Posted by Michelle Steiner on October 10, 2004, 8:44 pm
> Have you tried the method of adjusting mirrors they described on Car
> Talk? It works pretty well in my Saturn, which had a nasty blind spot
> behind me and to the left.
I discovered that method years ago; the problem is that it leaves a
blind spot (on some cars) from the time it moves out of sight of the
side view mirror and into direct view.
--
Stop Mad Cowboy Disease: Vote for John Kerry.
Posted by Fustanella on October 13, 2004, 6:46 pm
It went very well - the Prius handles nicely, accelerates well getting on
the highway, the in-dash display is intuitive and not as distracting as I
thought it might be, and I could barely tell when the gas engine cut in and
out. The only thing that stood out as annoying was the limited
rearview-mirror visibility; I prefer to have more of a view as to what's
coming up on me.
Unfortunately, the three cars they had on the lot contained unwanted option
packages putting them in the $4k range, and they confirmed there's no way
of installing just the onboard satellite navigation short of the $k
all-inclusive accessory package, so I walked. I just couldn't justify the
added expense - the base model price was pushing it, and my treat was to be
the sat nav, not the other things I have no interest in.
They promised to call me if a base model Prius turns up in their allocation,
and I'll consider it if I can find an elegant sat-nav solution.
Posted by Dirty Old Man on October 14, 2004, 12:46 am
I bought a 2004 with the #4 option package. I use a handheld Magellan
Meridian Gold for navigation purposes.Works well for me.
Alan
wrote:
>It went very well - the Prius handles nicely, accelerates well getting on
>the highway, the in-dash display is intuitive and not as distracting as I
>thought it might be, and I could barely tell when the gas engine cut in and
>out. The only thing that stood out as annoying was the limited
>rearview-mirror visibility; I prefer to have more of a view as to what's
>coming up on me.
>Unfortunately, the three cars they had on the lot contained unwanted option
>packages putting them in the $4k range, and they confirmed there's no way
>of installing just the onboard satellite navigation short of the $k
>all-inclusive accessory package, so I walked. I just couldn't justify the
>added expense - the base model price was pushing it, and my treat was to be
>the sat nav, not the other things I have no interest in.
>They promised to call me if a base model Prius turns up in their allocation,
>and I'll consider it if I can find an elegant sat-nav solution.
Posted by Steve on October 14, 2004, 3:12 am
That's what they want you to believe. I installed a Kenwood KNA-DV3100 =
with the
8" touch screen in my '04 with the Package 7. It's a full-featured touch
screen, voice activated DVD-based GPS navigation system. The screen goes=
where
the plastic hinged door that covers the compartment right below the =
radio. I
have about $500 in the Nav and display, and it cost $00 to get it =
installed.
It works FAR BETTER than the Toyota OEM version in the Prius.
An added bonus is that since it uses a separate screen, I can keep the
consumption display up at the same time I am using the Nav.
You can see the pictures here:
http://tinyurl.com/663pq
Hope that helps.
Steve
together some random words that came up with:
>It went very well - the Prius handles nicely, accelerates well getting on
>the highway, the in-dash display is intuitive and not as distracting as I
>thought it might be, and I could barely tell when the gas engine cut in and
>out. The only thing that stood out as annoying was the limited
>rearview-mirror visibility; I prefer to have more of a view as to what's
>coming up on me.
>Unfortunately, the three cars they had on the lot contained unwanted option
>packages putting them in the $4k range, and they confirmed there's no way
>of installing just the onboard satellite navigation short of the $k
>all-inclusive accessory package, so I walked. I just couldn't justify the
>added expense - the base model price was pushing it, and my treat was to be
>the sat nav, not the other things I have no interest in.
>They promised to call me if a base model Prius turns up in their allocation,
>and I'll consider it if I can find an elegant sat-nav solution.
Posted by Fustanella on October 14, 2004, 11:32 am
> That's what they want you to believe.
They were quite willing to consider an integrated idea, and were open to
aftermarket options - they just didn't know of any offhand that met my
requirement that it use the existing display, which hamstrung them. I didn't
feel any pressure from them to go with their system.
Thanks for the tip on the Kenwood. I'll give that serious thought.
> Talk? It works pretty well in my Saturn, which had a nasty blind spot
> behind me and to the left.