2010 Center console design: no-lie-made me decide not to buy a new one

YOu can call me Alan, just don't call me Al.. thats my wife's X!

 

Getting back to what I think was the original point of the person who started this thread...

Reasons for trading for new '09 vs. new '10:
1. Liked backup camera on '09...refuse to be forced to pay too much for navigation system to get built in backup camera.
2. Had access to all 4 centrally located cup holders from drivers seat in '09...On '10 the 2 back seat cup holders are now out of reach for front seat occupants and you have to slide the console lid open to get to one of the front cup holders.
3. Front door pockets in '09 were long enough to hold a lot. '10 front door pockets have been shrunk down to merely a bottle holder.
4. '09 Multifunction Display was easy to read with a multitude of large high resolution graphics. '10 MFD is smaller low resolution graphics placed farther away therefore harder to read.
5. Gear shift knob was always out of the way and never accidentally hit on the '09. On the '10 you actually have to reach across the large gear shift knob to reach functional buttons (driving modes) therefore the gearshift knob may be hit quite often.

Bottom line.... These are just some of the reasons you may have noticed a lot of first time '10 Prius owners now registering here on PriusChat and hardly any new '09 registrants. Toyota has deliberately gone to modern "cockpit" styling which is all about flashiness and not practicality. This has resulted in a lot of 1st and 2nd generation Prius owners going to the Toyota showrooms, sitting in the drivers seat of the much anticipated 3rd generation Prius, looking at what has happened to their very practical interior and suddenly getting, like me, very nauseated.

 

Well I can understand your opinions, and I don't think that opinion would certainly apply to all in the Forum.

I went to dealer as soon as they had the first one arrive and my take was quite different. I was very pleased with the interior refinements. The commentary about hitting the shift knob has never happened to me once and I switch between ECO and PWR all the time not to mention adjusting Temp Controls etc. The added glove box allows me to store that extra "stuff" out of view of anyone looking inside your vehicle.

I certainly am not trying to "badger" anyone for their opinions, I just think a very Non Positive also deserves fair value in respect to the positive attributes of the vehicle.

I am no beginner in the hybrid world but this 2010 has beat my expectations, on comfort, mileage, conveniences as compared to my 2003 Prius and my 2007 Honda Civic Hybrid.

Once I sat in the car at the dealer (Balck IV) I fell in "Love?" with the car, ordered or put deposit on the Winter Grey V, took delivery in late August and it's one of the few cars that has made me this happy.

Have you driven one, and taken it for a day or 2? Try that and I bet half of your concerns will be negligable at that time.

Best of luck and hope something's coming around the corner that can make you more happy and less 'nauseated' from an interior perspective.

 

The Plymouth Valiant (1961 I think) also had pushbutton transmission buttons on the dashboard. When I used to drive my boyfriend's Valiant, I would always push the button (mechanical linkage) clear through the dashboard while in the middle of a K turn on a busy street. That would leave me stuck until he came to the rescue with his tools and mechanical ability.

For a car like the Prius, it might make more sense to have a pushbutton transmission. But there are already so many pushbuttons on the dash....

 

And absolutely the best thing about the design of the center console is the area below to store a pocketbook. It's about time!!! I'm really tired of putting it on the floor, on the backseat, under my husband's feet, or other miscellaneous and dirty places.

It's about time that they made a car that has features appropriate for the real head of the house, the woman!! I do at least 95% of the driving anyway, since my husband despises driving.

I'm really looking forward to upgrading from my Saturn SL2. My new Prius, with any luck, should be at the dealer's later this week.

 

How sad. The seats and steering wheel are soooooooo much better on the 2010, but the gearshift knob, etc... may be a downgrade (I'm not thrilled about the plastic wheel covers either.

Said it before ... for the Gen4 Prius, just put the gearshift knob back on the dash like Gen2, and have a classic console layout something like a Camry (and so many others cars ... Highlander, Accord, Civic). In other words, just make the Prius normal and the most functional, for the masses.

Use this basic layout ... but with shifter on dash.

