My 2010 Prius Test Drive!!!

Hi everyone,
I just came back from a wonderful test drive of the 2010 Prius. WHAT A TREAT! The car was amazing at the autoshow, but driving it was something else.

The HSD system is so much improved over the current Prius. The responsiveness is so immediate. The startup delay is near instantaneous versus the current or my THS system. Smoothness was never the 1.8L claim to fame, and while very smooth, still exhibited a bit of "gruffness" when accelerating. However, the sound is very similar to our 1.5L, smooth and unobtrusive. I was suprised to feel the familiar startup jolt, it seems a bit more pronounced than mine or current Prius', but given how quickly it now starts, I didn't mind. PWR mode has to felt to be believed. In regular mode the 2010 Prius feels very similar to our Prius, that is smooth and fairly peppy. Push the PWR button, and you realize that button should be labbeled Dr. Jeckyl and MR. HYDE!!! Wow, very suprising burst of acceleration, the whole car comes alive. Enough to snap my head back. I would say the 10 second 0-60 time is conservative.... by a bit.

The roominess and seat comfort are milestones for Toyota. Being 6 ft, its difficult to get a good seating position in most cars. My Prius being no exception. This 2010 Prius addresses this issue in spades. Very supportive and comfortable.

The EV Mode was pretty cool, and boy is that new motor torquey!! I climbed up hills that would have challenged my Prius, this one seemed like it was doing it effortlessly. Very nice. Good for up to 45 km/h.

Last but not least is handling. What a HUGE improvement in this area. Where my Prius is responsive, but poor in road feel, and the current Prius is similar, this one actually has heft and some road feel. Compared to my in-law's 2009 Camry SE, this is WAY better. It carved through some tight corners with confidence, that would have left my and current Prius' with scrubbed door handles. However, unlike the Classic and Iconic Prius, the sensation of weight is intense. You really feel like its a more substantial car. I was suprised actually, as it really is a heavy car. But I drove the 15" rimmed Prius, I suspect the 17" might dull this somewhat, but still noticeable.

Otherwise, it was a true pleasure to drive this car. Not to mention being allowed to sit in the Lexus HS250 too! That car is amazing too. The haptic feedback for the nav and the interior are just mouth watering. I will post all my pics. Here are some to start!

 

Oh, and I almost forgot. The question that most Prius owners are asking and thinking about. Is it that much better than our Prius' that we should trade in ours for?

My impression was, while this car is an unquestionable improvement, its simply not enough to sink myself into debt over 6 years for. Our Prius' are currently very green and enviro concious, and I don't feel that I am any less so just because I drive a Classic. If however, my 2002 decided to call it a day, then this car would be very high on my list. But for me to switch from getting my usual 4.2-4.6L/100km to 3.8L/100km seems a bit too little given the enormous price this thing will likely command. However, when discussing the Plug in Prius... although I can't divulge too much information, ITS COMING!!! And boy is it cool! All the more reason why I am hoping my little white Prius will hang on for 1 1/2 more years... OOOPS did I say too much already! Creeps! No more then! HAHAHAHA!!!

 

HS reminds me a lot of my Prius, very small outside, but VERY ROOMY inside. The interior is leather clad, and the steering wheel has a very thick rim. I noticed that the Electric Motor was much quieter than the 2010 Prius in operation. None of the electic motor whine that was so noticeable on Prius was audible on HS. I wonder what is so different?? However, the pop up nav display is similar to the old IS300 display. Actually it is very similar in sporty feel and layout to the old IS300, except its tons roomier!

The 2.4L is not based at all on the Camry. The Camry is not an Atkinson cycle, but the HS is. The power outputs are also much higher, in keeping with the sporty nature of the HS.

 

I know I thought so too! But that is what I told by the Powertrain Engineer from Toyota! Who knew!

 

Actually the noise I was referring to was listening from the outside too! Not just inside! The HS was quieter, no doubt of that!

 

The Multi-Function display is nicer than I expected. The Tracer is pretty cool, but I found that it somehow drove my attention away, which is precisely what it was meant to avoid. However, I was probably too excited about driving it, and worried about damaging the car too! HAHAHA! As for sunglasses, worry not my friend, the polarized glasses I was wearing did not block the tracer display or the rest of the display. That is a huge plus!! Honda could learn a thing or two about remembering that some people wear polarized sun glasses!!!

However, I much prefer our MFD displays as it gives our cars a high tech look. Especially with the navigation in too! This new display while certainly nice, did not have the high tech look without the nav. Its a little too dotty for me, kind of like looking at a dot matrix print out. I prefer the smoother look of the MFD in our cars. My opinion.

I almost forgot, the dash materials are quite improved too, and I noticed there was very little new car smell. Toyota said they worked really hard to reduce the VOC's common on new cars. A most impressive result.

 

Like my Prius, its behind the back seat. But interestingly, it does not reduce the trunk space as drastically as the camry. Again, this is one more similarity between my Classic Prius and the HS250h. Camry Hybrid goes from 15 cubic feet to 10.5 cubic which is a drastic drop. Even my Prius which is about 20 inches shorter than Camry has 13 cubic feet! What a gorgeous car though. Not to make the Prius sound any less prominant... but the HS250h did win me over as the far more interesting car.

 

Oh I could not drive the Blue one as it being disassembled! It was in pieces poor thing!! Don't know why, and that was not explained or clarified. Solar roof panel was on the floor! You have no idea how badly I wanted to just run out Toyota HQ with it! HAHAHA!! I don't know what the heck I could have done with it, but it just looked so cool.

 

Hey can we meet this thursday. Oh and I have a few more pics of the HS250. I will post them tonight!