Is anyone else dissapointed in the MFD?

Its good to see a little bit of honesty..

I’m sure I’m not the only one here who has noticed the blatant attempts by the “ones treated like rock stars†to discourage criticism of the new Prius and Toyota here on this previously independent site. It sad when journalists get a bit too close to the people they report on. This was a great site to learn and discuss the good and, where appropriate, the not as good about the car we share and care about. I hope that does not change but from the strategic postings so for -- I’m not encouraged.

 

Hi guys, some honesty for you coming right up.
I like the touch screen, it's a cool gimmick to show your friends.
there is another cool gimmick in the 2010 to take its place but the friends won't know what it is unless you let them have a drive.
Here is how it works.
On the steering wheel are control buttons much like the Prius you have in your garage right now, how ever when you touch the buttons on the 2010 wheel just lightly, like your feeling for the right button, a display high on the dash shows where your finger is touching. When your finger is in the right spot, press the button. Pretty cool!

The buttons around the heater and radio display are replacements for the MFD functions but some people like buttons you can feel without looking, like you do with the MFD.

Seriously, after the Prius Team are gone and we are home, the things we say about the 2010 will be the same and none of us is under any obligation to do or say anything. What will Toyota do? Take back the M&Ms with all the yellow ones removed?

OK now Elle, how bout peeling me some more grapes? That's a nice girl.

 

Anyway Doctor F,apart from being treated like "Rock Stars"LOL!! I hope you all had a ball,so it is a 1.8L engine in the US Model,any word on Europe?
But...and there's always a but...what's with the coffee cup holder under the centre console armrest?Taxi Drivers...Coffee,ya know what i mean?
Whiny.....over and out!!

 

Any chance that the lack of the large MFD screen will drive pricing lower than what it is today? Considering that the Honda Insight is attempting to compete on price, I wonder if this is one area Toyota attempted to cut back on. While the larger 1.8 liter engine surely added some costs, seems like advancements in manufacturing could have alleviated any explicit increase associated with the powertrain.

 

I'm glad to see the back of the M*****-F****** Display. Like all touch-screens, it's a complete pain in the backside to deal with. You have to take your eyes off the road to locate the touch area you're after, because there's no feedback. I could always locate the controls on my Ford Focus (2001 UK model) by feel or a quick glance.

Real buttons are a real improvement. I'd still prefer some of the climate controls to be knobs or sliders rather than up/down buttons, but this is a lot better.

As for reversing cameras, we only get that on the T-Spirit model. Those of us with T3s and T4s have to put up with this thing called a mirror...

 

I for one loved the MFD. It was one of many things that made the car special (but certainly the most visible), and my kids loved the information available on radio stations.
I had no problem using it and will miss it because I can't see getting navigation for 1,500, when a 200 Garmin not only navigates better, but has text to speech functionality.
In any event though not a deal breaker (can't wait to get the 2010 because my 2005 was totaled and I have been waiting patiently for 2010)
it is very disappointing.

 

I wish the backup camera and display were an option separate from the nav system. Oh well. If they were separate I'd buy the backup camera, but it's not worth paying for their nav also.

The MFD is a cute gimmick, and having a minimum of physical buttons to clean is nice, but I have to admit I find conventional controls as in my GF's Civic easier to use.

 

I own a 2007 base prius, with NO reversing camera and NO nav. The huge hybrid system MFD is a cool gadget to show off but at the start of my Prius ownership it was somewhat of a distraction and later on I simply didn't look at it all that much as I learned the dynamics of the Prius. Past a certain stage any semi-serious Prius owner, like with any other car, knows in which state the car is in. I would rather have instantaneous MPG on my peripheral vision (even in Casio-style fashion, it's a car not an X-box) rather than having to glance over the MFD and disrupt my driving. It's probably not as much as a problem in the US where the roads are wider and straight but here in rural England if you distract yourself for a second you might end up in an ocean of trouble.
All in all, I prefer regular buttons, dials and knobs as I've had in every other car I owned (I admit I'm used to spartan and to-the-point controls as I owned an MG prior to the Prius and the controls were few and straightforward, unforgiving just like the rest of the car really) but I never warmed up to the MFD. As long as I know what the car is doing I don't mind it's not in full VGA swing, and any serious hypermiler out there has got a scangauge anyway

Everything IMHO! I reserve my final judgement until I lay my paws on one of those new Priuses (Prii?) and it won't be for a while here in the UK.

~EtN

 

Seems clear to me that you don't drive a Prius with navigation.

If the energy guide is crticial to getting the most out of your mileage, you don't want it to share the same display with navigation, simply because most people would have the navigation turned on at most times (why buy it otherwise?) and this is equivalent to having no energy guide at all.

The point is that a dedicated energy guide that always stays on and has the same functionality of the dorky large caricature (yes, I said it again) that takes the entire main display of the car is much much better, even though it's 80s-Casio-calculator-like. Besides I personally like the bright vacuum-fluorescent display (referrred to as Casio calculator). It's only a small step behind the expensive organic LED display technology; yet, it looks very nice, is fully functional, and is not nearly as expensive.

 

Hmm, the only problem I have with VFDs is that the reliability record of those things used to be, hmmm, dubious. But my experience is limited to my ownership of an Empeg (Empeg Home) car stereo that was designed to be removed from the car every time, so maybe a VFD that is stationary in the console is a bit more reliable? In the Empeg, the "nipple" (that is, the part of the display that hangs outwards and that comes from the process of vacuuming the tube - in a sort of CRT-esque fashion) was a fragile bit of kit and got damaged in many situations. I would have preferred an LCD of some sort to be honest.

