2010 Prius Driving Impressions Thread

[Tideland Prius]

Originally Posted by Indyking

If Toyota, or other car maker with poor nav systems for that matter, outsourced their nav to Garmin; that would be the ideal, but I never heard of such relationships. Do Garmin provide factory nav for any car maker? Just curious...

Yup. TomTom too. MINI Canada was offering a Garmin once as a "factory" option. Toyota has TomTom/Eclipse options for the 4Runner and the Yaris.

Originally Posted by ice weasel

I picked up my pkg. IV-Solar 2010 last Friday night. It's black with leather interior.

Thus far I'm delighted with the car. I previously owned a much loved 2005 (I think it was a pkg III).

This car feels plusher to me. The ride, the interior ergonomics, the whole driving experience is a little quieter, a little softer a little smoother. Overall more refined. And while I realize that may turn off some people who enjoy "feeling" the car more, for me, it's perfect.

The differences between the previous generation and this one are more nuanced once you get past the aesthetics. I've found the new seats to be much more comfortable. I do feel as though I'm riding a lot higher in this generation. The back seats are also more comfortable and feel roomier. The new cupholders are cool but it's a shame to give up seat real estate to them. That said, I don't have kids and I don't see myself schlepping five adults around in the car very often so I don't think it matters to me and will probably be a step up for rear seat passengers.

The new hatch does not have the four chrome rings to attach a cargo net. This hatch has four chrome rings in each corner of the floor. Kind of odd. There is a light in the hatch now with a small, integrated switch. That's a huge benefit in my opinion. I think the new back floor mat is pretty flimsy and a very light color. I don't see it holding up the way the carpeted mat on the previous generation did.

The dual gloveboxes are there though smaller. The new dash configuration is really much better. Touch Tracer is incredible. I think the new guages are helpful and fairly straightforward to deal with.

I paired two iPhones via the Bluetooth interface in about three minutes. The car speakerphone works very well. I uploaded the address books in both phones which is great but navigating the names in the address book is a slow, tedious chore. This should be better and frankly, it would be great to see Toyota address this is a software upgrade.

This JBL sound system is better than the previous one I had in my gen2. It has its own quirks. I think the mids are more nasally and the highs a little too bright but once I get into the thing and fiddle around I think it will be a big improvement. The AUX in the console is nice but tough to really use unless you're a big user of playlists or shuffle mode. Once the iPod is in the console, if you're alone in the car you're stuck with what's playing.

So, how does it drive?

Like a dream. It really does feel as though Toyota took all the good stuff from the gen2 and built on it. The driving modes are great. ECO is really eco and you won't be booming around anywhere in ECO mode. Power is a lot of fun and yes, destroys your MPG. The EV mode is what it is, a limited use button but nice that Toyota included it. I spend the vast majority of my time in standard mode, a little time in ECO mode and almost none in the other two. Of course I've tried them all many times.

I think the new Yokohama tires are a huge improvement in ride stability, noise and handling. No idea how they will be long term but beating the Integrity's should be tough.

The sun roof rocks though it does not open all the way, which is a tad disappointing. I'm not sure how I feel about the auto stop part way. It seems like kind of a pain.

I've only used the nav once and I have to say I was very disappointed. Here's the thing, I can buy a Garmin or a TomTom for a couple of hundred dollars and get a device that is so user friendly most first graders can use them. The software and interface is intuitive and it responds quickly. Sluggish would be the best way to describe the nav in the 2010. It seems to work well enough once you've got it programmed but the address entry screens are ridiculous and, as I said before, slow. There's no good reason for this. Instead of reinventing the wheel Toyota would have been much better served to license some popular maker's interface (say, Garmin's). It would offer a much more pleasant experience all the way around.

All of the comments I've received on the car thus far have been positive. I think people are really responding to the changes in exterior style. I love it. And while I think, from the general public's POV, that just being more comfortable with the in general plays into it, this car does look better. It's still very much a Prius just a little more cool version.

Thanks.

Congrats!


A few things... the hatch has always been illuminated and it had a switch. It was on the driver's side in the Gen 2.

Also the moonroof has two open positions. The second one opens about an inch more to the rear. The two-step closing method has always been Toyota's quirk for its moonroof that do not have the auto-close feature.

[espionage]

Is this the place to post impressions? Doesn't seem like many people are sharing but here are mine...

Just picked up 2010 Prius II silver last night after work, so these are my initial impressions on it as someone who never had a Prius prior to that. I spent the last decade or so driving a Honda Civic and a Toyota Camry. I didn't really do much research about the car before I bought it and am not a super enthusiast. Still, I figure some may find my impressions useful as a more "casual car driver".

Exterior
I don't have any real issues with the aesthetics - it looks sweet and more stylish to me than last gen's model, although I'm not the biggest fan of the blue Toyota symbol. Still, I can easily recognize gen 3 versus gen 2.

Keyless entry and exit is very cool. Basically, you can keep the keyfob in your pocket or purse at all times and never have to take it out to unlock and lock your car. There's a sensor on the driver side door so that if the fob is within a couple of feet of the doorhandle, when you try to open it it will open. Keyless ignition so you just push the button to start the car and stop it. When you exit the car, there's a sensor on the door handle of the driver side that if you put your thumb near it, it will lock the car doors. So yes, with this system, there's no more digging for keys...

...unless you need to access the trunk. I wish there was a sensor for the trunk latch, but from what I noticed, I couldn't open the trunk door without first unlocking all of the doors. This meant I either had to hit the unlock button twice on the keyfob, or I had to open the driver side door and hit the switch to unlock all buttons.

