exGen3 owner, now 2 days with his new Gen4...WOW!

I have received my new Gen4 in dark grey mid-trim (Germany), which offers all safety features, with optional IPA.
I am simply impressed about the overall changes, and most of all of the drivetrain improvements of the power electronics. I am really going "WOW!"

In no particular order, this is what I noticed wrt Gen3 (owned for almost 7 years and 102.000km):

1. the battery is used definitely more aggressively; 2 bars now don't mean "ICE on"; at start up with cold ICE, the gasoline engine doesn't fire up after 10-15 secs as before, regardless of battery charge...Gen4 doesn't start it even if you have 2 bars, and then only when you speed up to about 30km/h
2. I hear a "sloshing" sound from the engine bay when starts the first time at cold - do you hear that too?
3. you can be in EV mode with 2 bars without issue, as long as you are below the mid-line of the HSI bar (now a curve )
4. no "ECO" light anymore
5. ECO mode definitely more like normal mode; so much so that accelerating in city traffic from a stop with a complete HSI Bar is almost too fast for my taste
6. not possible for me anymore to understand if the ICE is running or not - seamless transitions in Gen4 - really great job there; the only hints are the EV light and a faint vibration at the gas pedal
7. fuel consumption so far 10-15% lower than usual on the same routes, average speeds, distances, temps - more in the next weeks as I gather data and the car breaks-in
8. the car was delivered to me with 2km on the ODO and 5L fuel in the tank - quite nice both things
9. the car was delivered to me without any plastic stab in the washing liquid tank - will go tomorrow to dealer to clarify where it is; do I need one? maybe not, but it is on page 540 of the user's manual...
10. the A/C is more refined - super silent (so far with not very high temps) and no drafts as with Gen3 from the left vent (no matter how I set it, I always felt "cold wind" on my face); PS: the vents don't have a blue accent as I expected- they look nice nevertheless
11. completely disappointed by the 1970s style reading/sunshade courtesy mirrors/trunk (!!!)/interior lights - Wth Toyota!!! I buy a 30k€ car with the most modern drivetrain and technology and you deliver it to me, without any option even to get something different, with light bulbs with the typical orange/yellowish ligh from 1975? Wth! - will probably try to replace them with something more 2016 (e.g. more efficient, brighter and more modern looking - any hints appreciated)
12. Speedometer is more accurate than Gen3; in particular (displayed speed/GPS/model): 120/111/gen3 vs 120/113/gen4; more data in the future as I manage to measure it
13. the front doors when opened make a muffled "clank" sound metal-on-metal from the hinges; yours too? rear doors do not do it
14. the stereo sounds *way* better than Gen3 - no bass distortion even at Max volume; excellent DAB (EU digital radio standard) really fast in tuning and stations discovery, super easy and fast BT link with my iPhone 6, and no problems streaming from iTunes or even Spotify; making a phone call with super fast address book sync, a breeze; it doesn't seem though it is able to start a Facetime Audio call - pity - I do a lot of those
15. I haven't tested yet RSA, because I don't need it in the city; I know all the limits there
16. not tested the IPA yet, but I discovered,"duh!", that reverse parking is enabled pressing twice only if you are sitting next to a spot *you* need to find yourself; only parallel park helps you find one...
17. the steering wheel doesn't make a clunking sound, when you reach full steering in one or the other direction; now it stops quietly at the end of max steering
18. everybody is looking at it!
19. I don't notice the white plastic inserts anymore, also because they are full of stuff on them; the cups are definitely meant for small 0.5L bottles, not huge cups; you need an adapter for that (or drink less while driving! )
20. DRCC works really well, and it will at times be 1 km/h more or less than what set, for a few seconds
21. LDA and LDW does work and quite well, even in city traffic (when above 50km/h)
22. MG2 now makes a more refined, higher pitch sound
23. ECO mode activates automatically S-FLOW and ECO mode on AC
24. seats are very comfortable, envelop you in and support you; noticeable with higher speed bends e.g. on ramps; the seating is now much lower that Gen3
25. as usual all very intuitive in the usage, got lost a bit in the screens but found my way easily; the only issue it took me a while to understand that if you have RSA active, you cannot have a split screen in the speedometer screen (a bummer actually - I keep there the instant fuel consumption currently)
26. I don't miss the second glove box compartment - I discovered I was carrying around a lot of useless stuff I never used in 7 years of Gen3 - same with trunk stuff... (you can read this post of mine here about it)
27. the fuel consumption and cost comparison are "funny" - fuel cannot be set with 3 digits, only 2 - all prices here have 3 digits after the comma: 1,259€/L - I had to put 1.26€/L; same for fuel consumption - it offers 3 (!!) digits before the comma (who is consumng 100L/100km, not even F1!!), and only one after the comma - so my Gen3 was doing 5.34L/100km lifetime, I had to put 5,3L/100km - and 0.04L/100km does make a bit of a difference on the long run;
28. moreover on 27, the charts show IMHO the cars going in the wrong directions - the bars increase from left to right, the cars are pointing the opposite directly - I think this and point 27 are made with MPG and Japanese prices/displays in mind...
29. I don't like the font and colors of the center console stereo media center - it looks so 2000...
30. last but not least, everything else is more or less like told in the zillion "reviews" out there - I can only advise you to do a test drive, especially if you are not coming from a Gen3; in which case instead, if you can and your business case or bank account allows it, get yourself this beauty.

