2010 anyone not feeling it?

Dr. Fusco,
Are you confident Tesla will be able to fill orders in a timely manner ??
Carl

 

Not very likely, not if they sell and have waiting lists like the 2004 after it got 'hot'. I was lucky and rented an '04 from Enterprise for a week in July '04. Not long after, all the rental fleet Prii were history and the best you could do on the lot was lean in the window of a 'sold before it got here' car. No test drive cars and the salespeople knew next to nothing about the car because they were never on the lot more than a couple of hours after the truck dropped them off. Odd, but the Prius buyers wanted to pick up their new cars faster than ASAP.

 

I was thinking of trading, but my pri has everything I'd want. Dont like sunroofs, parking controls...eh, not sure I'd trust that or the accident avoidance feature. Pricing is way too much right now considering I paid much less than MSRP. And who knows what bugs need to be worked out, so maybe a 2011 or 12 would be a safer bet, when I'll have around 40k miles on my 08. Hmmmm, can put the $1055 I was gonna put in extended warranty as down payment for it then.
And isn't a lithium ion battery due, which could potentially get 100MPG? Another hmmmm.

 

Not necessarily. I joined this forum 2 weeks after Danny started it and watched for all the 'new model bugs' to show up for that very reason. There were very few, none major. I got on 3 wait lists in July, got the car in September. ZERO problems in 91K miles and I've saved over $6K on gas alone compared to the '95 Odyssey minivan it replaced.

 

Just got off the phone with my dealer through Kansas City and he was going over the options for a Prius IV. I had already put down a deposit with very little changes to my initial request. He could not give me an arrival date, but I'm betting sometime in June. I'm adding the extra battery and solar panels from California, but that probably won't be until July at the earliest since this year's model is different than last years and they will need to do the testing.

At least the financing options are good and I can wrap all the extra costs into the vehicle payment and not have to do a lot of cash up front, other than 20% and my trade-in vehicle.

Max

 

Just curious. What are you talking about?

 

ABSOLUTELY!
I guess I can rant on this thread

I HATE:

1. The Waste Of Space, claustrophobia inducing, knee hugging arch
2. Move of the shifter where it was OUT OF THE WAY but EASILY accessible onto the WOS arch
3. Loss of the (and I don't even have one but my wife does and I have envy) rear view camera (shy paying for Nav)
4. Loss of the tactile buttons on the steering wheel and loss of the front and rear defrost buttons on the wheel.
5. Loss of standard EASY to use climate control and radio screens on the MFD replaced with numerous non tactile buttons, some blocked at least partly by the misplaced, over sized shifter. ALL requiring the driver to take his/her eyes off the road.
6. Touch tracer that REQUIRES you to take your eyes off the road to see which button you are going to hit. You don't HAVE to use it but whether you do or not, it is eyes off the road (see #4), especially if you have gloves on.
7. Loss of the storage compartment below the radio and the (not confirmed!) 'hidden' drawer under the armrest console.
8. Being forced to buy a IV or V (and LEATHER which I do NOT like) to get SKS on 3 doors instead of only the driver's door and power lumbar support. WHERE is the connection between the seats and the SKS system?? I can KIND of understand power lumbar only in leather seats since they are on the same part, but SKS?? For my money, get rid of the VERY EXPENSIVE Tire Pressure Monitor System (> $110 per tire JUST for the 'in tire' sending unit). They are not even used half the year if you have snow tires on their own rims. Use the money to put SKS on 3 doors, lumbar support in all driver seats AND lower the price of all Prius models.
9. That the EV mode kicks out at 25 MPH, makes it pretty much worthless. The 2004-2009 after market mods kick out over 32 MPH and they use the stock programming in the car. ECO mode MIGHT be useful, if it would let me climb the VERY SLIGHT rise (30 MPH road) before the street I live on without kicking on the ICE when it is in 'auto EV'. At the moment, I either have to get up to 35 MPH on the down hill then lose speed to 27 or 28 (pissing off the people behind me) or force it into EV and make sure I don't go over 32. The hill is SHORT and the electric motor has more than enough power to handle the 'hill'.

POTENTIALLY (because I've not sat in one, but based on all the pictures)

1. The arch/console cup holders. The one IN the console is too far back and low to be used without contortions of the shoulder and elbow (which my wife, who suffers from Rheumatoid Arthritis, could never use) and that is with the seat all the way back. I can't imagine a person driving with the seat all the way forward could access it without reaching across with their left hand. REAL safe! The dash side of the one in the WOS arch blocks the can or cup from easy grasping unless it is a tall cup.
2. The down slope of the center armrest obviates using it with a 'forearm resting forward' position.
3. If you have it, the Nav screen is lower, meaning no more easy glance with little head motion, especially if you wear bi-, tri- or multi-focal lenses.
4. I can't quite imagine changing CDs in the Nav unit while driving since it appears difficult to see just were you are putting the CD. Again, not having seen it in person, I can't dump on this too much.