 

Speedometer location is further to the middle and a little smaller than the 2009. Most speedometers you look down staight at them in front of you. The 2010 you look up and over towards the center. I thought the information screen was a little hard to figure out. It's a littlle different than the 2009. I thought 2009 was easier to read.

 

Yes, if the '10 Prius console was like the one in that picture, it would be a 1000% better....but it is NOT!

 

Everyone has an opinion and no opinion pleases everyone.
But to assume that your opinion speaks for the masses can be arrogant at best and very self centered at worst.

I love the cockpit style as to many others based on what I"ve read, your the minority, not the majority..

Its ok to have your opinion.. just don't curse everyone else who doesn't share the same.

I'm very glad its different than the prior design.
If I'm gonna spend this much money I want a new feel and design.. not the same old design I"ve gotten accustomed to the last 3.5 years.

But this is my opinion too.

Toyota marketing did what they did based on a hunch it would be most popular.

If you want whats functional and practical.. buy a basic car with no amenities and comforts and call it good.
Of even stick with the GenII and save yourself a ton of money and be happy!

It almost sounds like your complaining about your rib eye steak because you don't like the grill marks on the steak.

No one is forcing you to buy... and why are you so angry with toyota for not doing it your way?.... I personally am glad they didn't.

Does that make me the devil and you the saint?..

It is what it is?.. why curse a good thing that so many people are finding delight and pleasure in?... This reminds me of the scrooge that tried to steal Christmas.

You only have 16 posts to date... if you don't like the prius..why are you spending so much effort right out of the box to defame it?... there are many other cool cars out there for less money.

 

Wow!.. is this a temper tantrum?

Everyone has an opinion and no opinion pleases everyone.
But to assume that your opinion speaks for the masses can be arrogant at best and very self centered at worst.

I love the cockpit style as to many others based on what I"ve read, your the minority, not the majority..

Its ok to have your opinion.. just don't curse everyone else who doesn't share the same.

I'm very glad its different than the prior design.
If I'm gonna spend this much money I want a new feel and design.. not the same old design I"ve gotten accustomed to the last 3.5 years.

But this is my opinion too.

Toyota marketing did what they did based on a hunch it would be most popular.

If you want whats functional and practical.. buy a basic car with no amenities and comforts and call it good.
Of even stick with the GenII and save yourself a ton of money and be happy!

It almost sounds like your complaining about your rib eye steak because you don't like the grill marks on the steak.

No one is forcing you to buy... and why are you so angry with toyota for not doing it your way?.... I personally am glad they didn't.

Does that make me the devil and you the saint?..

It is what it is?.. why curse a good thing that so many people are finding delight and pleasure in?... This reminds me of the scrooge that tried to steal Christmas.

You only have 16 posts to date... if you don't like the prius..why are you spending so much effort right out of the box to defame it?... there are many other cool cars out there for less money.

 

I've put 280 miles on our '04 Prius so far this weekend and I'll say it again. The car is so uncomfortable to drive due to the lack of seat adjustments and the awkward steering angle all other comparisons of the '10 vs the '09 are secondary. I would dump it for almost any car on the road if the wife would let me.

 

My 06 is much more comfortable on long trips for the driver as well as the passengers.. as they have more leg room and head room... especially for passengers in the back than my Grand Cherekee 4X4.

But I know there are other very nice cars out there that have put allot of thought into comfort.... I just haven't been fortunate enough to drive one yet!

I've entertained the idea of getting something different when I bought my new 2010, but I just couldn't get away from all the other toys unique to the prius!

If I didn't travel so much..... it would have been a much harder decision. Many other cars do a fair job on gas mileage and are top notch on comfort, they just aren't near as geeky as the prius.

IMO, the 2010 has taken a big step towards comfort and elegance. I rarely see a car thats nicer looking inside when browsing through the parking lot to go into stores etc... I'm sure there are few exceptions.

