I love what Ford is doing on their cars (wife has a 2013 Fiesta HB) They fold down when not in use, and easily fold up. You only need to push a button to fold them down. Visibility is nice when they are down. Ford is doing this on almost every car, I saw them on everything at the LA Auto show including the Mustang.
The only minor problem is the quality of the interior plastic finish. I defy you to remove the scratches that occur when you feet strike the inside door panel. My 1992 Tacoma pickup, after 189,00 miles had interior door panels that looked new. What do you think about contact paper, just kidding.
You have met the guy who likes the instrumentation readouts in the center of the dash. I for one don't like the speedo readout between the spokes of the steering wheel. But moving on to the negative things about the Prius C which include: 1) Non retractable rear headrests (available everywhere but the USA -- cost cutting 2) No engine coolant temp gauge and no tachometer while giving you worthless rubberized steering wheel buttons -- cost cutting 3) A typical Toyota glove box that rattles -- cost cutting 4) No dome lamp (as in the middle of the roof) -- cost cutting 5) Seat heater buttons that require you to find them by braille -- cost cutting 6) No height adjustable front seat belts -- cost cutting 7) Poor visibility from low beam headlamps -- stupidity 8) Water that runs off the roof onto the rear seats every time you open the rear doors -- stupidity
I though I made a big mistake in acquiring my C in December 2012. But I have learned to love it. My only issue is the on ramp speed but I have adjusted to it. I drive 400 miles a week for work and my 5 day fill up covers the week. I traded in my 95000 mile 2006 scion x/a but that car never covered a week during my commute. The only thing I don't like is that my basic radio doesn't have satellite. Oh, I can connect thru my iphone but by the time I get to work, the battery life on my iphone is down to 70%. I want a true satellite radio on my basic C. !!!!
I'm honestly starting to wonder if the Australian version gets better insulation. I just do not have an issue with cabin noise on a freeway. Hello! [waves] I like the speedo exactly where it is. I agree with the other person that said they didn't like the speedo between the spokes of the steering wheel - when I drive other vehicles now I find that positioning so incredibly irritating. I don't want to be looking all the way down there - and blocked if I'm not driving straight (an example of where this is annoying is an interchange we have between two tunnels that involves a 40 km/h limited 270° left turn with at least threats of a speed camera). I wouldn't want the speedo right in front - partly it would need to be higher and partly I don't want it right in my sight but just in my peripheral vision. Where it is. Not really sure how positioning it there is cost cutting.
You have the same lack of insulation we do... the problem is a placebo effect. People read that it's loud so now they think it's loud... As I have shown on another thread, this car is actually quieter than most other cars, even a 5 series BMW. They position the speedo hump in the center to save costs. They don't have to remake a new dash for both left and right hand drive cars. Just change the position on the internal gauges and viola'.
This blows my mind. I thought mine was loud from day one, before I heard it was supposed to be. I feel like I can tell that I have to talk louder than I did in my 2011 Jetta tdi. It's night and day. I'll have to check out your comparison... Anyway, my biggest complaint is road and wind noise. To be completely honest I'm embarrassed when people ride with me and I have to hop on the highway. Second is the stereos sound quality. It's awful. I know we can replace the components for cheaper than buying an upgraded one preinstalled generally costs on a new car... But for the high price we pay we're getting hands down the worst car stereo I've ever heard. Third is handling. It can turn on a dime because it's small and has a great turn radius, but driving down the road I feel like I'm being thrown around the car and it wants to tip over haha. Fourth is overall interior quality. Cheap plastic materials overall. I never thought this would bother me, as I'd rather have a hard dash than soft, but the Cs interior scratches super easily. Plus the seats aren't very comfortable. I have full intentions of buying a much nicer car within the year without raising my monthly payment... Currently have no problem sacrificing gas mileage in exchange for a decently built car. It's sad though; I was so excited about my C when I first got it. Now I wish I had bought a used BMW instead. Same price for a 3 series (which I love the looks of) just terrible mileage in exchange for a much nicer car.
It only seems noisy because the car is so intrinsically quiet that it stands out so much more when you hear anything. That or you have bad seals. Maybe go test drive another car on the lot and see if it is the same. As far as the radio, the factory setup kind of sucked. I went in and changed the trebble and bass settings around until I found the spot I liked. This changed the sound drastically. Can't comment on handling or road "wobble" as I am coming from a 2001 Saturn SC2 which was all plastic and I don't know what you previously drove. That car would turn on a dime and it was so low to the ground it would do it at higher speeds. I haven't noticed too much of a difference in the PC. Check your tire pressure, you may be running it too high which will cause a "drifting" feeling. But it definitely won't feel like a BMW when cruising. I'm going to agree here about the cheapness of the interior. My saturn was better quality and that should be all I need to say, but I will throw out that I think the softex interior is better quality than the cloth... but that's just me.
Got my Prius C 2 weeks ago. My only issue so far is that the rear windshield wiper is very short and perhaps could accomodate a slightly longer blade. Unfortunately it is also offset for right hand drivers like those in Japan which makes it pretty much useless. Go figure...
Most frequent comment I get from people travelling in my car for the first time: "It's so quiet!" Hardly embarrassing when people are amazed by it.
I noted that it's loud specifically when it's on the highway. Driving around town I have gotten that remark as well, but once you hit 60mph + the noise is awful. Driving at 75mph, as I often do when all our interstate speed limits are now 70, is unbearable.
Take another look at your dash (as I did driving to work this morning). The hump is neither centred nor symmetrical... so they do have to produce LHD and RHD versions. Surrylic, re the freeway noise... I drive 110 km/h (68 mph)... it's not noisy - and some of the comments are made on those drives. Seriously, there's got to be something different with our vehicles.
I'm wondering if something isn't wrong with "your" car. Mine doesn't have an issue and doesn't overpower my radio on a low setting even when travelling at 75. Might be worth looking into a test drive with another car to see if they are the same or not.
You are right. I, for some reason, was thinking that there was a split at the end of the center piece. Upon further review, I'm not sure what I was remembering.
I don't like the styrofoam packing around the spare tire. I can't imagine that is going to be durable. Why not give the PriusC what the Yaris has: a nice solid plastic lid. Plus, the Yaris has a pair of handy storage trays in the spare tire compartment, too.
