Toyota’s 3rd-Gen Prius Has More Tech Than The Death Star
I’ve spent most of today with the folks at Toyota checking out their new 3rd-Gen Prius. And if you think this is just a car for hippies and smug environmentalists, you’re very wrong – this is a gadget fan’s dream.
There’s way too much tech built into the Prius for a single post here on Giz. There are over 1000 new patents for this generation of the hybrid vehicle alone. But here are some of the cooler features anyway:
* Keyless entry with a touch sensitive handle that locks and unlocks your car. The key fob (which ironically doesn’t have any keys) uses radio frequency to let you start the car. If you try and lock the car with the keys still inside, the car will beep at you like roadrunner.
* The HUD. That’s right, there’s a HUD which makes monitoring your speed simple. It also lets you monitor how economically you’re driving, and if you happen to be in the i-Tech model, will also indicate where to turn when you’re using the satnav. Awesome.
* Auto reverse parking. Press a button when you want to park, and the car will use its sensors to park the car for you. There’s something really frickin’ freaky about watching the steering wheel turn by itself as the car reverses into a parking space.
* The solar panels on the roof of the car automatically control a fan in the car which maintains an optimal internal temperature. So you can leave your car in the sun in the middle of the Simpson desert, but when you hop in, it will be a pleasant ambient temperature (or at least cooler than outside). You can even start the AC from the remote if you want to cool the car down.
I’ll be getting a car to drive around for a few days next week, so stay tuned for further in-depth coverage of the tech inside the car. In the meantime, the new Prius is set to launch next week for a starting price of $39,900, which is actually cheaper than the original starting price for the 1st gen Prius.
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Comments
wow, that sounds pretty cool actually.
is it still the ugliest car in the world tho?
“it will be a pleasant ambient temperature (or at least cooler than outside).”
Fans cool air below ambient temperature? Since when?
since nevar. But it will be cooler than outside because there will be no sun directly on you AND the airflow will evaporate you sweats and makes you more chilleh :D
lol Matt… why do you ask a question you already know the answer to?
The most disturbing thing, besides looks, is a car that parks for you. With all the whinging about people not being taught proper driving it seems they’ve just given up. Sure, some people really are just useless, but more tech means lazier people and ultimately, more stupid.
Compare, if you will, the Windows OS. With each new offering, they try to find new and ingenious ways to bloat it for stupid people, so they don’t have to think to work things out. The more tech, the greater the number of potential problems that can occur.
Sometimes, I think less is best. So much tech = a lot of distractions for the driver. Sadly, gone are the days when you’d turn off the wireless, wind the windows down and just be content with the happy thumping of a big V8… well, some of us still enjoy it :) To each their own.
I vote you don’t do many detailed descriptions of all the tech… Just give us pictures :)
Some of the cooler features have been around for decades in German cars. I would know, I own one.
Genius analogy, Kif. I take it you’ve used W7 and prefer Win95.
Deadset.
Notice he used the term “gone are the day’s when you’d turn off the wireless”. He’s just miffed it doesn’t offer a built-in gramophone. He also can’t figure out what to do with the chaff bag.
And to Steve, we all know about the marvels of German engineering but it is usually the Japanese that makes it affordable and brings it to the masses.
Win95? What’s wrong with 3.0? What did Win95, or 98 do that 3.0 didn’t? Oh, that’s right… it did all the same things but used more memory and space to achieve it cause it looked prettier and was bloated with help files and crap. It still ran all the same software, and that’s all we need an OS to do. I personally, never had an issue with DOS.
The only real advance I can see (feel free to correct me) is the jumps from 16 to 32 and now 64 bit, plus faster graphics capabilities.
XP still provides all this, yet we have Vista and the impending Windows 7 due in October (still available in 32 or 64 bit, whichever your choice) and why? What do the new OS’s offer over the old? Gimmicks is all I can see.
BTW, Windows 8 is already in production before the release of Windows 7.
Nick Broughal says:
“The key fob (which ironically doesn’t have any keys)”
No, it still has a key, it’s just hiding inside the fob. That’s for when the battery goes flat (in either the fob or the car). Not very ironic, eh?
“if you happen to be in the i-Tech model, will also indicate where to turn when you’re using the satnav. Awesome.”
Satnav is also an option in the base. Get your facts right, sheeezzz…