About the only "in cabin" changes I can think of that are positive (to ME) are the better seats, auto up/down on all windows and the slightly (.5") more rear head room ( I was hoping for 1", maybe even 2")

And it is all too bad, because as Bob Wilson points out, the people that designed the 'hidden' mechanical improvements did a GREAT job, all overshadowed by a bad ergonomic design for the driver. I guess I shouldn't say 'bad', there are features that are still better than other cars, like push button start, SKS, 'gauges' at the dash line instead of hidden behind the steering wheel and the single motion shifter that is always used in the same way to get to a given 'gear' regardless of the current 'gear' (though in its location on the WOS arch, people are going to be REALLY confused why they have to push it forward to go in reverse and backward to go forward). BUT, it is a HUGE step backward from the 2004-2009 cockpit ergonomics.

I'm sure anyone who has not owned a 2004-2009 will not have these issues as they don't know what they are missing.

The one REALLY BIG accessory I am still waiting for (OK other than plug-in with minimum 20 mile 'city' electric range) would be a coolant temperature controlled fuel saving (ie faster and longer auto EV) grill blocking system. It will be 40F Thursday morning, I should have at least 50% blocking. It is going to be 80F+ Thursday afternoon, I should have no blocking. Come on, it can't be that hard, nor nearly as expensive as a power moon roof or solar venting.

 

Wow, that's a lot of hate. Good thing you like your 2004. I'm guessing you'll have to wait a while for a Gen4 to trade for.

 

Actually, 100% likely.

It sounds like her current state of mind is to not purchase the 2010 or at the very least, wait on purchasing a 2010 (i.e. her purchase isn't imminent). If that is the case, she has time to take a car on a test drive or rent one when they become available. They may not be available for days/weeks/months, but they will be available at some point. At that point, she can try it out and decide if it is worth updating her car.

 

I was excited about the solar roof in the 2010. And I had rented a Prius before and liked the higher driving position and the spacey interior. I thought the 2010 would be even better with the improved power. When I test drove the 2010 it felt lower to the ground and for some reason felt a little cramped inside. The display is different and I think I actually liked the old box display for energy consumption etc. Even thought maybe would just buy a 2009 after that test drive. Still thinking if there are deals for 2009 will go for that - dealer says no they are going and few left. Anyone know of deals for 2009 in SoCal? Also with a plug in around the corner wondering whether to wait or buy 2009 and wait.

 

Did you raise the seat with the new seat height adjuster?

 

Why the drumroll?

 

Yes, and it pains me greatly! I was hoping for / expecting another incremental improvement all around. For instance the shifter on the Gen 1 was vertically linear on the dash just left of the MFD - blocked some of the buttons and not that convenient to reach. Plus the rear seats didn't fold - a biggie for *me*. The Gen 2 fixed both of those things plus a host of other improvements like the hatchback design, 'joystick' shifter on the dash, more power AND better MPG. They did fine on the Gen 3 mechanical changes, screwed up royally on the previously "better than most vehicles" driver's ergonomics and still have the "pay for things you really don't want to get something fairly basic you do want (3 door SKS only on IV an V for instance)" packaging.

Yes, I can only hope they let someone with a bent toward ergonomics design the cockpit in the Gen 4 rather than a 'runway model clothing designer' - lots of 'look', little function. As you can tell, I am all about function, not so much into flash when it degrades function.

 

I don't know, sounds like 'buy it from me now dealer talk'. With the 2010 package II MSRP lower than the base price of a 2009, I have to believe they will at least bring the 2009 price 'at the sales desk' down to meet it.

Yeah, a big unknown for me as well. The 2004 is running great with 91K miles on it, not even quite 5 years old yet. I've never traded before a car was 8 years old (at least) in the past, so no hurry UNLESS someone comes out with a MUST HAVE (to me) vehicle. Really hoping for a good selection of quality PHEVs or EVs in the next 4 years. Especially with the new mileage standards President Obama unveiled yesterday. Not going to get 35 MPG combined in a standard gasoline ICE based midsized without some technological assistance. They will need to stop overpowering and oversizing the U.S. commuter vehicle and build TRUE hybrid, PHEV and EV vehicles. Necessity is the mother of invention after all