AWD with technology package??

I was wrong, and you are right!

You have no idea how glad I am that we have had this conversation. 3-door smart key lock/unlock was the main reason that I paid the extra money for the XLE instead of the LE, because I really grew dependent on it in my 2006 Prius. And then it has kind of been a sore point with me for these past 4 months. Because the lock button is really difficult to find! On the 2006, they had the same style lock button in all 3 places, so once you learned it in one place, it was extremely obvious how to find it in the other 2 places. I have no experience with the Gen 3, so maybe that's when they screwed it up. When I got the 2019, I noticed the new lock non-button on the driver and passenger doors. Even though this was different from what I had become used to after 13 years, it was immediately obvious that the new design took the place of the old one. And it didn't bother me that it wasn't a button, because the new non-buttons are (very slightly) easier than the old button. But, for the rear door, the new button is (a) different from what I was used to after 13 years of really enjoying this feature in my old Prius, (b) different from what I had (very easily) learned in a few seconds, about the other two doors on the 2019, (c) hidden in a place where you would not easily discover it if you didn't look very carefully at the diagram in the owner's manual.

Now, if I could only figure out a solution to that spare tire thing ... (I am absolutely serious about this: if I could so much as figure out some way to put in a spare tire, at my own expense, then l won't feel like I had to sacrifice an important feature from the 2006 Prius in order to get all the very significant features and improvements in the 2019 XLE AWD-e.)

Lew

 

Hey, I had my 2010 for a year or two before I noticed the second glove box.

I think the long term solution for the spare tire omission is to not buy such models. It's the only thing that'll make 'em see sense.

(Google the underlined for a great Mott the Hoople song.)

 

Trouble is - most manufacturers have gone the same route, except for the Euros who put on ridiculously expensive and impractical RunFlats.