So, I've been looking for a new/newer car and I was kind of disappointed that you couldn't get the Prius Three with the radar-cruise control unless you spent over $30k Well, Toyota has changed things up. The dynamic radar cruise control is now STANDARD across the lineup! That's so incredible! That means you can get an Two ECO with the fancy cruise control.
Is this for the 2016 or 2017 Prius that now has standard dynamic radar cruise control ? Also did the base price for each Prius model now increase to compensate for this now standard feature?
I just did not think that Toyota would offer this as a free standard feature over the 2016 Prius. The extra $500 bucks, in this case, more than pays for Toyota installing this now standard option of radar cruise control while on the assembly line. Good marketing move for Toyota...
Definitely a good thing to have across every Prius level. I just checked Toyota's web site. They have Toyota Safety Sense (C/P) depending on vehicle. Toyota Corolla IM gets the 'C' while the standard Corolla gets the 'P'; the 'P' version includes the DRCC (dynamic radar...). Toyota grouped who gets what by small cars and large cars though I'm not quite seeing the consistency. http://www.toyota.com/safety-sense/#features-by-vehicle
And you'd have one towed away if it showed up in your garage? You don't actually have to use the DRCC or any cruise control. The price adder for the safety tech on the cars just seems reasonable for all that tech that will eventually be mandatory (I expect) and one does not have to purchase the higher end models just to have access to the tech. I would love to see the Heads Up Display make it into all levels.
DRCC is nice to have in the kind of stop and go traffic we have here, although it seems to be rather aggressive on the braking. Doesn't matter which distance level you have selected, it feels like it's jamming on the brakes. I prefer a more subtle braking so I can keep momentum. It just doesn't feel particularly smooth. That being said, it's darned handy in bumper to bumper traffic when I'm going to work.
Bill, I'd probably keep it, lol. But if I'm paying for it , I want to have a choice. So radar cruise control is a "safety device" ? Hmmmm.
Not exactly, though I can think of some ways it can save you (if you're a CC user). The point is really that the underlying safety tech (radar,lidar,sonar,cameras,etc.) are the costly bits and once there, it is a cheap addition to turn CC into DRCC or any other type of smart CC. So don't think of the DRCC as a $500 add-on that you would have to pay for just to get a 2017 Prius, but a cost-effective way to get all the other "nanny" tech that IS safety related. And the costs should come down further with time though we may not actually see it as consumers.
It's not exactly a safety device, however it can be useful when you're on the highway and you're cruising along and the traffic isn't keeping an exact steady pace. It's been used on higher models over in Europe for many years and I distinctly remember Jeremy Clarkson loving it!
Certainly! It makes napping as you drive much more feasible, especially when combined with lane-keeping assist.
