2010 Prius Driving Impressions DISCUSSION Thread

III vs. V. My son has a gen. 3-III. I drove it for a day on his delivery route, and found the electric steering required constant correction, especially with freeway driving. The ride was good, a nice balance between smooth and firm, especially for a small car, but the cornering was sort of like steering a sailboat. I test drove a red V with 17“ wheels and that was the car for me. The electric steering is quicker, and although it doesn’t self-center like rack-&-pinion, it maintains a straight line, and requires only a little ‘nudging’ to keep a true course. My gen. 2 Honda Fit’s electric steering is better than the III’s, but not up to the V’s. I ended up buying the demo V unit at a discount, and I am adjusting (using my ‘09 5-speed manual Fit Sport w/nag.,. now discontinued, as a contrasting driving experience.) The Prius’s CVT, the rolling forward without gas, and the aggressive brakes of the ‘09 V kind of un-nerved me both on the twisties, and in aggressive city expressway driving. I have learned to compensate by putting the V in the power mode, and in driving in the ‘B’ shift position when required. It is like having a turbo available without the turbo delay, and using engine breaking like a manual tranny. Yes, the 17’ wheels ride is harsher than a II w/15†wheels (the suspension also seems to be different too), but the wheels go where you point them, and pointing them is quick and predictable. Other pluses are the instrumentation, interior lighting, back-up camera, back seat room. But on the other hand, minuses include limited luggage space for a hatch, crowded cockpits feeling for long trips, narrow windshields view, tinny sounding doors, limited steering wheel adjustment, poor FM reception, lack of side mirror turn indicators, dash rattles, front seats need a little more cushion and depth. Like any new car review, you ask a 100 people, and you will get 100 different opinions, and this is only one view- mine. The gas mileage is a very big plus, along with the gen. III improvements, make the gen. 3-V an attractive ride.

 

I have the Prius V. It's beautiful but has a MUCH ROUGHER RIDE than my 2006. why is that?

 

Also if you had Goodyear tires, those are very soft.

Is there a possibility you ran less air pressure before than you do now?
I actually feel like my 2010 has a much better ride than my 2006's.

When you say "rough" its hard to know if your talking about all the subtile bumps of the pavement under the tires or the actual suspension.

My 2010 feels much more luxury feeling than my 2006.

Hard to describe what I mean other than everything is tighter, quicker, and it glides over bumps rather than taking them hard.

Funny how we get used to a certain feel.

 

Thank you. Very balanced review. I have noticed rattles from the dash starting up on cold mornings (V), but they go away. Negatives, which are slight, don't outweigh the fun, economy and ecological benefits of the car. I have read the entire owner's manual, but am still nervous about trying out the parking assist on the advanced technology package. The salesman had not tried it himself. I am waiting for a demonstration from him.

 

This could indicate an alignment problem, it should be done under warranty. I think most Gen3 Prius, regardless of package, do not behave that way.

 

Recently drove 1400 miles on I-10 and I-20 to PHX, Steering was spot on. Check the alignment.

 

Ok I have to get my soapbox out again; Why oh why would the III have different steering than the V?! They are all the same!! I think the previous poster wanted the V over the III and needed some false justification for it. Its all in the head.
Ok I'll get off my soapbox now.

 

If you are saying that the II through IV have the same steering as the V you are wrong. The II through IV models have a 17.6:1 ratio; the V has a 14.6:1 ratio. That means the V has a different rack and pinion which give it about 2.75 turns lock to lock where as the other three models have about 3.75 turns lock to lock. The V also has a newer type brushless steering motor which is a little more powerful to accommodate the faster steering ratio and wider tires.

 

Really?! That seems odd and inefficient for the manufacturer to put a different steering assembly into the same car just a higher model.

 

I don't really know the reason, one could speculate that it might have had something to do with the wider tires and/or the LKA option. I do like it though, IMHO the quicker steering makes the car more enjoyable to drive, a bit more like my old BMW but at close to twice the mileage.

 

Ok I guess I owe the poster an apology, should've done more research. Still waiting for our III with sunroof/nav pkg. Can't wait

 

"The geeks are knocking the audio system for its lack of iPod interfacing" a new word for the geeks "Bluetooth" which happens to work very well on my Prius. You can add a lot of Bluetooth devies. I have my iPhone and my wifes and if both are in the car you can select which one you want to use .

 

The 17" wheels give the Prius a more responsive steering. It handles like a sports car on a curvy road. I don't know if it is because of the 17" wheels but I just found out yesterday that it handles very good on snow covered roads as well.

 

In all due respect to the nit-pickers out there, I recently transitioned from a 2009 pkg. 6 to a 2010 V/atp and was blown away with the positives. The quiteness of the cabin, smoother ride, better steering and handling, roominess overall, more user friendly nav; including phone & audio. Also, it imparts a feeling of luxury. Now, why dwell on the negatives when the improvements are overwhelming!