2010 Model disappointing to me

Does the solar panel really charge the battery? I thought it was to just run a little fan to keep the interior cool. Regarding moving the speedo to the middle, we rented a Yaris in Barbadous 2 months ago and got used to it pretty quick, even with it being a right hand drive car.

 

Where do you see a lie? From your quote and the text of the release all I see is the statement that the vehicle was designed to be flexible to package either the Li-Ions or NiMHs. In fact at some point down the road they will offer both options in the same vehicle.

But the necessary changes to go from the conventional model to the PHEV are nowhere near just a simple swap out upgrade.

 

No charging. The PV panel only runs the ventilating fan.

Tom

 

I don't think so. They said the 2010 was a stepping stone towards PHEV. They will have a few fleet PHEV units for testing, and they expect to be able to adapt the 2010 design to PHEV. But they will not retrofit 2010s to PHEV. I gather the chief engineer tacitly acknowledged that even the Gen II can be retrofitted to PHEV.

I agree with most of the above. Have they actually moved the speedometer out of the driver's direct line of sight? I need the speedo to be right where I can see it without looking to the side.

I'd like a backup camera.

A solar panel to charge the traction battery would be of very little use, since the amount of sun that strikes the car, even on a sunny day if you can park away from shade, would give you very little energy. I do like the idea of a solar-powered ventilation fan when you have to park in the sun.

Heated seats are useless for me. My bum never gets cold. It's my hands that get cold. I want a heated steering wheel. And a powerful electric heater driven from the traction battery for fast warm-ups. My Xebra warms up faster than my Prius does.

 

Not sure I understand this one. EVERYBODY has spoken about the severely compressed development time on the Volt. GM brags about how fast they're rushing this thing to market.

There is no reason for Toyota to make a better car than what they already have on the market. They would only be beating themselves, and throwing away development money that needs to be amortized across as many vehicles as possible. And that is not a financially sound decision. People often get confused about what's best for the consumer and what's best for the car company. They very often do not dovetail.

They'll release it when something comes along that becomes a serious threat to their green vehicle leadership. There is no compelling reason to do it sooner. If there were no competition in the wings, the gas hybrid would be the end-game. It wasn't very long ago that Toyota claimed that a PHEV (or EV) just couldn't be viable. They spent way too much money on advertising "you don't have to plug it in." Times they are a-changin'.

 

I'm sure you are right. But they still have to heat up the engine block first. Meanwhile, they have a lot of energy available instantly in the traction battery if they just chose to utilize it. Heat for comfort is very important for me.

I switch on the heater in my Xebra as soon as I get in (even before I turn the key, since in my Xebra the heater is wired directly to the battery) and I feel heat coming out before the garage door is closed. Within a minute, the car is warming up, and by the time I get to the main gate of my community I have to cut it back to low. Prius could do that. And northern drivers would benefit greatly by it. More than heating an already over-insulated rear end.

 

No.

When I sat in the driver's seat, the speedo was right where it is in my current Prius.

So much of what is being debated here is from people looking at photos that were taken from vantage points off to the side. Sitting in the real car, looking at the real instrument panel, it is amazingly clear, visible, and useful, right there, right where it will be needed -- each bit of information, from the speedo, to the touch button displays, to the energy/consumption information. And, it is NOT cluttered! so much of that perception is, again, from photos that are trying to provide as much information as possible.

The speedometer is NOT in the middle.

 

Thanks.

 

Part of the illusion is that the entire display is longer. Toyota added the Multi Information Display to the unit, which makes it about twice as long. When you look at the photos, you can see that the display is farther off to the right, but the speedo is still in the same position. That part to the right holds the MID and idiot lights.

Tom

 

They have the speedo where you need it. See the 3D dash video. MPH is between the two circles activated by the Touch Tracer.

The hood is up but you can see where the road will be from the gap. MPH is where it needs to be.

 

I've already said it several times on several threads, and I'll say it again here. I'm in complete agreement with all the other folks who have seen the car, and commented:
The speedo is exactly where it needs to be - just like in the current car. It is in a perfectly natural place to see - much better than many other cars.

 

Maybe we can put this comment in a loop so that it keeps posting over and over. Okay, who want to write a little PHP code?

Tom

 

I guess they never aimed the car at a driver who would use it to drive 2500 miles a year, and I think a year ago they used a different test method that gave a far more optimistic mileage. Wasn't the G2 rated to 57MPG or something under the old system?

 

Earlier, several people have speculated that the Eco mode in the 2010 Prius may provide better FE than the rated numbers. However, reading through the features descriptions, I see that the only thing Eco, Normal, and Power modes do is adjust the sensitivity of the accelerator pedal. Apparently these modes do not change the way the ICE functions, or the way the computer controls HSD operation. I highly doubt this will alter anybody's driving habits, and I suspect that those Prius drivers who routinely exceed EPA mileage figures have so mastered pedal control that the Eco mode would make little difference to their ability to maximize mpg.

 

kind of... but it will minimize use of AC as well... and make "better" drivers from rest of us... plus it is still 10% better mpg for those best drivers, and even more at winter time...

 

Minimizing use of AC is a matter of personal choice. I minimize use of AC as a matter of personal preference. I would not further minimize AC use merely because the car wanted to make me uncomfortably hot.

 

I didn't fit into the previous version of the Matrix when it had a sunroof. I had about an inch of headroom without the sunroof. I haven't tried the 09 Matrix since I'm not in the market for another car right now.

Like I mentioned in another thread, since I can't afford to buy a new car, I'll be watching for the first 2010 model with Bisque leather seats that gets totalled. I call dibs on the heated, height adjustable seats. :madgrin:

 

US sticker for a 2007 Prius was 60 City, 51 Highway, 55 combined.

If the 8.7% improvement on the new Prius was replicated in the old testing scheme - which it might not be, as it sounds like some of the improvement is in sustained high-speed performance which wasn't tested before - the new car would get 59.78 i.e. about 60 on the old tests. If Toyota's uncertified claim is correct, of course.

On the EU test in Imperial gallons, if the percentage improvement were the same, it would get 71.4mpg, or 3.956 L/100km. I'm expecting to see 3.9-4.0, which damn near beats everything else available in pure volume terms except the special 'eco' models of the new Ford Fiesta (1.6 turbo diesel with particulate filter), Volkswagen Polo/Seat Ibiza (Seat is part of Volkswagen-Audi Group: the Polo and Ibiza are the same platform and same engines) and the Mini Cooper D. If it can also achieve an 8% drop in CO2 emissions, it will be the best on the market - it would be (a shade under) 96g/km CO2 and beat the Fiesta which manages 98g/km. (Also, Toyota's iQ with 99g/km!)