My new Silver 2010 IV

Got my new 2010 Silver package IV Prius yesterday. It was a long day that started at 4AM with me getting to the airport, and ending at 8:20PM with me arriving home after a 604mile drive home from Chicago and Pauly Toyota Big thanks to Jeff Balcer that made this possible. Jeff communicated the status of the car at regular intervals and made himself available in case I had any questions. He also picked me up at the airport and gave me a ride to the dealership. Thanks again Jeff for making the whole process as easy as it was.

Initial impressions
* The car looks more sporty than the 2008 I test drove. This is what made me go for the 10. The lack of the Nav screen is not loss to me.
* I love the MID and fond that the ECO monitor display was my favorite.
* I love the “flying buttressâ€, the armrest is awesome. The lower area beneath the buttress is great for charging the phone, or in this case the plug for the GPS I borrowed.
* The Bluetooth is great and works wonderfully. Love that it auto mutes the radio and is voice recognition
* Touch tracer – very cool GUI, the whole MID is great
* Interior: the texture on the top of the dash, and steering wheel is very elegant .. .like sand dunes … classy. The “Brushed†graphite color of the radio and A/C is slick especially the flush buttons and the gentle swoop around the shifter.

After driving it 600+ miles: (long story short)
* The driver’s seats was not meant for long trips I played with the lumbar support, moved the seat forwards, backwards, up and down. Thank goodness my trip is only 9 miles to and from
* The door armrest is lower than on my old car and will take some getting used to. Not bad, just different as the way I like to sit is to let my knee rest on the door, and it now rests on the corner of the door rest.
* ECO mode – um no. This is nuts and I don’t like having to mash the pedal to go. I was mistaken into thinking I needed to press one of the mode buttons so I left it in PWR mode for half the trip. As it turns out, I just need to leave it in normal (ie no mode), the car will go into the most appropriate mode anyway.
* This AM, my wife decided she wanted the wheel covers off, so they are off. I don’t care either way.
* Road noise is a lot less than my old Acura … love it.
* Overall, I love the car, the look, the tech, and the MPG. It was worth the trouble of flying and driving it home, and I’d do it again. I love the silence of the electric motor.

Status:
I averaged 49.8MPG on the way home. I was going anywhere from 65 to 80 (with the flow of traffic) never staying at any speed too long per Jeff and what I’ve read on here. I stopped and got gas with 2 pips left. I got 8.9 gallons of gas (a little over $19 at $2.29/gal) and had traveled about 442miles (from memory).
Update: I forgot to mention I left the A/C on Auto at 73 F. Windows stayed up the whole time.

Open items:
1. Unfortunately I didn’t think about Illinois being a two plate state and Pauly had already installed the front holder. When I removed it this AM, I was greeted with two ¼†holes drilled/screwed into the front bumper. Looking for suggestions to “plug†these
2. After removing the wheel covers, there is a center 2†hole with a screw end visible. Make the rim look unfinished so looking for ideas there too. Right now I’m considering milling some caps, but if there is an after market cap I’ll save myself the trouble.

The image is from inside looking at the car right before I took it for a test drive and before they "cleaned it up". After the drive home, I have some bug removal before I can post any new ones BTW, this is a camera phone pic.

 

Well, I got the idea from another forum. Just need to go get some touch up paint to match. BTW, this is a very light Silver ... almost looks white.

Used a razor blade to trim them so it's a tight friction fit. Used 220 and 600 grit sandpaper. Will prime then paint with matching touch up paint. Autozone didn't have the Duplicolor to match. 3 panel fasteners were were $2.50 with tax.

Jay

 

Well, after my 13 hour rest, I drove the car today. The seats are good for about 2 hours At least that when I just had to pull over and stretch my lower back. But there is no doubt my old Acura and my Volvo have far superior seats.

What I can say is the leather is perforated and I never got sweaty. But I did have the A/C on 73 so ... Oh but the headrest ... yuck. Like a hard triangular wedge poking the back of my skull. It helped to raise it (I have a long torso) but not by much ... Acura spoiled me

Any thanks everyone for their comments. I did give it a bath today but then it started to rain so more will have to wait

FWIW,
Jay

 

Well, I skipped lunch and didn't eat dinner until 6PM or so It was the pain in my lower back that made me stop ... not fatigue. But like I said, the seats are comfortable for daily commutes. As for my bladder, it wasn't until I drank that bottle of water that Jeff gave until nature called and hour later ... lol.

Mr Whit, I spent a few hours looking at all the options out there. I never came across the link you provided. Thank you.

Jay