Toyota Announces 2020 Prius Prime With CarPlay Support

I actually like these with my black interior. I looked at an updated Gen 4 the other day, with black interior, and it was a tomb in there. For me, having a bit of white in there to break up the dark isn't objectionable.

 

Any risk that the new heated switch location in the 2020 model would be bumped on accidentally and drain the battery ? I forget if the heated seats turn off when you turn the car off.

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They only run with the ignition on. The new location is much more user friendly - I checked it out on a 2019 Gen 4. You do give up a bit of console space, but worth it in my opinion.

 

I think you need a Tesla. Toyota is too stodgy to do any of this.

 

Tesla has the internet on a giant iPad-like screen.

 

Yeah, I tried a Tesla model 3 for two weeks and an S for a long weekend. Autopilot tried to kill me repeatedly to the point I just used it as a $5000 adaptive cruise control option (now it's included in the M3 price I guess). The range with less than optimal weather sucked and charging infrastructure/waiting for charges even on the west coast was "meh". The tablet like thing is nothing close to an iPad in responsiveness and not nearly as intuitive as I hoped. Getting an address from my phone or computer to the car wasn't easy and I couldn't plan a route on my computer or phone and have it show up in the car. Both had build quality issues and the owners had been in multiple times with long waits for stupid things. I definitely need something more the size of the model 3 -- at the time ~$50,000 after tax incentives without a heated steering wheel.

So for now I am just going to do some surgery on the Prime Plus I bought new for ~$16,500 =OTD-Fed Rebate. Install my own USB PD ports and try to retrofit a CarPlay headunit. Might even do the OpenPilot thing, but the adaptive cruise control is enough as is. Recharging is pretty fast at the things known as gas stations and much better than waiting behind Nissan Leafs in the Soviet bread line for a charger.

But these are all things Toyota could have done for me and I would have been willing to pay more for the car even. They are already known for bad infotainment and going to marginal isn't going to fix perception because people are still fixated on how bad it is. The only way to overcome a perception is to be radically different from the perception. So instead of barely, almost, kind of catching up Toyota should have leapfrogged.

 

That term "leapfrog" has become meaningless rhetoric. It's easy to understand why too. Just ask anyone who's serious about improvement what improvement actually means. That absence of detail and lack of agreement make it all too clear the path to an upgrade is a very real problem.

Want a different example of the same problem? Look at the mess we have with public charging-stations. After all these years, there is consolidated message about how they should be used and who should use them. You'd think the answer to that would be obvious. Digging for information, you end up with many conflicting messages.

Please tell us with a level of clarity, as if you were funding the effort, what you would like. As a software engineer, I've discovered asking that question tends to end complaints. The user comes to realize they don't actually have solid requirements for me to program. This is why partnership with business customers is so vital. You need an ongoing exchange of information.

With the case of Toyota, this is why they have employed a phased rollout. That approach really irritates some enthusiasts... to the point of them acting in frustration like trolls... but it is a proven method for achieving actual progress. Watch for detail and try to pass it along.

 

Apple carplay, sun visor, 5the seat, and all black interior don't excite me. I just wonder what is the spec of two new USB ports? After start using 67W PD 3.0, QC 3.0 car charger, I can't go back to a regular USB charger anymore. lol

 

You expect the customer to write the spec for you?

You honestly expect your customers to write specs for you? All it takes is sitting in front of the latest iDrive, MBUX, Kenwood, and then Toyota to figure out what is broken. Adding wired Carplay in 2019/2020 without any wireless or any Android auto isn't forward thinking.

Easy:
1) Wireless Carplay/Android Auto at 720p or higher resolution. Even the option for a double-din on the two higher trims (whatever you want to call them) would be great. Widescreen if it fits the dash design. Capacitive touch. If I am hooked up to a phone that should be the default or settable default that comes up. The less of the car's UI I have to see, the better.
2) USB-PD ports - two in the front and two in the back. If a legacy USB-A needs to be thrown in for the luddites-fine.

Harder:
3) instrument cluster/hud integration: it's clear vNext of CP/AA will either have this or start moving in that direction. Planning for it and working with the devs of those products now might mean you can support it when it comes out.

Brain dead easy: don't sell new cars with 2+ year old maps on them, with no clear update path, with a form factor that doesn't allow aftermarket upgrades.

If that isn't sufficiently clear, I'll write a spec when my billable rate is paid. As a PE, I've found that when someone has to pay my billable rate, they stop asking questions.

 

Hah? In case that question was addressed to me. No, I don't. I just wondered if Toyota has announced the spec for those two additional USB ports. If they are legacy USB-A ports that do not support PD and/or QC, which I suspect they are, then it is another useless new feature for me. That's all.

 

To complain without providing any constructive feedback is a waste of everyone's time.

Ever notice how the act of asking what a consumer actually wants will often result in something that isn't well articulated? It simply makes no sense for you to assume the provider will be able to accurately guess what you expect. That's why extensive study of consumer behavior takes place. Toyota, just like other providers, will collect and carefully observes massive amounts of real-world data with the hope of figuring out what you don't bother to take the time to explain.
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With over 25 years of experience trying to understand what the user actually wants, verses what they claim to want, I can tell you that anyone who makes an effort to describe what their need actually is will get taken seriously. Those who don't are just looking for an audience to vent upon.

Ironically, you want Toyota to provide it all without any cost. There are pricing tradeoffs. Look at the rest of the product-line offered. Look at the timeline involved. Look at the competition... not just creature comforts, the entire vehicle.

Balance is essential.

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So you want me to take the specification from the customer, and give it to the developer?

 

I would prefer Toyota make the PIP Prius with the efficient EV1 body style, have all mechanical controls and feedback with no screen or integration.
gave them the spec and they won’t listen.

I wonder why? Maybe the same reason for your issue.

 

Good point on the usb c but their cable management system on the 3 is quite good. Also their infotainment is potentially better than CarPlay.

Other than price I don’t think there’s anything that Toyota should do to entice you to buy their car. They have their demographic (albeit aging), and they don’t care about any of the things. What incentive do they have to change their ways?

Next time get a different car.

 

Given that they have been discounting the Prius Prime $5000-8000 to move it, I don't think their recipe is working. We are talking PP and not Avalon markets here -- interestingly the Avalon got some of those features first.

I am not saying the PP is a bad car, I'm very happy with my purchase, I just don't think Toyota did enough for the 2020 to turn their sales numbers around.

 

Did?

It hasn't happened yet and that conclusion is cherry-picked by only drawing attention to just one aspect to the economic picture.

 

I wouldn’t take big rebates as a sign of poor sales. Those rebates are offered in markets with slow sales of EV/PHVs in general (a secular trend affecting all electric vehicles). But Toyota still needs to meet their % EV mandate or whatever.

On the west coast, where the Prime is a hot car, we rarely see rebates above $1,000. Some dealers in the Bay Area even price above MSRP and won’t budge when negotiating. They are happy to let you walk away because they know the next person through the door will likely pay the asking price.

 

Ditto. I had the same experience with a CA dealer that I bought my used 2017 Prime last January. They were asking about $5k more than I eventually paid. I watched it for about two months. After no movement, I used my USAA membership buying program to finally get it off their lot.

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