2010 Prius Driving Impressions Thread

I attended the S.F event held at Ft. Mason on a very beautiful early spring day. Consequently, hundreds of people and cars impacted the first few minutes of the driving experience. My overall driving impressions are like the above comments by more thorough reviewers. The car was solid, quieter, more powerful, roomier. etc.

My only critique pertains to the height of the driver's seat and field of vision. Perhaps my seat was not adjusted for my height (5'9), but it seemed like I was sitting much lower in the car than in my '07 Prius. The door walls seemed to be higher and dashboard more expansive. As I drove slowly through a labyrinth of pedestrians and on narrow roadways, I felt as though I was sitting too low. My vision of people and roadways was hampered by this and I felt insecure even though I was driving slowly. A small child or baby stroller would not easily be seen off the right side fender.

Out on the more open streets, the vision seemed to be less of a concern, and the '10 performed superbly. Is there a height adjustment on the seats?

Lee

 

I believe that comes from Dirty Harry - opening scene

 

Could one of theose fortunate test drivers answer a couple of display questions for me?

Does the 2010 MID allow the user to select the instrumentation elements, or are there display "pages" that the user toggles through?

Does the 2010 make available more information about the status of the ICE?
In particular, is it possible to display rpm, engine temp, oil pressure, etc?

Finally, to what degree has display/control compatibility been a factor in the design? (i.e. do the controls on the wheel logically and spatially correspond to the display elements?)

Forgive me it this has been covered somewhere, but I've not been able to find it so far...
I'm also posting this over in Danny's thread http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-h...s-2010-prius-in-depth-review-first-drive.html so my apologies in advance for the redundancy.

 

Thanks Tideland.
What about these bits?

Didn't see any mention of them in your reply...

*****Edit - never mind, I see Danny replied over in the other thread.

 

Scientific American has a report on their site today.

April 16, 2009
Ten things to look for in the new Prius hybrid sedan Slide Show


An overview piece:

".........My instant review: It's improved and not nearly the generic "people pod" transportation it used to be. The new model rides reasonably well and power is prompt, if not overwhelming. And the redesign is still quirky enough to attract true believers and "eco-couples" that comprise the base Prius ownership, albeit still appealing to average buyers who want a regular car. The big benefit is, of course, striking fuel efficiency—the best among sedans on the market........."

#8 of the 10 Things he reports is:

PRIUS FIGHTER Even though Honda's all new Insight hybrid is smaller than the midsize Prius, many observers consider the Insight to be the Prius' biggest competitor. The fact that Toyota has reportedly slashed the Prius's price by as much as $4,000 to match the Insight's $20,000 price tag seems to confirm that view. The Insight, a five-door, five-passenger model, has an EPA rating of 40 miles per gallon (17 kilometers per liter) city and 43 mpg (18 kpl) highway.


Wonder if he's referring to Japan - or has an 'insight' into upcoming U.S. pricing? :eyebrows:
I can't include a url link (under 5 posts here - actually my first..) But would be available at: sciam.com/article

BTW - I am not a Prius owner yet (have Lexus RX300). Very seriously considering the '10 -have a $500 deposit at my dealer, and plan to put another one down at a larger dealer 25 miles away. Very excited about the Prius release. And thanks to all of you providing a wealth of information under my belt. Sincere thanks for all your input! :welcome:

 

"I gots to know" uttered to Dirty Harry by killer, after Harry's famous line, "do ya feel lucky, punk? Well, do ya?'

(I gots to know whether there's any bullets left in your gun)

 

Harry is in a diner eating a hot dog and asks the gal behind the counter if the car across the street is still parked in front of the bank (he had noticed cigarette butts dropped out the drivers side upon entering the bank). "Yes", she says pouring coffee, "S#@T" exclaims Harry as he walks out of the diner still chewing the hot dog. Bank robber gets into the idling get-away car and speeds off towards Harry who is standing, chewing the hot dog in the middle of the street. He pulls out a Magnum 457 and fires into the oncoming car causing the driver to collapse and drive over a fire hydrant, breaking it off and causing a fountain of water. Gunfire exchange between Harry and the robber that ditched the wrecked car. Robber is wounded and inches away from his dropped gun. Harry, unfazed by the gunfire, crash, and shootout walks towards the wounded robber who is reaching for the dropped gun. "ah, ah, I know what you're thinking, punk, did he fire 6 shots or was it only 5? In all the excitement, I kind of lost track myself! But, seeing as this is a Magnum 457, the world's most powerful hand gun that could easily blow your head clean off.... the question you have to ask yourself is, 'do I feel lucky?' .... Well, do ya, punk?"..... Robber starts to reach for the gun then thinks it over and withdraws his shaky hand from the attempt. "I gots to know" he calls out to Harry who answers by taking aim at the robber's head and the wide-eyed criminal shakes in terror as Harry slowly squeezes the trigger and snaps an empty chamber. The robber is quite relieved!