Unless my experience changes drastically in the next few days/weeks/months (I hope not!!!), it is my firm opinion this car is the best today there is out there. And the design finally says something, in a see of ever looking the same cars...!

PS: more news, pics, comments and estimations of MFD estimations about MPG and DTE numbers, to come in the next weeks - it will take a while for me to finish a tank on this thing!

 

True, but it has to do more with aesthetics really. They are off 99.999% of the lifetime of the car. So for the main purpose of the car, saving fuel, it really doesn't matter what bulbs they are.

 

I love it!

 

Nothing like that available in the EU version (at least nothing like it in the "setup/display" section.

Mmmh - it is really brief, and only at first ICE start up after sitting a while - then it works silently. It is a faint noise, I wonder if it will go soon, as the system maybe purges air from a circuit??? BTW, all levels are ok in all fluid tanks.

Apparently none in EU/Germany. I called today the Central Customer support in Cologne to clarify this. I was at the dealer today for another reason, and we looked into another Prius, an Aygo, a Yaris, a new Hybrid RAV, none of them have a dipstick, nor a low washer fluid light. None is also mentioned in the user's manual. What is mentioned is the dipstick though (page 540 of the manual, section 6.3). They were also surprised. The technician also looked up the Toyota technical database and he found that the dipstick is supposed to be there if no light is available, and it is orderable.
Let's see what Toyota Germany Customer Support says.
But then, if there is no dipstick and no light, how is one supposed to know how much fluid there is left, other than to discover it in the most inconvenient of times???

I could get it delivered surely with a full tank...on my bill though!

Not yet, need to try it.

I noticed that yesterday - it starts showing both sides, and after a while, didn't still understand when, it just shows my side, even if I activate dual.

Didn't know you could change the number of digits before/after comma with the left/right arrow keys on the right side of the wheel. Will try.

Well, at least the font used for the dashboard screens is pretty cool. They should have used the same for the media system...
Maybe a software update sometime in the future in a parallel universe...
[/QUOTE]

Sorry - I don't get this....


Some additional things I have noticed in the past day:

• When you select power mode, the "eco" tag close to the HSI indicator "curved bar" (not a straight bar anymore), still stays there
• the "Eco Accelerator Guidance" bar is not a gimmick, as it seems to really vary based on battery level, speed, and position of car - I wonder if it even uses information from the radar/camera to determine how effective a full acceleration can be or not; what I mean is that sometimes I get a full guidance bar, and in a exactly similar situation a shorter guidance bar. Pity that the bar is not in any way displayed in the HUD, only the HSI Bar is displayed
• I am noticing (surprise surprise) that the hybrid system management is quite different from the Gen3 - what I mean is that with Gen3 I would accelerate full HSI bar, and glide, and get really good fuel consumption; on Gen4 if I do the same, fuel consumption goes up, and acceleration is too fast - so I need to reduce gas (otherwise I get a lower ECO score for acceleration). So it seems that filling the bar is not anymore the most efficient way to accelerate and charge the battery. It seems that partial bars are not only "allowed" and fast enough in most city traffic situations, but also are more efficient
• Another thing I have noticed is that sometimes with e.g. 3-4 bars, the EV mode seems to push more the car, than in other cases with the same level, and you end up going beyond the mid-level when the ICE fires. It seems really the systems is adaptive in ways I cannot yet understand.
• Tried IPA for rear parking - freaky. And lands you exactly in the middle of the 2 cars. I didn't dare to try to see if the car would stop by itself or not when the "stop" sign comes up... if it stopped by itself it would be great (i.e. just by letting it roll into place by rolling...
• I have to test IPA also to park in my garage, assuming it works without 2 cars...
• never had a TMPS system - I wondering if I set the tire pressure more than the recommended 2.3/2.2 bar, e.g. 2.6/2.5, f it will complain. I also hope the tires are actually at their nominal pressure. Dealers here "forget" to do that....

 

Well, then head in it will be... If you guys in the UK don't have it, then we don't have it either...
Thanks for the other information!
About the sound at startup, I am starting to wonder what it is.
It is brief like less than 1 sec, only at the very first start up.
I am wondering now if due to the high temperatures and very full fill up it is simply the vapor recuperation at the back that I think is coming from the front....
It is getting shorter each time to be honest. We'll see.

 

I have searched the whole handbook and found nothing. It does talk of the dipstick only. That's for sure. And my gen3 had one.
It is probably out of fashion in the EU... (You are still in for the next 2 years, so I still write EU including UK )