Considering a Prius - a few questions

Have the Canadian Touring model, it's sort of like US V (5), has 17 rims, LED headlights, a few other things, but NOT all the bells and whistles, no radar cruise for example. It's just regular adjustable seats, not power.

I really think the concerns are overblown. Up here the 3rd gen Prius is pretty much THE cab you see on the roads, and I doubt they're high end. Those guys are behind the wheel all day, every day, lol.

 

I can mostly speak for myself. I would be a. Little better off in the Four or Five with power seat because I could lower the front edge of cushion down and add a bit of lumbar adjust (curve).

I was out at Fremont Toyota, a very large dealer today. There is a massive glut of extra Prius liftbacks. It really looks like Prius is not the 'IT' car to buy these days. There aren't all that many Corollas or Camrys at the dealer, maybe 50 each, but there's maybe 130 Prius liftbacks. They don't seem to be selling very well.

 

I just completed a 3000 mile road trip yesterday, and my last drive was 20 hours straight. I found the seats to be adequately comfortable given the marathon driving I was doing. Before the drive I was a little nervous considering Cycledrum and others loud criticism of the cockpit. I'm 6'2" tall and have a base model PiP, which has the manual seats.

Although I found the seats to be ok, I agree that the wimpy telescoping on the steering wheel is annoying, causing the arms to be extended further than is comfortable. The arm rests are also too low to be of much use; and I'd be tempted to bolster them like Cycle did.

 

I'm actually on the plain seat with only the GT covers leather cover on and I couldn't have it adjusted any better. I sit upright, well back into the seat, I'm 6'2" tall and 195 lbs, so I'm far from obese, and I hold the steering at 10 and 2 o'clock with a very active, upright driving position. Wow, I would so not want to go on a long trip in it, oh no. I just snicker and sneer during a 30 minute commute.

I've reported my findings to Toyota Corporate quite a few times in hopes they improve things in the future.

Hopefully some thin dense foam in the 'butt area' between the seat and cover will compensate. Right now the seat is BS to me, a Butt Sinker.

 

And it might get worse over time with the base seat as the foam in 'butt area' breaks in more and more and the springs (look under the seat) give just a little more over time.

I will never buy another car without a 10 way adjustable driver seat and it has to be good. 10 way adjustable are power actuated.
I looked under an Accord leather seat yesterday and there are quite a few cables and servo motors. That's life.

 

If you live near LaGrange, Ilinois, Continental Toyota has a Toyota rental fleet of new cars. You may want to check with them to see if they have the car you are interested in is available to rent.

 

To Shinytoys,

Today I commuted to and from work with a very thin but dense foam piece (Crosslink foam) behind my lower back, lumbar area. It's only 1/4" thick and maybe 5" high. It's too early to really judge, but it helped for sure. If it goes well over time, I'll find a way to keep it in place between my seat and its cover, I'm also thinking only small changes or very thin foam pads are needed to 'correct' the contour problems I have with the driver seat. But, time and effort will tell.

My thinking with buying a brand new Prius is that you would end up with a 'new old car': The base design (drivetrain, chassis) is 6 years old and soon to be outclassed by the 4th gen Prius. If you want to go 3rd gen Prius, how about seeking a used Prius for a good, easy price? You'll have much less depreciation should you go to sell it in 3 or 4 years to get the 4th gen Prius which btw would be mid-cycle refreshed by then.

Hope that helps.

 

It's tough to find a 'ringer' in the hybrid market space, at least I've found. Ringer meaning, no brainer, just get that. I think it's partly why hybrids have under 3% market share as a whole in US. So many people are hoping a lot the next Prius will break through and look better, drive bettter and have an 'easier' price.

Weird as it is, sometimes a brand new car isn't the best choice. I'm sure there are gobs of good used Civics out there, maybe 2009 ish you could hang out in for a few years or so while the next Prius 'gels'. I think it's best to wait for a 3rd or 4th year of a new generation anyway. the Prius Four with power seat came out in 3rd model year 2012. It's not like the Prius power seat is amazing or anything, It's ok. It's better than the base seat. Over and over I sit in the new Accords and it is really good to me. Not the LX with manual seat, but every other trim, Sport, EX and up with 10 way power seat. But, they are expensive and I don't see going back to 30 MPG after spending 10 grand to even get a new Sport sedan Accord.

