White Prius V 5 joined our 2010 Prius last night- they seem happy together in the garage. The V is really quite nice- much quieter than the Prius and really drives so well.... I must say that all the added technology is fun, but maybe just too complex- that's progress. But the decision on the V was right!
I have never been in a Prius hatchback but I am very happy with the noise levels in my Prius v. My benchmark with respect to noise is my Camry XLE V6 that I drove before the Prius v - and that was a very quiet car. I find that the Prius v is no more noisy than the Camry. With respect to complexity: I work in the software industry so I am used to dealing with complex things. I spent some time this weekend studying the Hybrid Synergy Drive. The more I read about it, the more impressed I am with what Toyota has created. I find it just mind boggling that there is no clutch or torque converter. Mechanically, the HSD is actually a lot simpler than a conventional automatic transmission. Much of the complexity has been transferred to the HSD control system. In other words, clever software is doing the work of complex hardware (in conventional cars).
Great comments about the drive system which I love since it's so seamless. I wasn't clear. I was actually talking about the complexity of the nav/entune/sound system. Digging through menus is not so great when driving... We'll learn what we need as we go. But the driving is so nice... The one we got was the third at our dealer. We had the first deposit, but the car turned out to be a 3, so we waited for the 5. But the 3 is still sitting on the lot after two weeks. The dealer said that people want leather (Softex). They can install real leather for $1400, but so far, no takers.
