it is installed correctly, otherwise bad things could happen (I hate bad things). So based on this, if you remove the spare as with the Lithium battery prototype, you will need to add something to absorb crash energy. Hence styrofoam is there. It may be some owners had "items" in the storage tray that posed a danger, or even caused serious problems in rear end collisions. -That- may be why the tray is gone as well. Again, just a guess. Tony mentioned loss of storage compartments. As a certain comic book villein would say, "I'm of two minds on this". It's nice to have storage areas to carry "needed" things (for emergencies, for example). However, I discovered, to my chagrin, what nice storage areas result in for someone like me. When I got Pearl S I carried a -70 lb- duffle bag of "stuff" from Pearl to put into Pearl S! Hmm. Oh, and Tony hasn't lived with a GIII. The storage areas are fewer and smaller in a GIII compared to a GII. So I had to adapt. Tony checked out the seats to see if they could be folded "flat" like a GII (they aren't actually flat, they are "lumpy"). The GIII seats also do not fold flat like the GII. So some of us won't have to adapt to that - we already did. Oh, and thanks for all that research and info. Tony! We will see in a few months if it changes when the final car arrives. I wonder if we'll see the "prototype" at the Edmonton car show this winter, redirected from "winter testing".