I'm ok with putting in a little foam in Prius cause 1) it's very reliable so far (30k miles) and it bangs the 50 something MPGs all day long. And it's PAID FOR. Yeah, going to back to a conventional car might stink a bit. Not willing to go there.

I bought a 2005 Accord sedan LX last May for $10k out the door, 116k miles, clean, had all the service brought up, It's a decent sedan, but it's not amazing or anything. It actually doesn't have all that much legroom for my 35 inch inseamers and I have to pad the headrest cause it's bit far back. Transmission is all mechanical so get bit of clunk when putting in reverse on slope driveway. It's better than Prius is some ways, many ways Prius is better than it.

Prius / hybrid air conditioning is cool. It's electrically driven, so there's no drag on the engine power. I can sense the power loss when using A/C in the Accord. I can be stopped in traffic for quite a while with mild A/C on in Prius and the gas engine will stay off. Just don't blast on A/C when the engine has just been started from cold then get stuck in traffic for long time. That will kick on engine to recharge hybrid battery.

 

ShinyToys,

After using only a 1/4" thick piece of foam behind my lower back, I'm convinced the lower back support in this base Prius seat is scant, paltry, insufficient, etc, etc ....

I've seen quite a few lower back pads online and they all look pretty thick which would put my long legs even farther over the edge of the seat cushion. I'll come up with something, but really, in a $25k+ sticker price car, it's not cool.

Our 2005 Accord LX sedan base model 6 way driver's seat has MUCH better lower back support.

 

Amen! It's the same problem I had in my much earlier, much smaller, older, and cheaper Japanese cars, for essentially the same reason. I modified the seats in those earlier cars by adding internal crossbars and a stiffening panel in the mid-back region. That helped a lot. The Prius seat is more intimidating to tackle, with its more substantial upholstery, air bag, and associated wiring.

 

Have you considered a new Camry hybrid instead of a Prius? Nice car.

 

My husband and I just bought the Prius Two, and dealing with the uncomfortable driver's seat has been a real nightmare for me. The issue was not clear during the short test drive. The driver's seat has a 'concave' feel to it due to lack of back support, and that, in combination with the new-style forward angled headrests, create a very bad sitting position. It is especially uncomfortable for those of us who are on the smaller, thinner side, particularly when we try to have a nice, more upright (and ultimately safer) driving position. If you start digging online, you will find a lot of complaints about this trend towards the more concave seat shape and the new angled headrests that meet new safety requirements but seem to have been designed by people who do not care for ergonomics or proper spinal alignment.

I would NOT buy this car, with these seats, ever again. At least try the upgraded, more adjustable seats--only available on Prius levels 4 or higher, or on Prius V level 3 or higher. And spend as long as you can driving the car before you buy to make sure you are not going to end up in pain down the road.

If anyone has found a solution that makes the Prius seats more comfortable, please share. I'm going to try a product called 'YogaBack' and see if that helps...

 

I had a Prius and I traded it for an Avalon. The solution I found in the Prius for the front headrests was to turn them around backwards. As far as the seat itself I don't think there is any solution. None that makes sense to me anyway. I found the drivers seat to be uncomfortable on a long trip but that is just my opinion. Some people do not.

 

Yeah, I'm about to resort to flipping the headrests around, even though the risk of whiplash will be higher...

 

I've had 3 Prius without power lumbar support and have worked around it every time. Maybe it helps that I'm short (5 ft. 3) but I do sit pretty far back from the steering wheel and drive with a 8pm and 4pm hand setting, because of airbags. This is what helps me, since I have a weak left knee joint, neck pain and lower back pain, regardless of what vehicle I drive (it's called aging...): I raise the headrest to its topmost position, then use a neck support that Toyota sells that fills in the gap between headrest and top of seat and that does the job for the neck really well. (Otherwise, my head is pushed forward by the headrest.) Also use a back support pillow turned upside down to fill in my lower back area (either my one from Homedics or dealer had one recently from AGE/Yu Chong Racing Co. that fit well, too. This is a very personalized try and fit, depending on your body trunk and height and butt circumference - mine is a little larger at moment so seat cushion works better upside down at this time.
I tried the power seats and for my height they just didn't hit right.