Hi all, In less than 12 hours I'll be heading with my Prius 2000 km (1242 miles) north-east to Geneva to see the new European Prius 2010. I'm accepting pertinent questions from you guys to Toyota reps there, assuming I can get someone who understands about the car, just like our friend Bob Wilson did for Detroit. If you have unanswered questions or forgotten questions from Detroit, this might be the opportunity to clear them out. Please let me know within the next 10 hours.
Do we have to have all that extra electronic crap, or can I have a basic car? I just want something to commute to and from work. I know how to park, I don't normally need navigation equipment, I keep a safe distance from the car in front, it's not very foggy in the UK normally and even when it is, front fogs don't do much. With the energy displays moved next to the speedometer, I won't be looking down as much, so no need for HUD. If the answer to the above is 'no', when is the hybrid Auris or Yaris coming out?
I think it's inconceivable that they won't offer it without navigation. And if you don't have the navigation, you don't get the touchscreen. The HUD appears to be standard though.
Has regenerative braking improved (i.e. we can brake harder before the friction brake pads activate or it can recapture more energy)??
Get hold of a Toyota engineer who is familiar with the development of the new Gear-pack that is located between MG1 and MG2, and ask him for the gear ratios or gear-tooth count for the Power Split Device (PSD) and the Speed Reduction Unit (SRU), both of which are planetary gear sets. We will then have some idea of the relative step gearing for both motor/generators. See attached.
