Another first drive, another review, but not just any Prius

I was starting to feel ike a deadbeat dad. Due to a couple mishaps I brought upon myself, my 2010 Winter Grey Prius had been sitting on the lot at Jim Barkley Toyota in Asheville, NC for a whole week. It was disoriented, cold and alone, locked up in an unfamiliar dealership lot. My Prius probably thought that no one wanted to drive it, that no one cared about it enough to take it home. But tonight was the night. I finally picked up my brand spankin' new 2010. The buying experience at Jim Barkley Toyota could not have been better. Aaron Sumner, Sales Manager at Jim Barkley, made sure everything ran smooth as silk. As soon as I showed up, I saw my beautiful 2010 parked out front in the shade and Aaron was at the front door waiting to greet me. While I played around in the car with Tim, the Delivery Manager, Aaron handled all of the paperwork inside. As soon as the papers were ready, I walked into the finance office and about 3 minutes later the car was mine. Seriously, I could have been in and out of there in 10 minutes if I hadn't been interested in showing off what a know-it-all I am with this car. I was very happy to see that my Prius only had 4 miles on it when I sat down. The folks at Jim Barkley obviously kept my pre-sold car to the side so that no one drove it. Big kudos to them for that. My 2010 Winter Grey Prius is a Model IV with the Solar Roof package. The car also came with pin-striping (which I think looks fantastic) and the rear bumper protector that is currently only available in the Southeast and Gulf State regions (we'll have it in the PriusChat Shop soon!). I actually had the bumper applique on my 2006 and was very happy with the way it looked and performed, and so far I am also very happy with the look and increased durability of the 2010 bumper protector. We live about 35 miles away from the part of Asheville where Jim Barkley Toyota is located, so I had a nice trip home to get a feel for the car and see what kind of mileage I could get while "Danny-miling". Overall, I am very pleased with how the 2010 Prius has turned out. I didn't notice too many differences between my 2010 and the "pre-production" models that I drove during the Prius Media Preview event. Like I said in my earlier, in-depth review of the 2010, the build-quality of the 2010 is definitely on a higher scale than my 2006. During our 1,000 mile trip home from picking up my car in Chicago, I zeroed in on a couple of rattles/squeaks that had to be dealt with using some foam tape. So far I have heard nothing of the sort in my 2010. I'll report back after I put 1,000 miles or so on it, but I don't think the build of the dash lends itself to the rattles we hear in the Gen II model. The ride was quiet and the feel of the car is solid and responsive. I opened the vent portion of the sunroof about midway home since it was a cool evening and I wanted some fresh air. It was great to be able to have the fresh air coming through the A/C vents and be able to close the sunroof cover to limit the noise from the vented sunroof. It almost drowned out all the noise. We live basically on top of a mountain, and the 2010 handled the steep grade very well. It also took the corners on the wet road like a champ. I'm happy to report that the first 30 miles of driving resulted in an astonishing 60 MPG. It's astonishing since it was 90% highway speeds through rain and wet roads. The final 4 miles up the steep grade to our house cut into my 60 average, though, resulting in a final 52 MPG. Not bad for the first drive home without the aid of cruise control and inflated tires . First hour of driving Pros/Cons: Pros

• Solid Feel in handling and overall build quality
• Great MPGs
• Having a sunroof rocks, even when it's raining
• Sound system is better than I remember it being on the pre-production models. And it's still set to the factory defaults
• Looks good... real good
• VERY improved seats
• Telescoping steering wheel is a surprisingly awesome addition

Cons

• XM antenna doesn't seem to hold a signal as well as the Toyota OEM XM kit I installed in my 2006. Maybe it was just my mack-daddy installation skills, but I doubt it. The 2010 drops out. A LOT.
• I still really wish the HSI (Hybrid System Indicator) had a numerical instant MPG number. Going to have to rely on a ScanGauge for this.
• Cargo Mat looks cheap. It looks like I could fold it up and fit it in my pocket it's so flimsy. But it might tear so I won't do that.

Once again, a big shout out and thank you to the good people at Jim Barkley Toyota in Asheville, NC, especially Sales Manager Aaron Sumner. This is a dealership that really digs the Prius and wants to know all they can so they can help customers make informed decisions. They're the #1 Prius dealership for sales in the Southeast Toyota region for a reason. Plus they have the 2nd largest commercial solar panel system in Western North Carolina!

 

Yeah, it looks like the signal mirror installation should be as easy it was on the Gen II. Just pop off the mirror cover and do the wiring.

@yardman - Don't worry, I'll be taking it off soon. Just thought the dealership should get their recognition on PC.