One of the things I was impressed about with our 07 Pri was the amount and variety of the various storage options for the driver and front seat passsenger. I know that the main glove compartment has not changed much, and I have noticed that the map pockets in each door has shrunk significantly so it can only carry a cup and no room for maps, etc. The 07 also had a handy pull out drawer under the center console which I assume is now gone. Then there was a "push to open" storage and handy small change opening. Are all of these now missing from the 2010? Are there any additional storage that has been added besides the purse storage under the floating center console? My winter grey IV will not be available until early July and I only had a brief time to spend with the one car that was at my dealer so I never had the time to do a complete evaluation of the 2010, just enough to know that I wanted one to replace my car with 114,000 miles.
My wife has a 2008 and I just got a 2010. The glove box is smaller in the gen III. The upper glove box seems to be shallow and doesn't have the plastic shelf like the gen II. The lower glove box loses the recess space at the back of the glove box. The pull out drawer is now gone, but the area under the console provides some good space. I haven't found any good place to keep loose change yet; this is also a complaint about the gen II. I upgraded from a '04 accord, and it had lots of storage. So far, it seems that the gen II has more storage space than the gen III; just talking drawers, compartments, pockets, etc. Not overall cabin volume...
Yeah, I'm waiting for a 2010 and have sat in one and looked around and was disappointed at this aspect of it. Notably missing was any kind of coin storage, unless I missed it. Not a deal breaker for me but a disappointment none the less. I was also surprised that there was no cord route cutout coming out of the center console. I've seen this in other cars and thought it would be a no brainer.
In my 2009 GII, there is a removable tray in the center console. You flip open the armrest, and directly inside there is small plastic tray that sits on some supports at the top of the center console. It has a felt lining on the bottom. I use that to put my change in. The felt stops the change from rattling. It seems to work well for this purpose. I don't know what intent Toyota had for it. Possibly to put your cellphone, iPod, or MP3 player.
I noticed the shallow tray in the top of the center console in the 2010 and thought about using it for coins, but it had no felt, unlike the coin tray in my 1988 Honda (come on Toyota) but I will probably add something to it so coins don't rattle.
The problem with the 2010 tray for coins is that to get to anything underneath you can't lift the tray out very easily. I am thinking of cutting the little hinge tabs off if it to make it more like the GII tray. G
LOL! I grew up in a household where you were not allowed to put anything in the storage anyway! My father would lose his mind if you even opened the wing vent windows on his car! Years later I found out that he was the "relaxed" product of his father. My father would have to ride in my grandfather's car with hands in lap, clasped. This would ensure that he did not touch anything. I usually look at that extra storage as a pain; something I'm going to have to clean out all the time.
Coins are a thing of the past, use credit cards Map are a thing of the past, use GPS Wires are a thing of the past, use blue tooth connection for MP3 player and phones :mod:... I do feel your pain, I have some old relative that have everything with them, all the time and sometimes it is useful. Change of clothes, shoes, phone chargers, drugs, maps, jumper cables, change, headphones, trash, car wash stuff, Kleenex, sunglass, all things of the past. Who needs that junk it brings down the efficiency of your car. I think I will take the spare tire out of my car. Some car don’t come with them anymore. I have not used a spare in over 10 years. But as is I have so much space I don't know what to do with I may just keep it. I had just cleaned out my 06 Prius, and was surprised how many things I had and I keep a clean car. I guess it a sign of getting old. By the way you are correct; there are fewer places to put stuff for sure. I am going to miss my hidden draw.
I posted this before - I happened to find a small Tupperware cup that fits into the inside-console cupholder perfectly; shallow and the console slides shut. Perfect for coins or small stuff, and can be removed to dump out change. Oh damn - I'll go to the garage to take pictures... Also got a soft sunglass holder and stuck that inside the console - perfect for store/gas cards, toothpicks, pen etc.
LOL! I love the monkey in the console in your 3rd picture! I like what you have done by compartmentalizing the compartment. I am still in the "it's a new car, see how much stuff you can keep out of it" stage, but I know I will eventually have to find places for some/all of the stuff I accumulated in my old car. Thanks for the pics!
A candy bar to Diva - the first to notice! Actually forgot it was there until I uploaded the pics...Oh, no one will see..... Actually my son, now 32 took an around-the-USA car trip after graduating High School. We gave him a small stuffed monkey as a travel companion and keep him safe over the 6K miles. It was my turn when I drove from Massachusetts thru Illinois down to my new FL home in '05. I bought that little monkey and has been in my cars since. It's a superstition thing now...wonder if it qualifies for a discount on car insur...
Funny. I have a mini-beanie baby Mel the Koala from McDonalds which came out sometime around 2000. Its been riding in my two Miata's since then. She (my wife's name is Melodie and lots of folks also call her Mel) is a little more faded and worn, and spotted with coffee from when a Ford 350 broadsided my current Miata, but is still around. Mel will have a home in my new Blizzard Pearl Prius when it gets here in a few days. David
I love the sunglass case idea! It looks almost like an actual Toyota manufactured product in that picture.
That tray is for your iPod or whatever MP3/smartphone. It has two lowered lip front and back for "wire management" of your wires to the iPod. It is not meant for coins...never was. This is actually cool for me because i am able to hide my iPod Touch underneath it with no visible wires...and with USB connection, i don't ever touch my iPod while driving. And since it is in its special isolated place, i am not afraid of it getting scratched by other stuff in the bin. As for coins, i asked this question many moons ago. I don't have too many coins b/c i use CC almost all the time and have EZ-TAG for highway travels. And what little i have, i just throw it on the big storage platform below the floating console. As stated above, no maps in my car...i have a Garmin whenever my Toyota NAVI is outdated with a location. And when i have a drink, well, i have plenty of places for that. For me, the Prius 3rd gen has all the storage that i need. I am not sure what i would store if there were more places.
I use a small plastic jar with a screw top lid to keep change in. You never know when you may need a few quarters to feed a toll booth. I think it's silly we don't have a pull drawer or a small second inner compartment for small items. The flip up tray is not useful to store change or cards. They fall out during flippage (?).
The drop-down driver's side drawer on the Corolla and the slide-out, rubber-lined drawer on the Camry (I think it's felt now?) were very useful. A pity that they didn't carry over that design to the Prius.