Above was from memory, so may not be 100% accurate, but it defiantly was one of the best crime drama scenes in movie history!

"ah, ah,.... I know what you're thinking, punk........"

Lee

 

not sure if this thread ever ended up being used for its intended purpose.

anyway, took a quick, 10-15 minute test drive at berkeley toyota today. the car that i drove has a $4k markup on the sticker (!!) which the salesman said was to make sure the car stays on the lot as a demo for ppl to drive. supposedly if you put down a deposit for a car that will come in in the future, you'll pay MSRP only. sounds fishy.

as for the car: I've driven both Gen I and Gen II Priuses and this one had an odd feel to it. Something about the way the driver's seat is positioned and where the windows are. In particular the front windshield seemed to be a lot smaller (I know it's not, just an impression).
I think moving the MID to the front is a mixed bag. It would definitely get some getting used to. I wish you could at least still get it on the main screen for models with NAV, but I guess they didn't think it was such a good idea. Personally the "Energy" screen MID equivalent is just too hard to see in bright daylight.

I was worried about what they did with the shifter, but I have to say that irl it's not as bad as I feared. I *do* have to wonder about the positioning of the butt warmer buttons though.

I drove a Prius III with nav. The glove compartments are now plain plastic with no cloth lining or something similar inside. Along with the total plastic dash, it makes the whole thing feel much cheaper. The 2004's smooth but not-quite-plastic feel was, imho, the best that the Prius ever got. Is this the same on Prius IV/V? If so, that's really horrible.

The fact that the seat can be raised and lowered is pretty cool. Also, I noticed in the back that the center "hump" is much, much lower than in either of the previous models. A great thing for rear passengers and legroom! The glove compartment/armrest slides back and forth to reveal one of the cupholders...interesting. Also, the bottle holders in the doors are rather cute – they actually have a graphic showing that you should *not* put opened cups in them, because liquid might spill out. Good times.

One thing about the touch-tracer which I found odd – when you get to the settings screen, you have to use a rather unintuitive dance of pressing and pressing-and-holding the DISP button to navigate and change the settings. Since the whole thing is touch-sensitive, it would have made much more sense to have it enter a sort of iPod-style click-wheel mode: once you enter Settings, you should be able to just "scroll" by "turning" in a circular manner, and then pressing the center button would activate the selection. took me a bit to figure out how to actually work it.

also, the VOL_xx problem mentioned by another poster existed on this vehicle too. I really hope Toyota rolls out some sort of patch for this, because it just shows a lack of polish in an otherwise carefully-designed car. i also found it odd that the three mode buttons don't have indicators embedded on them – i pressed the ECO mode button and expected some sort of feedback from it, until the salesman pointed out that the indicator was up by the windshield.
finally, i don't think i managed to fully process all the indicators by the end of drive. i.e. the feeling of a different car, combined with the new locations of all the MPG and energy indicators, basically meant that i was doing feathering, etc, entirely by touch and feel, instead of by the indicators.

i'm going back to take a longer test drive later in the week which will include freeway driving and hopefully some more time in getting accustomed to the new "cockpit" before actually driving out onto the street. if i had the money, i would snap this car up in an instant (minus the markup of course). however, the few incongruences in terms of fit and attention to detail in this car do make me think a bit.

edit: another thing i noticed – auto door locks! put the car into drive and accelerate even a bit, and doors lock. put into park and they unlock. hmmm.

 

Great job recording your real first impressions! I think I've already forgotten some of my initial reactions, so your recording of it is likely to help my keep my thoughts markedly separated.

 

I too felt like I was in a cockpit. It is more comfortable than my BMW 330i. I really want to say it was just as comfortable as any vehicle I've ever been in. I read a lot about the steering feeling off, but it didn't feel too different from my old '06 Prius that I drove prior to the test drive to get a good comparison. I test drove a IV, and ordered a V so based on what I've read people seem more pleased with the steering on the V. I thought the entire thing was extremely well designed. The exterior looks better, it was all tighter than the gen2. (If you think that could be possible!) I like the different driving modes. They seem like really useful tools to help maximize the mpg. I am so excited, I can't wait until it comes in.

 

Have to chime in a bit more ... I apologize. Got the windows tinted and loving my car still! Of course as time goes on a person starts to notice a few things they don't like as much, but I'm not there yet.

-- I tried out PWR mode today and ... WOW! I wasn't expecting it to perform like it did ... I was really pleased with how snappy the car felt in "power mode"!!! I won't hardly use it, but it nice to know it's there if I need it and it makes me psychologically feel like I'm driving a sportier car.

