As much as the ‘80s deserves to die, a part of it will live on in the Toyota Prius' dashboard. Yes, horror of horrors, the Prius packs digital displays, just when it looked like this idea had been buried for good. Off to the right sits a stereo that stares at you with a blank face; its controls have been relegated to the touch-screen above it. That screen also houses the climate control system, which could have easily been placed in the vast empty space beneath the stereo. The arrangement calls for a distracting need to button-push your way between menus for simple tasks like adjusting fan speed. Apparently, the whole efficiency theme didn't spread to the ergonomics department. Traditional Toyota thinking would have worked better here.
The stereo doesn't sound so great either, but then, who needs passive pleasures when there's interactive entertainment on board? That touch-screen panel has a third function, which is to show you everything your car is doing, and it spends plenty of time doing it. You can watch the two motors hand off to each other and watch the frequent switching from power-feeding to recharge mode. Miles-per-gallon is monitored in real time, letting a driver learn how his driving habits impact the bottom line. Shoot for the high score! Hmm, can you still feel good about saving the environment when it's fun?
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