2010 vs 2009 early comparisons

You really are a pain to please, aren't you.

I don't know why you had bad, medium and good -- I just had bad to good. Well, except for winter when it was bad, bad, still bad and "wow! is 45 MPG "Good" for winter?"

Without SKS, press the key fob twice, I believe, to unlock all doors.

With SKS, driver's door only, either open the driver's door and then press the "unlock" button on the inside driver's door, or program the SKS to unlock ALL doors as soon as you reach for the driver's side door handle.

With SKS, three doors, just go to the hatch, reach for the rubber-covered "latch" and press.

In any case, I believe you still can use the key fob, pressed twice in a row, to unlock all doors.

 

After the contacts sync are you able call them using voice? A friend of mine just got a Honda, and she could send her contacts to the onboard system, but needed to speak the contact name of anyone she wanted to have the system identify by voice.

Thanks for the brain dump!

Stephen

 

Overall, that's a pretty fair summary of what I've read posted here. Still, I'd like to make a couple of comments.

Please remember that among the real reviews you are getting there are from two of us with the Prius V. That car will be quite different in its handling characteristics, because it has 17" wheels and wider, low profile tires.

Also, I don't know what you mean by adding "better safety standards" to the list of 2010 pros. I don't know that the 2010 "scores" better in safety (some test results have not yet been announced).

I don't know that people have complained about the "awkward"-ness of the cupholders. My complaint is that I'd rather have a cupholder in the console as opposed to the gear knob.

Also, I don't know if there are too many controls, though there are enough buttons to make you wonder how to approach the thing! The placement issue really has to do with the heated seats button, and that only comes in to play with certain configurations having leather seats.

Overall, you are doing a commendable work thinking through the differences and seeking input on the value of the differences as you try to choose between the '09 and the 2010. Please keep up posted on your progress.

Very glad to hear you are test driving before buying!! See if you can test drive the touring models of the '09s. There is no such distinction in the 2010, but the earlier models, regardless of package number, came in regular and touring.

 

Do you notice the faster warm up cycle (due to exhaust heat recovery) or is it about the same since it is summer?

 

It may be too early to tell, but I was just thinking about it this morning as I was driving to my office. It seemed to me that I was getting a faster warm-up. I got a 99.9+ on minute 3!

 

Is the requirement to reach S4 still the same? Coolant Temp at 158 deg F and a complete stop (or < 7MPH without foot off the accelerator).

It seems that "bug" is gone. 99.9+ MPG on 3rd minute seems to indicate it.

 

Great comments by all and thanks for the initial impressions.

Yes this may be one of the biggest ( yuck ) improvements for the generally larger American public.

The iconic Prius was designed at the end of the century and early days of this decade, in Japan, with the expectation that most of the buyers would be in the JDM. As a result the vehicle was built to JDM driving expectations in both seat size and also in engine size/performance. the 1.5L engine in the Gen2 is very capable in congested city driving and moderate-speed highway driving over relatively short distances ( JDM ).

The immediate acceptance of the iconic Prius in NA and the overwhelming demand by Americans shocked everybody including the Toyota business planners and designers. However the iconic Gen2 doesn't fit us or our driving patterns as well as it fits the JDM market. Thus the new Gen 3 is designed for its largest market...North America.

The seating and steering wheel were immediate needs to be addressed for the generally larger Americans driving it. In addition since our highway driving is generally over longer distances and at higher sustained speeds the 1.5L engine in the Gen 2 is strained to its limit. The new 1.8L engine was added to match up better with the NA highway driving characteristics. Very smart engineering and marketing on both scores IMO.

 

Yes you can do this on any new Toyota with the BT system. Just go in and add a voice-tag to each number. 'Call Home', 'Call Work', 'Call Bill'.....but be commanding!

 

There are other specific threads on the tires and wheels, that boil down to the 17" should be more stable and give better cornering, but at the cost of a stiffer, less cushioned ride (due to their low profile). I have only driven the 17", so I can't compare. They seem to be performing as expected. They are riding smooth on the highway. On less smooth city streets, you do notice a certain stiffness in the way they seem to be reacting to all the little bumps, but the effect inside the car is very muted. In other words, you can indeed tell you are riding on a less cushiony tire, and tell they are hitting or reacting to a lot of little bumps, but because of the damping in the suspension, you really don't feel anything unpleasant in the cabin normally, and it always feels very muted and controlled. I don't mean to compare this car to a BMW, but it did remind me a little of riding on a stiff sports tuned suspension like a beamer. Maybe a priori can comment better than I can. I'd love to see the difference in the 15". Of course, the 17" also has the tigher turning ratio right now.

 

I can't tell you. It really seems like something has changed, though.

I could swear that I had a time yesterday or the day before when I turned the car back on after about a 10-minute stop, and the ICE just never started up until I put a real demand on it. I could be wrong, of course, but there was a very different feeling about the whole warm start-up experience.

 

Maybe you don't mean to make the comparison, but you just did!

No, they aren't in the same league, but now they're in the same game. As I've said, the V feels like a touring sedan. It does have some of that feel of a car meant for enjoyment in the "driving experience."

I'm not looking at fuel consumption when turning corners -- I'm feeling for the clutch and trying to find the stick! (OK, it is a little overdone, but believe me, if you drive a V, you'll see a BIG difference!)

 

Very, very big difference in wheels that size, as well as the tires on those wheels. Yes, you can do an after market change (it was done on the Gen2).

I can't comment on everything at the moment. Perhaps after you've completed your test drive and report on it, we can exchange a few more comments.

I don't know where you received your information about the 2009 having more space than the 2010, though. That info just can't be correct. As I recall, the 2010 has about 5cu.ft. more space than the 2009.

 

there is no "training" required. and it is pretty accurate. of the 150 contacts or so, i have called maybe a dozen on it so far and its worked perfectly. sometimes there will be more than one option on the screen, but what i say has always been the first one so far.

 

I live in Warsaw and bought a Prius IV. The 2009 does have a $1,000 rebate, but with so many new improvements in the 2010 it was a no brainer for me. I am most pleased with the seating and roominess. Many of my friends have asked to go for a test ride and all have commented to the room and the comformtable ride. I'm averaging 54 mpg overall to date. Still breaking it in.

The touch tracer was a little awkward at first, but now it works great! Hope this helps.

 

I believe you have to voice tag the contacts ... say you wanted to be able to voice dial "mom" you would have to go to the contact and record your voice saying "mom" and then it would recognize it later.

In the past I think you press the voice recognition button and then would say "Dial by name", then press it again and say "MOM".

 

no training...means no voice tag, nothing...

push button say "phone"
push button say "dial by name"
push button say "name of person"

now it will either say "say the number" (if more than one choice is available)

or push button say "dial" and we're done.

when i first loaded my contacts, i called about 7-8 people partly to test the voice system, the other to test the audio quality of the bluetooth... both passed with flying colors.


as far as what phish was talking about. you can still add personal "speed dials" and call them stuff. but there is only space for like 10 or 100... dont remember which...

ok its either 10 speed dials and 100 saved nav points or the other way around. either way, the 10 on either system seems very inadequate.