2010 Prius Photos - 102 of them!

Looking at the numbers, it seems pretty likely that the columns are

Tyres | ? | Expected proportion of vehicles | Mode | Europe | Old EPA | Current EPA

590L and 690N are the codes for the new and old Prius.

 

I have concerns over the placement of the speedometer display. Looks from the photos like it's in the middle of the dash rather than directly in front of the driver as it is now. This means that the driver will have to take eyes off the road to see it (look down/right).

 

Toyota is starting production of the 2010 Prius in April and expects to have vehicles in Dealer showrooms by May. The Insight and Prius should be in dealerships within a month of each other.

Honda picked 22-April to start selling the Insight because the 22nd is Earth Day.

 

So it looks like no LCD screen for models without park assist and/or backup camera

 

I'm not a big fan of this either. What was wrong with the way it is now?

 

Actually, the ratio represents 0.4%, not 4%. Basically, no difference at all. The table must be bad data, because there's no way that the ECO and POWER modes would result in essentially the same MPG.

 

I would expect all the modes to show similar mileage in EPA testing. My understanding of ECO is that is slows the throttle response to smooth the drivers inputs. ECO would have little effect in a EPA test where the throttle is computer controlled.

 

I read on the Toyota web site that the price list will be released shortly before the cars arrive in the dealerships. I am hoping I can afford a little more than the base model. I would love the moon roof with the solar panel but I have a feeling it will be packaged in the higher end models.

 

The chart is showing EU/ECE testing, and the issue there is more that all the acceleration in the test is very slow - slow enough that the mode selection won't make much of a difference. It won't be seeing any need to restrain the throttle response.

 

I got the Insight and Prius confused. The Insight has an ECON button:

"An "ECON" mode button (green, of course) makes it easier to score higher and improve fuel economy. Engaging it desensitizes the throttle pedal, re-optimizes the CVT and IMA control programs for thrift, increases the time that the air-conditioning compressor is disengaged and makes the cruise control less aggressive in sustaining speed. In short, the Insight becomes more sluggish."

Looking at the Toyota Press Release is says the ECO Mode "helps the driver achieve their best mileage." No mention of how it does this.

"There is also a Power Mode, which increases sensitivity to throttle input for a sportier feel"

 

That difference is 0.42%, not 4.2%!

 

I'm pretty sure those are not current Prius CE numbers on that last line (690N).

In that table the City consumption for City is always better on all lines in those columns. In Europe the city cycle is always worse than the others.

Official numbers presently are 5/4.2/4.3 for Urban/Extra-Urban/Mixed test cycles.
That first column could never be higher in MPG than the other two for the EC MPG values.

 

A friend of mine has a 1999 Honda and another friend has a 2001 Volvo. The Honda has "power" and "winter" buttons next to the gear shift, and the Volvo has "power" and "economy" buttons next to the gear shift. With both vehicles, the "power" button delays upshifts and is quicker to downshift. The opposite modes upshift sooner and delay downshifts (unless the accelerator is stomped on (emergency)). Considering your quote above about "Power Mode," it sounds like the new Prius AND Insight do the same thing as previous vehicles. "It has long been known that..."

 

Whew! That was exhausting, I'll post better/more after a good nite's snooze:



But as many there said, "needless to say" . . . it was great.



Back to work, for a 3 day work week.

 

I grabbed the hi-res versions, I was just wondering why so many
different variants were floating around by midday Monday. Like
someone actually put work into it...
.
_H*

 

Sorry to be late...

2nd: tyres
3rd: number of vehicles sale
4th: expected proportion of vehicles sale
5th: mode
6th: raw data
7th: current label data (adjusted to old EPA?)
8th: simple label data (adjusted to new EPA?)

Ken@Japan

 

Tells you something about the aerodynamics of the Echo I guess.

 

We spent a good part of the day at the Auto Show (just before we arrived in time for the PDC Prius event) and we had a good chat with the Prius Chief Engineer as well. Among the many questions we asked him (MG RPM and EV at a higher speed, etc) we queried him on the Eco mode on what it truly does.
He stated (And I have him on HD video) that the Eco button causes a 15% reduction of power on the ICE in order to accomplish the desired FE effect.

I've been posting some of the videos on Youtube which includes footage from the auto show as well as footage captured at the Tuesday PDC event.

Cheers;

MSantos