2010 Toyota Prius Photos and release specs posted

Oh I missed that - awesome!!

 

Nice! I was thinking of recommending the 2010 to my mom, but up in Buffalo, she's been spoiled by cars with heated seats. The Prius may have been a hard sell without the heated seats. This is a big plus for cold climate sales!!

 

But why would they put the switch where it seems they put it???? Unless I'm seeing it wrong ...

 

Seat heaters are usless, unless you do not wear underwear, or gotta have cold leather. The micro-fiber cover on the standard Prius is just great in cold weather.

I want a steering wheel heater.

Did they put in fully adjustable drivers seat at least ?

 

Well I love it and knew I would. I can see however, that I will have to obtain a set of the european mirror covers with the turn signal indicators in them. I think that is a nice improvement to safety. I have them on my '05 and really appreciate them.

 

I was also hoping to see the Plug-in added to the 2010.
Are they waiting for the Lithium Ion battery?
There are Lithium Ion batteries in other cars. What are they using?

Also in moving the dash to the center of the car, won't the driver need to glance down and right, instead of just down?

 

It has a mechanical adjustment for seat bottom height/angle like the Corolla, and an electric adjustment for lumbar support.

 

yep, Jim is correct. adjustable driver's seat, and heated seats option. front seats only. telescoping steering wheel. not turn signals on the side view mirrors in the US. that pic is either a japanese model or a concept photo. I specifically asked that question this evening.

as to MSRP, they either dont know for sure, or were told not to say, but they wouldn.t say. probably because several things may change prior to release.

the controls on the steering wheel operate like an IPod, when you roll your finger around the dial, an image appears on the heads up display so you dont have to take your eyes off the road.

also, more powerful engine and better mileage. combined mileage of 50 mph. aJBL stereo no longer an upgrade, but standard, as is the keyless entry system, no longer any plug to put in your fob.

as well as auto locking doors. all in all, very impressive car. many upgrades. well worth the purchase, which is no doubt what everyone who was here is now contemplating.

 

Same battery as in the current model. In fact, that's the only major component of the drive system that isn't changing.

Having sat behind the wheel tonight, I don't think the offset of the display will be a big deal. It will take a little getting used to, but the tradeoff is having consumption and energy information (now on the MFD) on the same dash display, allowing key operational information to be closer to the driver's line of sight to the road.

 

I don't buy that. It is good to have all the display where the instrument panel meets the windshield. However, the display could have been in front of the driver instead of centered in the car. It is a case of form over function / style over ergonomics.

 

Some supplemental observations:

1. There will not be a Touring Edition, nor an option for a beefed up or tuned suspension.

2. Looking under the hood, it doesn't look like there's room for a strut tower brace.

3. The optional 17" wheels are nice looking. No covers or trim rings of any sort. I think the tires on them were 215/45/17. I think I saw two different tires on them - one made by Michelin and another by Bridgestone. Word is that the final tire hasn't been determined yet.

4. The standard 15" wheels are ugly. They have full covers. When the covers were removed, the wheels were even uglier. I think the tires on them were 195 width. Don't remember the aspect ratio. I think the brand tire I saw on them were Bridgestone.

5. The front seats were noticeably more comfortable with more lumbar support than the Gen II. And more importantly, in addition to the fuller range of adjustments (height, lumbar, tilt), the front seats slide around 3 or 4 inches further back than the Gen II, i.e., they slide as far back as a "normal" car. I always thought it weird that the rearmost range of the Gen II seats seemed about 3 or 4 inches shorter than any car of any size I can remember. With this longer rearmost track, plus the seat adjustments, plus the telescoping steering wheel, I think the driver's seat and driving position will be much more comfortable for many more people.

 

Yep, sat in one tonight that had the seat heaters on. boy was that toasty. I turned the seat heaters off. the button is on the dash, but hidden down by the 12v power outlet that is in that front middle seat area, underneath the center button cluster. Under the bridge, if you will.

 

I only saw the seat heaters on the leather-trimmed Prius.

There's the manual front/back track and the seat back forward/back, that already exists. There's a lever to raise/lower the seat now, as well. Optional is a power seat besides the manual controls. (driver's seat commentary)

 

That's not what I was told.

Base audio: 6 speaker, (not sure the number of CDs), Aux-in, satellite ready
JBL audio w/o Nav, 8 speaker, 6CD, w/Bluetooth
JBL audio with Nav, 8 speaker, 4CD, w/Bluetooth

 

The show cars we saw had on:

Bridgestone ECOpia EP20
P195/65R15
(I don't see this model listed on the US bridgestonetire.com website!)

Michelin Pilot MXM4
P215/45R17

 

The maximum tire pressure on the side wall is 40 PSI. The recommended PSI on the 15" model is 34 PSI front and 33 PSI rear.

 

Toyota has posted 22 photos of the instrument display permutations and not 1 photo showing the open driver's door, clearly proving they have indeed added the Much needed seat height adjuster to the driver's seat.

Toyota, can you give us a photo of an open driver's door showing the full driver's seat, please?

 

Yay!!!!!!!!!!! They have "Bum Warmers"!!! Wayne, this is good enough reason for us to get a new one now!! lol, just teasing ya!

 

I have to admit since I bought my new Mini Cooper S I haven't been driving the Prius much, but I still love "her" and these pics are "HOT"!! I love the new Prius! My goal is to sell my '06 in about 6-8 months and save up till maybe this time next year (or a little later- let them work some bugs out) and get this amazing new model! I am so excited!

 

They have the battery, but yes - the battery was the big hang-up, apparently. Or more accurately, the safety and durability was the hangup.

Other cars are using other batteries. :shrug:

Surprisingly, no. The important, must-have info is VERY handy.

You may then want to consider leasing to own that then. Because it is true. The info is in a very natural position.

Or the driver could have been centered in the car, but somehow we manage to see where we need to go - often by looking a bit right of center.

Not at all. The put the stuff where they did after extensive testing of exactly where driver eyeballs naturally land. Until you try it, there's no way to determine what works and what doesn't. I can tell you from my EV1 experience, that having info slightly inboard absolutely works.