Now 3 days into having owned and driven a Prius (Black '06 Pkg #3). Still have to go over all the functions and features that this loaded car has to offer. I am truly impressed (and so are a few of my friends) by the technology and all the features that make this car really stand out. I even got a few heads turning around to look at my baby while i was driving her through this little town yesterday. There are other Prii in this town, but no black one before this one. However, i did observe something that struck me as odd. My previous car was a 95 Honda Accord LX. Whenever one of the doors (or the trunk lid) was open, it would show which one was actually open on the dash. (the little car sign would light up with a line pointing in the position of the door that was actually open). But the Prius only shows a door ajar sign when any door is open. Does not show which specific one is open. I know it is not an important feature, and i am not complaining. Just wondering out aloud as to why one of the most advanced cars in the world does not incorporate this tiny feature, which was found in Honda cars even 10 years ago. Anyone has a clue ?
My 1990 Ford Probe had something called a "System Scanner." It was a readout that said things like SYSTEMS NORMAL, or HEADLAMP OUT, or BRAKE LAMP OUT, or WASHER FLUID LOW, or DOOR OPEN or HATCH OPEN. I'm afraid there are a lot of things on cars that we used to have that the Prius, for all its high tech, doesn't . However, I'm willing to give those up for the Prius.
Ditto I am very happy with the car. I used to always prefer the silent ride in Toyotas, as compared to Hondas. But this car, it just beats everything else.
That one really got me. I backed out of a parking space and when I shifted to D I got beeps, buzzes and flashing warnings as will as the fatal triangle of death. It took two more trys before I noticed the door ajar sign and was able to proceed.
Our Sienna has that and I really like it. Washer fluid seems to run out just after some truck splashes salt mud all over your windshield at 65mph! :blink: I think the issue with the Prius is real estate. If you get the light just right, you can see the layout of all the indicators and, if you add in the magic parking genii and the EV indicator that are included in the EU and/or JP models, there's not a whole lot of space left. The "instrument cluster" area on these cars is pretty small. That being said, it might make some sense if they incorporated some of these status indicators on the screen. The stereo volume slips a little bar down from the top to tell you what you just changed... that would make a nice "reminder" feature if you pulled the washers and the fluid was low... B) ...just daydreaming...
That's just Honda. Honda and Audi are the two companies (just off the top of my head) that uses a pictogram. I think VW's in there too. Anyway, Toyota's hasn't caught up in this area yet. They have it on their Lexus line though.
