Featured Hyundai IONIQ - Prius competitor?

yep competition is always good, both for innovation and keeping dealers honest on pricing

enough customers for both cars, main thing is so long as they choose one of them rather than none of them its good news for the environment

 

Toyota has made the blind spot and cross traffic system available on lower trims since the introduction of the Ioniq. At least on the Prius. I haven't seen such an announcement for the Prime. The level One Prius is also now available for sale to individuals. It has less features, but closes the price gap some.

Now, you still have to get the mid level trim of the Ioniq to get the TSS-P equivalent, but the MSRP ends up just a few hundred dollars more than the Prius Two. You do get the 10 way power driver's seat, and maybe a few more goodies, that require going to a higher trim Prius for.

 

In my case, absence of TSS-P in the Ioniq (or Volt) remains a show stopper. Apparently making TSS-P standard led to Consumer Reports including three Toyota models in their top 10. It takes some learning if you take a Toyota out for a test drive:

• dynamic cruise control - this is easily tested since the defaults provide a lot of margin. Don't shorten the distance until you feel more comfortable.
• collision avoidance - more difficult to test in traffic on a test drive, if someone cuts you off, you'll see a quick, safe demo.

I went with the Prius Prime Plus, the lowest trim, that does not have blind spot monitoring. But the trapezoid shaped outside mirrors cover the blind spots much better than others I've ever had. It is worth a test drive.

Bob Wilson

 

Blind spots can be eliminated this way:

How To: Adjust Your Mirrors to Avoid Blind Spots - Feature - Car and Driver

 

good to see you're sorted bob, you looked at both and made the choice based on your requirements and the Prius won,

as far as I am concerned so long as people choose any hybrid (toyota, Hyundai, ford, BMW etc) over a std car it is good for the environment
all have the Pro's and Con's, so long as the owner is happy with their choice that's all that counts

 

My son just finished drivers ed and this is what they taught him. I adjusted my mirrors on my current car

 

I appreciate having blind-spot detection hardware but wanted to share why I'm enthused by these style of side mirrors:

The trick is the outside, angled part significantly broadens the side coverage. The inside angled part makes alignment trivial. Yes, electronic blind-spot monitoring is better because it can alert the driver who may not be closely monitoring their mirrors. But for a passive system, these are pretty good.

Bob Wilson

 

Aspheric mirrors are wonderful. I had bought them for previous German cars as OEM available. I wonder if they are available for a Prius-V? You have inspired me to go look.

 

Here is a review of the Ioniq by the Philadelphia Inquirer's auto writer. He has been around forever and is interested in performance more than anything else. What I don't understand is why the headliner thinks the car is a Kia when it's really a Hyundai.

Hyundai has come a long way with its outstanding Ioniq Hybrid

Hyundai has come a long way with its outstanding Ioniq Hybrid

 

Thanks,

He did a nice review of the Prius Prime in October but as I suspected, his expertise is in a short article, not a deep data dive:
Prius Prime an 'ingenious piece of machinery'

I was surprised he missed the TSS-P in the Prime but not everyone cares about such things. Still, the New York Times mentioned it:
Video Review: Doing the Math on Toyota’s Prius Prime Hybrid - The New York Times

Bob Wilson

 

2018 Camry LE hybrid said to average 52 MPG plus the battery moves under seat, regain trunk space and fold down rear seats. Looks way better than Prius. So hycam competes with Prius on mpg.
The SE and XLE hybrids will have NimH battery 46 mpg avg.

 

technology is changing rapidly, the basic motors and drive are not changing much just minor tweak to efficiency, but the batteries, drive / control electronics are getting better are harvesting power on regen etc and more efficient inverters meaning we can either get more power or more range out of the same battery capacity

just got to have watched the changes in formula e since it started as to how much the drive trains have changed, and this is feeding into EV's and hybrids across the market

 

This is the article length he normally does. And he normally seems to emphasize performance, not safety features. The Times' writers are more inclined to mention safety. So your points are right on target.

I hope you wouldn't mind a question or two:

Which Prius models include TSS-P as standard or optional?

Does the Ioniq have any of the TSS or TSS-P features as standard or optional?

Thanks for any light you can shed.

 

I don't follow it closely but learned there is another variant, TSS-C, and someone mentioned a variant with blind side warning. My best understanding is all Prius variants have them and it is rapidly being deployed on all Toyotas.
Toyota Safety Sense (TSS) Features for Toyota Owners

My understanding is the Ioniq has it as an extra cost option on the top trim line. Chevy does the same with Volt. But I only learned this by visiting the dealers and later confirmed by some of our local advocates.

Bob Wilson

 

Thanks so much, especially for the information on the Ioniq and Volt.

Toyota hasn't communicated this very well, but there is a distinction between TSS and TSS-P; the latter has more features. TSS is standard, but TSS-P is not.

 

Actually, you're largely right. According to the "visual tables of Gen4 packages" pinned toward the top of the Prius 4 main forum, the TSS-P package is standard on everything but the Prius One, for which it is not available. In addition to TSS-P, one can get blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, intelligence clearance storage, simple intelligent parking assistance, and safety connect 2. The first two are standard on the Four and Four Touring; the others can be purchased under the PCP package for Four and Four Touring.

Visual Tables of Gen4 Package Combinations | PriusChat

 

But the starting price equal to the Prime still favors the Prius and Ioniq for those looking for lower costs.

Having TSS-P standard is good for marketing, but I think for the board swath of car buyers looking for those features, getting them for a reasonable price over having to upgrade to costly trims is a good enough compromise when considering the entire car.

The Ioniq has crosstraffic and blind spot alerts standard. To get the TSS-P equivalent requires getting the mid level trim and a package. The MSRP for that is only a couple hundred more than the Prius Two's. It comes down to what the individual wants, and current prices at the dealer, but that Ioniq edges out the Prius on some other features.

The cross traffic and blind spot monitoring becoming available on lower trims, and the Prius One available to the general public, are in response to the Ioniq.

 

On what features do you think the Ioniq is better? I understand one advantage of the Prius is that visibility is better, and I would think that is valuable even with the new safety features.

 

For those of us who are less informed, what exactly is the hardware for cross traffic & blind spot alert ... Are they sensors, or similar to Tesla's 8 forward, rear & side looking cameras. Does the side/blind spot alert with just a noise? Or - does it actually steer away to avoid collisions, similar to various cars ability to self break when somebody brakes in front of you. I know Tesla upped the camera count from autopilot 1 to ap2, & apparently that's not enough for their safety stuff. It looks like the model 3 will have its camera count raised from 8 to 10. possibly just an option?
Black Tesla Model 3 release candidate spotted driving in Silicon Valley [Full Gallery]
Maybe more cameras is just for redundancy in avoidance of failure of one or more? Jeeez ... Kind of makes one wonder where it all ends.
.

 

The mid trim Ioniq SEL has a ten way power driver's seat. You have to upgrade to a Prius Four if that is something you want.

Visibility does have a personal element. Being better isn't a plus if it means less comfortable seating position for example.

Well, the system name contains Alert for both companies I believe.