-- I am hearing a rattle off and on near the front driver's side near the windshield/speaker location. Still trying to find exactly where.

-- I am noticing the almost turquoise tinge to the Misty Gray a bit more (in my mind) ... slightly annoying to me and it seems like the color could look bad as it ages (get a bit yellow?), but I'm still glad I went with the Misty Gray.

-- The Nav interface is great imho compared to Gen 2 ... yes, I know you can get better for less with aftermarket, but I think it looks great and the voice commands work GREAT. The map resolution is the same as Gen 2, but it seems to me the text and road appearance are just downgraded rather than it being a screen resolution issue.

-- Still thinking I'll get absolutely great in town fuel economy ... stays in battery only mode a lot more easily and at higher speeds AND warms up MUCH quicker. Moreso than I had anticipated even after hearing about quicker warm up times.

-- Wish the glove boxes were felt-lined ... nothing rattling around in there as of yet, but just wish they were.


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All in all very happy with the redesign ... I feel like everything I even slightly disliked in my Gen 2 2008 Touring is redeemed with this great 2010 re-do!! I can't think of anything that bothers me much as of yet other than what's listed.

Complaints about my 2008 Touring:

-- Pushed around on the Interstate/Highway ... much better in the 2010 with 17s.
-- Bland design/functional ... much sportier look and aggressive looking
-- A tad slow ... Power mode redeems (not that I care if it's quick at all)
-- Cheap feeling ... Much improved in the Gen 3
-- Buzz when listening to iPod while charging ... all gone in Gen 3
-- bland rims ... love the new 17s

 

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Tinting - cool. I've seen a few pics here with tinted windows and it compliments the Prius lines so well.

The rattle - hate that in a new car; good luck in determing the source.

Glove boxes - most of my previous cars, I have lined them with soft fur-like thin material. Cut the pattern and either spray adhesive and mount or fabric glue that adhers to non-porus as well. I plan to do this to both gloveboxes, console bottom, and the tray & lips of the underconsole storage. I don't like hearing stuff shifting when hitting the exit ramps at 2 Gs.

 

Finding new slight dislikes:

-- The stereo is an improvement, but still not fabulous ... I seem to have a tough time getting sufficient sound out of the back speakers to give it a nice balance.

-- The plasma cluster for the climate control looks out of place compared to the nice digital gauges and Nav system ... looks soft of "old school" and antiquated.

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Love the low slung style and sitting down in the car a bit more! I am loving it more every time I drive it!

 

so today i went back hoping for the freeway test drive, but the salesman who i was with last time wasn't around and they insisted that i only drive with him.

anyway, i pigged out on checking out the interior and exterior of the car to find some more things. things i noticed:
-there's no longer a slot into which to put the keyfob to start the car.
-it looks like there's no way to view current consumption, only 5-minute intervals. correct? it also looks like the MPG since fillup stat is no longer available either.
-there's a button for climate control that looks like a bar in front of the person. couldn't figure out what it did.
-cupholders in the back are inside the armrest. nice.
-in all honesty one of the two cupholders in the front is totally useless, because putting something in it eliminates the possibility of using the armrest completely.
-the "blue" accents around the toyota logo are just pieces of plastic or something like that – they are not painted onto the vehicle itself! looks very cheap.
-totally love the stop lamps in the back.
-the hood in the front looks like it's super-flush when closed. guess that's one of the improvements leading to lower drag
-still can't get over the fact that the glove compartments have no liner.
-noticed that the carpet mat in the hatch now has a special "break" in the rubber base that allows you to easily fold it back if you're trying to get to the under-floor storage compartment. very neat.

while there, one guy came by and said he wanted to get the car soon, though was dismayed when i told him that you can't get AT w/roof. another guy was looking at a venza and then checked out the prius (as I was on my way out) and I told him, "get this car!" he seemed surprised by how nice it was. hopefully he actually took it out for a drive and reserved one heh.

 

Thanks for the report. I've got a few responses/comments/answers for you:

Not quite. You can view current consumption in either 1-minute or 5-minute intervals, and you can alternate between those screens. The MPG since fillup is available as well, assuming you reset one of the trip odometers (A or B).

I had the same initial reaction. The truth, though, is that the arm rest does not interfere with the cup holder (nor the cupholder with the armrest).

By having the armrest a bit open, you will get access to both cupholders, There is no real interference.

The toyota design is the same on the back of my 2010, but in the rear badge, the information is really there. It is a three-dimensional badge with metal, plastic and paint (and contact cement) I suppose.

 

2. Oh, of course. That's what I get for exploring the car without the engine turned on lol.

3. True, however, the convenience in Gen II was that this resetting would happen automatically when you filled you tank. Now you have to do it yourself manually, and unlike the Gen I Prius, it takes more than a simple button press...