Proposed Improvements For Future Prius Plugin

I'll go more towards the creature comforts. Since they high end model has power seats, I would like to see a memory feature added - always adjusting the seats between my wife and I.

 

I would like a retractable 110v cord in the hatch. Open it, pull out as much as you need to get to a plug then close it all weather tight.

 

Reduce the cost!

 

Toyota supported additional battery packs, dealer installed.

 

I can see some of your items that you want, but have to agree with Spinner here on some of his thoughts. Here's some things I can think of:

- Ability to custom choose options. How about "choose 3 for $x". I know, difficult in doing and delays in delivery. It wouldn't necessarily be a big issue if they got that Alabama plant producing the Prius. It could also allow dealers to custom order for their lot. I could see some options being more popular in certain sections of the country.

- Standard 110v outlets INSIDE the car. The ability to plug in a laptop, etc.

- Better Navigation system. How about one that can update via Satellite for free (google maps partnership, anyone?). It would integrate well with an Android interface.

- SD based Android, or the ability to manually load an SD card with music on it to play via the interface. There's a lot you could do with this, and if you could hook it up to your laptop for your iTunes, you could run the iSyncr app and sync your library that way, too.

- Better handling, more comfortable ride.

- Rear HVAC vents would be great, too, as mentioned above.

Those are some of the things I can think of from the top of my head. As others said, aftermarket options exist if you want longer range. In fact, if enginer is working well, this could be a very good option for that kit. It may not be able to charge up the battery as fast as it's being used, but it could easily prolong the EV distance if you're in the city.

 

How about taking a page from Tesla, too. The ability to choose higher battery capacity at a set price. That way you're still using the Toyota technology and R&D expertise.

 

One of the things I liked about the Prius is that they are manufactured in Japan. I believe that the cars manufactured there have more stringent quality standards than the ones manufactured in the US.

It's convenient to have AC outlets, but it's actually inefficient. All electronics run on DC, so you are converting from DC to AC, back to DC, with losses at each conversion.

Updating via satellite would be unnecessarily expensive and complicated. Updating via a USB stick or over WiFi is fine.

The current features of the Prius are already better than this. Keep your music on your phone and play/control the music over Bluetooth.

 

People are already complaining about the cost of the two plug-in trims.

We need to remember the KISS principle - Keep It Simple (low cost).
There's always after-market add-ons you can make which will drive up YOUR cost should you chose to add them while keeping the base trims at a reasonable cost.

The Dollar has been on a downward slide compared to the Yen. Five years ago there where 117 yen to the dollar. Today it is 76+ yen to the dollar. So the Prius will keep going up in price as long as the dollar keeps sliding downward. Remember - Keep it Simple and keep the price down.

 

My guess is that the components will still be made by the current manufacturers, and imported into the USA for assembly at the plant. I was more using that to show how the turn around time could be drastically cut, IF that particular item happened.

True, but it sure beats carrying around a power inverter that goes into the cigarette lighter. And the power loss itself isn't that great, since what you'd be plugging in isn't very power hungry. Most new laptops are quite efficient compared to their predecessors. Just imagine how nice it would be for parents with kids and all their need for batteries/recharging their entertainment.

Agreed. I forgot to add that when I typed that up last night. My guess is via WiFi updating.

That works great for the 50% or so of drivers with a smart phone. I don't really want to leave the rest of them out in the dark because they don't have one. Not to mention, blue tooth streaming will kill your phone battery for music (same with an iPod Touch), to where you'll now have to plug it in to charge it. If it's controlled via the existing touch controls, now you're not fiddling with your phone while driving, either. I'm not saying to eliminate the bluetooth option, but expand to offer another option.

 

City driving is below 40 mph (In some places it's 20 MPH). I'm not sure why you want to do 70 mph downtown among pedestrians.

If you are talking highway or interstate driving but with forced EV mode up to 70 MPH I'd still find "city EV" a poor name for it.

 

Just another vote for reinstating the spare tire, without sacrificing battery capacity. I'm sure it could be done. I believe the plug-in battery occupies the same zone as the black plastic underfloor tray on a regular Prius, and there's still a void underneath where a spare tire could fit, except: it's inaccessable (unless you want to pull out the battery to get at the spare). If that's the case:

The sheet metal at the underside of hatch could be reworked: pushed up, to the underside of plug-in battery, and a spare tire could be mounted under the body, truck-style.

 

All good ideas, except, they said the pack charger is now living in the space of the spare tire...

 

Complex components will be sourced from Japan, but simpler ones are sourced locally. Anyhow, that's not the concern when it comes to quality. Quality assembly of the components to stringent tolerances is what concerns me.

I understand that local manufacturing may allow customization, but there is probably a trade-off between manufacturing locally/allowing customization and quality. I understand the desire for customization, but given a trade off between the two, I prefer quality.

For the specific example of a laptop, buying a laptop power adapter that supports both AC and DC solves the problem less expensively than a car option. Also, the only additional thing you need to carry is a small modular car adapter plug.

Personally, I like the idea of an AC outlet in the Prius; there is a JDM upgrade available for the Gen II Prius, but after thinking about what I would actually use it for, it didn't make sense for the effort and cost to add it. Perhaps you have better uses for it.

The Bluetooth controls works for an iPod Touch as well and you can plug it in via USB to charge/play it as well. The point is the feature already exists, so there's no need request another more complicated way of doing things. If you want to sync wirelessly, just wait for iOS 5 to come out which supports wirelessly syncing. The MP3 player/smartphone can give you this functionality sooner and cheaper than a car option.

Ultimately, the additional options significantly increase the price of the Prius. The desire to customize speaks to getting just the options desired while keeping the price as low as possible. I am simply suggesting being judicious about the features being added, since there is a tradeoff in both cost and weight.

 

You can control your iPod Touch via the nav/radio controls? Did I totally miss that function over the past 2+ years? Bad me if that's the case, because I didn't know it could be done. I got the pleasure of getting the Prius before they added the USB port to them, also.

I'd still prefer a SD card slot for loading music - I'd rather run the risk of losing a $30 card than a $300 iPod. Personal preference, really.

I agree with starting cheaper, but having additional options that could be installed during assembly would be a lot nicer for me. One of the reasons I stuck with the Prius 3 (III) was because I didn't want some of the forced options that came along with the higher models or packages you could get. I wanted half of one, half of another. I get that they do that for ease of assembly, getting cars built, etc. Otherwise, you end up with tons of possible combinations and it creates some chaos. Every option has its tradeoffs.

 

I was referring specifically to the Prius Plug-In (in context of the topic of this thread) which has Entune which does have that feature:
Multimedia

Again, already supported in the Prius Plug-In (see link above) at least w/ a USB drive. You can use a USB SD card adapter if you insist on a SD card.

My responses were related to the wireless syncing feature, which would probably cost as much or more than the $300 iPod. And if you just leave it in the car (like you would be forced to with a car option), I don't see how you would be likely to lose it.

 

Which aftermarket conversion can fit 10KWh and keep the spare tire? My understanding is that you can fit 4KWh and keep the spare tire, but going to 8KWh means losing the spare tire.