 

I don't think reliability will be an issue. (It's TOYOTA and Made in Japan after all.) I also don't think you want to have a backlighted LCD right in front of you on the dashboard -- quite a bit distraction. To me the only other reasonable alternative would be the organic-LED display but they are still too expensive. Also, VFD is in some ways a crude plasma display.

 

Me too!

But this limitation can be overcome by one of those rearview mirrors that can also double as a monitor to which you can connect an aftermarket rearview camera (or any other type of camera or video source). And probably will cost less that way too.

As for Nav, I'd much prefer getting my own Garmin anyway.

My biggest concern is the quality of the G3's "JBL" package and how tightly it's integrated with the other audio components such as Bluetooth etc. In the G2 it's such a pain in the derrierre...

 

I'm wondering what this means for iPod / iPhone integration as well as Sirius and XM radio integration. Still no HD radio option? Does this mean that to use some interface (i.e., Dice, Vias, or even the one Toyota developed themselves) will require the Nav unit (and all other options required for the package) so you have a MFD to show and use playlists etc.? If so, I think that would be a loss. More single function controls... that’s good.

Oh and the bluetooth phone? is there a dial pad somewhere in the car or will the NAV unit be required for the built in phone book / dial pad etc.

Well, for the record I said I like the new car, I've only criticized Toyota’s boring webcast of the unveiling and your obsequious coverage of it. If your going to quote my words and suggest that my criticisms are silly, whiny and juvenile, please at least do so for the right reasons.

 

Given that Keynote (Powerpoint) presentations can be controlled with an iPhone, and graphics resolution is now expected to be HD, the Prius MFD can improve greatly. Not as an entertainment focus, but true intuitive ergonomic interaction with the driver. When you begin to think of what can be done, think of what an iPhone can do. I dream of my iPhone being in the center console, but showing on the MFD (minimally while the vehicle is in motion, we don't need another distraction).

Navigation needs to be greatly cleaned up and be made more intuitive and be more responsive. If Toyota expects to lead the way, then lead the way!

 

Ah, a fellow EMPEGer!! :cheer2:

I think the VFD in the EMPEG holds up rather well considering the beating that it takes. The VFD in the Prius, should have the advantage of significantly better shock protection.

But, the real question is, where is there going to be room for the Empeg in the 2010. Will the stock radio be able to be removed without messing up everything as it is in the current Prius?

 

Okay, so a more careful examination of the pictures suggest that satellite radio can be integrated without a MFD, but to have bluetooth phone functionality, you must now have the NAV unit too (i.e. the MFD). Myself, I love having the NAV in my current Prius. Others that once preferred a Garmin or TomTom might not in 2010 if the built in NAV is required to get a hands free phone unit built into the car. An interesting choice (not whining) given the ever increasing push to ban cell phone usage while driving here in the US. Well, at least the Dice and Vias guys will have another new product they can advertise but never actually deliver (that was definitely whining).

 

As one of the "rockstars", let me state that I feel no pressure from anyone to praise the new 2010 Prius, only enthusiasm and a burning desire to trade in my 2006. I love my 2006, but the 2010 is even better. Separating the Nav and Info screens is good idea, and will help keep our eyes on the road, plus eliminate the annoying process of switching screens while using navigation.

Seat comfort is greatly improved, as well as the general driving comfort by having a height adjustment and a telescoping steering wheel. Headroom isn't an issue for my short family, but I watched some of the taller members of PC climb in and sit comfortably in the new 2010s.

The new "buttons" on the steering wheel should be a lot easier to use, and they eliminate the issue with the buttons being too dark for some owners. The new buttons remind me of the controls on the back of many small digital cameras, where the setting is displayed in a larger manner on the screen while adjusting, and then goes away when you aren't using it. It's a very nice feature.

I also have to praise Toyota for moving away from the crappy Goodyear Integrity tires and putting good OEM tires on the new model. There is no doubt that Toyota has been reading our posts here on PC.

If you haven't already had a chance to try one of the 2010 Prius, reserve your judgment until you do. I think most of you will be favorably impressed.

Even more impressive are the improvements you can't see, such as a 90% new HSD, which is smaller, lighter, and more powerful. Add to that five more cubic feet of interior space without being appreciably bigger and you have some great improvements.

Several improvements have also been made by removing features. The new model no longer uses the troublesome HID headlamps. Also gone is the thermos bottle and pump, effectively replaced by a new head recovery system which helps warm the engine without the expense and complexity of the thermos system.

My overall impression is very favorable. Toyota should do well with this new model.

Tom

 

Geez, I hadn't thought of that, I now have 1 more thing to dislike about the 2010. The backup camera in my wife's '06 is a feature I wish I could have in my '04.

 

You can't please all of the people ANY of the time.

I didn't buy my 07 for the MFD. It was there, I liked it and got used to it. I bought it primarly for FE and secondly because it had the name Toyota stamped on it and third for the positive environmental factors.

Ok, now lets see, the 2010 ... better FE , has Toyota stamped on it and reduced CO2. Hmmm ... I'm happy!

Does anyone know if the EV button will be standard on USA models?

Thanks!