At first, it seems strange to have the speedometer placed where it is, but it feels quite natural in practice. My eyes general focus towards the center of the lane I'm driving in, and therefore a quick glance down lines up directly with the speed. Much easier than looking down and to the left in a traditional setup. It's much more natural in practice than you would think. If you drove the car for 20 minutes it would be no big deal.
After having the Gen I spedo truly in the middle, having Gen II and Gen III shifted further toward the driver was a welcome change. After 7+ years of Prius ownership, I've found no issue where it is or how they use the mirror to increase the overall focal length to the spedo. With that, I'd say don't knock it till you've driven it. If it's that big of a problem, the Camry Hybrid has a more conventional instrument cluster.
I always hated the 1st gen's location of the speedo. Well, 2nd gen was really good (especially since my mom couldn't see my speed from the passenger side!) Anyways, the first thing my brother said when driving the 3rd gen was: "Oh great, now we'll have to listen to mom tell you to slow down again." HAHA It isn't that bad though, but it isn't what we're used to. In driving you get very used to it, and if your constantly scanning the road and mirrors, it is no big chore to check the speed every now and then.
Agree with steering wheel height being lower and not blocking stuff, I got into my wife Nissan Altima and lowered wheel to what I liked and gauges where blocked
wow i cant believe i didnt think about that. your spot on on this. The prius takes advantage of this too b/c there images that can be displayed on either end, all you have to do is change the software not the hardware. theres no question this is the reason.
Yeah... everything except the actual display from the looks of the presales UK brochure. [see attachment] I hope this is actually reversed, otherwise it will be really annoying. Then again I could just use the heads up display...
Wow, that really does put the speedo in the center - how awful! The HUD would more than make up for this, making the speedo more useful for your passengers.
Cost can't possibly be the reason for the location of the speedometer, as it isn't directly in the center of the dash. So Toyota would still need a different dash for right or left hand driven cars. Oh and I am also flight trained and am used to scanning instruments. But the most important ones are directly ahead of me, not off to the right. I would love to know the real reason why Toyota made this decision about speedometer placement. We can guess all we want but has anybody ever questioned them about it? And it seems to me it would have just been better to use a HUD cluster, like in the Corvette. Then the drivers eyes never have to leave the road.
My wife drives a 2001 Toyota Echo, which was among the first vehicles sold in the US with a center-mount instrument cluster. I've never found that I needed more than a few seconds to adjust. Yaris, Toyota''s replacement for the Echo, continues the center mount too. When my 2010 Prius finally arrives, I anticipate no difficulties... I certainly found no problems adjusting when I had my test drive in a demo unit.
I questioned them about it in Detroit, when we were there with the chief engineer. Another member of the Prius Team stated that it was for better visibility, which is why a center location was being used in many cars. As for HUD, the Prius has that in the European market, but not over here. Tom
I'm sure with the funky center based display I'll eventually get used to it, even though I'm not a fan of it. To be perfectly honest, my dream would be to have the Insight-II interior in the Prius! As I stated before though, the HUD is a big big advantage. With the car I'm going to be doing two long distance drives to break her in and give it a proper shakedown. Having the navigation displayed in my field of vision in an unknown city is going to be a huge help. Trips are going to be Glasgow to London round trip consisting of 822 miles. Then next spring I'll be doing Glasgow, Scotland to Oslo, Norway then to Järfälla, north of Stockholm in Sweden then back to Glasgow once the nordic winter has passed (trust me its brutal if you're not experienced driving in it!). That will be 3800 miles... yikes!
I will have to wait until I see it in person, but it seems to make sense. When I glance at or even focus on reading the center display I expect that I should still be able to see the road in my peripheral vision. A HUD would be great!!! I would have preferred an analog speedometer because it probably isn't going to be as accurate as the digital display indicates, and I don't really need to know my speed to the nearest mi/h or km/h. My big question is what are people doing with the dead space on the dash behind the steering wheel. Maybe there's room to mount a tablet PC so I can work while driving. j/k Or maybe there will be fun add-on displays that they have for the MINI. But seriously, why have a traditional steering wheel, with a cutout meant to be seen through, when there is nothing there to see? Just curious.
I actually prefer the placement of gauge in the G3 where none of it is obscured by the steering wheel itself. Also, placement in the center of the dash makes it much easier to back seat drive from virtually any seat in the car. (Which I've mastered, just ask my wife.) Seriously, it's center placment is much safer as it allows for faster scanning. Also, have you tried adjusting the settings such as the odometer or back lighting level which required twisting little knobs that are behind the steering wheel? How very awkward is that? Which brings me to your last question. I'm no expert on these matters, but I believe a steering wheel with open spokes facilitates easier, faster handling and is also less intrusive visually. If anything, I would have made the digital readouts even larger. These 50+ year old eyes aren't what they used to be.
SWEET! Toyota has released the press images for the new Prius for the UK... And the top center dash has been changed around so the speedometer is closer to the driver. Take a peek: http://www.toyotagb-press.co.uk/protected/vehicles/current/galleries/prius/interior/T_6584.jpg Rest of them are here: Toyota GB Media Site - Toyota Vehicles
Hey Gord Drove the UK model tonight, and the instrument cluster is the other way round - so energy monitor is on passenger side - speedo is on driver side Tone
Yeah Tone mate, just saw that on the press photos from the Toyota website. So how was she to drive? You lucky devil!
