I'm driving the 2016 Prius next week. What do you want to know?

How much effort does it take to get all the styrofoam out of the back area? Take pictures. Whether you put it back is up to you.

 

Questions, eh?

1. Ride comfort
   1. Use another Toyota vehicle for reference if possible (Better than Gen 3 is stating the obvious ). Is it Avalon comfy? Camry comfy? or "small car" comfy?
   2. How does the suspension react to potholes or railway crossings? Bound/rebound of shocks....
   3. Is the ride European firm? (stiffness of springs)
2. Handling
   1. How quick is the vehicle response to steering input?
   2. How quick is the steering ratio?
   3. If it's windy on the day of the test drive, how's crosswind stability?
   4. How is high speed stability? (esp. on the track)
   5. How's the mountain road? (Hey, I do not know which part of TX the test route covers ). What's the closest vehicle reference you can give us? (It handles like a...)
3. Interior Comfort. The Tokyo Motor Show press release talks about sound insulation "noise insulation performance for impressively silent interior" is the quote.
   1. How much better is it really?
   2. Road noise?
   3. Tire noise? (both 15" and 17")
   4. Wind noise? (and at what speed was it heard).
   5. Front seats
      1. how does it feel after sitting in it for the length of the test drive (hopefully 30 mins to an hour?).
      2. How do they fare when doing tests for point #2?
   6. Moonroof and wind noise - at what speed with the moonroof open does wind buffeting become an issue?
   7. A/C performance. How well does it do? (I guess it depends how warm the car is before you get in)
   8. Can you really tell if "S-Flow" is working?
4. Suspension & Tires
   1. Suspension & tire combo reasonably grippy?
   2. Do they help with coasting/gliding?
   3. Reasonably quiet?
   4. Is there a difference in setup between the 15" model and the 17" model like the Gen 3?
5. HSD
   1. How hard does the engine have to work under normal driving conditions?
   2. How well is the engine noise isolated from the cabin?
   3. How often/easily does it shut down? (Granted, it might be warm enough in TX that it's basically summer weather so the engine warm-up is short).
   4. How many EV miles on the new batteries?
   5. How easy is it to glide?
   6. If driving on mountain roads, how often does the battery assist in propulsion and how quick is it to charge up?
   7. How is the battery meter in car's display configured? (The Gen 3 has a larger "6 bars" range than the Gen 2 so the battery meter wouldn't fluctuate as much)
   8. Is the battery programmed to still hold at 60% true SOC for longevity (both NiMH and Li-Ion)?
   9. What is the usable SOC range of the Li-Ion battery?
   10. Engine start-up/shut down is smooth and unnoticeable?
   11. What kind of EV Drive Mode restrictions are there? (Are they as limiting as the Gen 3 or as free as the Gen 2)
6. Driving
   1. How's the acceleration. Does it feel faster/slower? (the quietness of the interior may play a role in the subjective determination of speed unless you have the windows down)
   2. How are the brakes?
      1. Powerful enough?
      2. Pedal feel is good?
      3. Transition from regen to friction is smooth?
   3. PWR Mode - The press release (and accompanying video) said it's different from the Gen 3 and it's "intelligent" in that it learns that the car is being driven more spiritedly and reacts accordingly. Are you able to tell that difference in PWR Mode?
   4. ECO Mode is supposedly as responsive as the Gen 3's normal mode. True?
   5. Please try the DRCC. It works from 0km/h-vehicle top speed, right?. How well does it work in traffic? Is it smooth in braking and acceleration in traffic? How aggressive is the DRCC when the speed difference between actual and set speed is large?
   6. Does the HUD include navigation directions? Actually, what kind of displays are available for the HUD?
   7. Visibility
      1. Lane change visibility good/bad?
      2. Left-turn/Right-turn visibility good/bad? How bad do the A-pillars intrude into the field of view?
   8. Is the "Simple Intelligent Parking Assist" really that simple?
7. Miscellaneous
   1. How is the front wiper & washer performance? (Gen 2's sprays were powerful jets. The Gen 3 just kinda barfs all over the wiper arm and some area above it on the windshield)
   2. If you can find a parkade, how is the headlight performance?
   3. How is the backup camera performance in low light (parkade) and bright sunshine? (The Gen 3 Prius' camera is much clearer than the one found on the new Corolla. The Corolla was grainy at night)
   4. How's the base audio system? What about the JBL (safe to assume it's the GreenEdge lineup?)
   5. How responsive is the touch screen? What size is it?
   6. Is the navigation using the Denso map (like the Gen 3 7" headunit) or the Garmin-esque map (6.1")?
   7. HDD or flash-based navigation?
   8. With the moonroof sunshade retracted, can you see the MFD during the day in the sun?