As far as the center console, the more I drive, the more I like it.. it gives my hand a place to rest whereas before it had to hold onto the steering wheel or just hang in the breeze... I do love the cockpit feel of leather and luxury that wraps around you when your in the drivers seat.

My wife was merely a passenger the first 1000 miles.. then I finally let her take it to work... only when she drove herself, she came home commenting on how smooth a luxury car the 2010 was verses her 2006.

I know some of that is merely new tires and a new car suspension... but we all know, thats all been upgraded too!

 

Al,

You summed it up in a nutshell. I liked the fact that you feel the same as me, the more you have driven with the console as designed the better it is. One thing I never did like is the fact that you had the shifter on the dash and to me, IMHO, it seemed far more awkward. When shifting from R to D in the 2010, the arm can rest on the console very comfortably.

Thanks for your commentaries...I do appreciate your responses.

 

Thanks Bob... I realize everyone has different needs and preferences.

I also realize how someone might feel the car is perfect "if" it wasn't for this one little thing!!!.

But isn't that true for everything?

I find that many things "like this console" are a blessing in disguise.

When we get things exactly like we want them, every time we want them.. life becomes a little box with no adventure or surprises and becomes uninteresting to live.

I always feel sorry for people that go to other countries and want to eat at McDonalds because its the only thing they can trust and fits the taste they have always known.

These people are "picky".... no flexibility and being old and stiff only break if forced to bend.

Like our good buddy Forrest once said.. Life is like a box of chocolates.... you never know what your gonna get, and if we aren't at least open to new things, we are boring, old, dead, and uninteresting to everyone else.

I try real hard to not turn into that guy :juggle:

 

you genIII haters are nothing compared to how hard nasioc members are on new subarus coming out.

 

I have plenty of reason to gripe about GenIII too..... I fully expected it to be plugin and Lithium Ion on top of the totally new design. I figured.. if your gonna go this far, why not put the icing on the cake too right?.....

I was mad enough that I declined on a very gracious offer to buy at a preferred price.

After mulling it over a while, I had to come to the conclusion that it was what it was.

Many many improvements... just not what I expected or hoped for, but still a far cry different from the GenII.

I felt like the differences were not enough to throw away a perfectly good GenII to get one unless you planned on buying anyway... which in that case.. its a good choice.

I decided I needed another car and my older prius will most likely go to another family member that I was going to have to help get set up anyway... so I went ahead and bought despite the price stinging a bit more.

Its fine to vent frustrations.... I just hate to see people that get totally thrown off balance by something as minimal as the center console.

The 2010 Prius is yet another marvel in engineering, yet if someone doesn't like it.. there is no reason to pay the big bucks to get one if they cannot warm up to it.

I think its great.. others do not... but there is absolutely no reason why others that are not enamoured with it should go completely out of their way to poison those that are...... thats just silly.

If you don't believe in something, it makes no sense to attack something you don't believe in in the first place as if thats going to make a difference and cause everyone else to join in the misery of contempt.

I know misery loves comfort, but that just wrong and it gets very wearysome.... especially for those of us who decided we like it.

People need to voice their frustration, but please try not to make a religion out of it and curse everyone that doesn't go to your church!

 

i hate oil companies more than car companies

 

Touche' !

I drive a prius to not be a prisoner to them as bad as 20MPG, luxury sedan.

There is always something we could change about something.

But heck if we let those little things obscure our decision making process to the extent that some do, we would never be happy and unable to make a decision.

 

I think every car has some kind of 'quirk' to it.

If there's a minor thing like interior plastics that seem ugly, that's something you could live with, right?

If every day one is hating the tight reach to the brake pedal, or can't see traffic lights above, and you keep getting more irritated, then you have a real problem to solve.

I don't know what it would be like to live with the center console and I'm not going to find out anytime soon. It wouldn't seem to be a knockout factor although knees probably rest on it quite a bit.

 

I'm most comfortable in mine wearing polyester shorts on the way to the gym. Maybe I'll get some polyester 'sweats' for long drives. I think I'm generally more uncomfortable when tired.

I wonder if good leather seats are more comfortable than fabrics.