Interior
It takes some getting used to, but when I first sat down in it I couldn't help but feel a little bit like I was sitting in a spaceship. The combination of buttons all over the steering wheel and elsewhere, the HUD, and the low angle of the windshield had me ready to "take off". I'm sure I'll get used to it, but the thing is pretty high tech, even this base model.

The HUD or whatever you call it sits up on the dashboard. Usually it's right behind the steering wheel of more contemporary cars, but now with it up on the dash, it's not easy for me to place my Garmin GPS with portable friction mount. I think I have to end up putting it up on the passenger side of the dashboard since the HUD takes up most of the central part of the dashboard (plus, the windshield is angled pretty low so I don't think you can actually place the mount on top of the HUD). If you just attach your portable GPS to the windshield, you should be fine but I'm not a fan of doing that since it can indicate that you have a GPS.

The stick is tiny. I would have preferred a bigger one myself, since right now it almost feels like an oversized game joystick or something. It also features this "flick" technology where you don't actually move the stick into Drive or Reverse to perform the action, but instead you flick it in the direction of the Drive or Reverse gear and it comes back to the neutral spot but still puts your car in that gear. A little strange that there's no location for "Park" on the stick. It's actually a button you push to put the car in Park gear.

I don't like the reverse beeping. It's loud. I thought they only did that for trucks?

My wife likes that there's a compartment underneath the stick where you can put a purse or small bag. It's a little odd to me because it's basically a nonremovable diagonal bridge coming from the CD player/NAV screen (if you have one) down to the cupholders inbetween the two seats. Still not sure if I like it or not.

I was a little surprised that the seat adjustment was manual and not automatic.

I'm still getting used to the rearview, which isn't exactly what was expecting. Visibility isn't the greatest because it's not like a flat window that you get to see out the back of your car. You know that black part on the back of the Prius? I think you're actually seeing out the back of that from the mirror, but it's connected to the low angled rear windshield and there's a "bar" in between. It might just take some getting used to but I didn't expect a bar to be there blocking some of the view.

My wife and I didn't like the fact that you can't lock the glove compartment. I guess we won't be keeping anything valuable in the car.

Aux input is not on the panel but actually in the compartment between the two seats. I guess that makes sense, since you'll probably keep your iPod in there. but that compartment also has a cupholder...so spills could be bad.

Performance
As first time hybrid car owners, my wife and I were shocked (and are still somewhat shocked) when we get to an intersection, stop the car, and all of a sudden the engine turns off. I guess we're used to that usually being a bad sign!

The brakes are really sensitive - so much so that I told my wife (who is the primary driver of the car but not really into cars at all) that if people ask her for impressions on it, the easiest thing she can say is "the car seems to take a bit of time to accelerate, but it takes almost no time to brake." It's true to a certain degree in our case, since when you lightly tap on the gas, it slowly accelerates but if you lightly tap the brakes, it's a pretty hard brake.

The bigger engine helps give this car a bit more power so I can actually accelerate pretty fast if I want to. I was pretty happy today that this morning I was able to accelerate after a stoplight and switch in front of a truck.

There's this huge meter sitting on your HUD that shows you how to drive the most economically. It's like a game: the meter is broken up into four sections. The first section is when you use the brakes - the friction energy from braking goes into recharging the battery. The next section is if you're not braking or accelerating hard - that also partially recharges the battery. The third section is when you're accelerating, but not flooring it so at that point it's not recharing the battery and probably starting to use some of the gas. The last section is the red, where it's "full" power for the car. When you floor the gas pedal, it will shoot the meter into the red.

Since this was our first day, I just drove it like a regular car and didn't watch the meter much at all. I braked when I felt I needed to and I accelerated after the lights turned green. My wife would comment of course that I was in the red whenever I accelerated, so I guess in a sense when we get used to the car we can perhaps accelerate in such a way that it minimally uses gas. My dealer told me that if I were to just floor the accelerator at all times, he'd be willing to bet that I'd still get at least 40 miles to the gallon. There were some stoplights though where I would try slowly accelerating, but then felt bad for the poor gas guzzler behind me as I was slowing him down just so I could save myself some gas.

Haven't taken the car out on the highway yet for any serious performance driving, but overall I'm pleased with the acceleration in rush hour traffic.

Parting Thoughts
The only driving time I had with my new car was the short drive home from the dealership last night and into work this morning. So really all I can say is that my impressions are based on limited time with it, and even if it seems like I'm complaining a lot, I love the car.

Most of these things I've mentioned are just initial things I discovered, but that I will obviously get used to with time. Hopefully people will find this helpful and maybe help me out if I'm misunderstanding how things should be. Of course, I'm slowly reading through the manual each night, as it'll not only help put me to sleep but also let me really learn the ins and outs of the vehicle.

I didn't post pics since it was already dark when we left the dealership, although I did see some guy taking photos of my car out in the lot with his cellphone!

[wvgasguy]

Exterior...unless you need to access the trunk. I wish there was a sensor for the trunk latch, but from what I noticed, I couldn't open the trunk door without first unlocking all of the doors.

I believe there is a touch sensor for the higher level models. I'll be surprised if there is not as my TCH had it.

Interior I don't like the reverse beeping. It's loud. I thought they only did that for trucks?

LOL, that can be changed. See the threads (I'll be going to 1 beep)

Performance As first time hybrid car owners, my wife and I were shocked (and are still somewhat shocked) when we get to an intersection, stop the car, and all of a sudden the engine turns off. I guess we're used to that usually being a bad sign!

It is totally unnerving when you're stopped and waiting to pull out into a line of traffic and you engine is stopped. Eventually you'll trust the system is working as it is intended and not notice it.

[Tideland Prius]

espionage, we do have a number of reviews in this thread and we do encourage people to post their impressions so thank you for your input!

wvgasguy pretty much answered what I was going to say regarding the smart key for the hatch and then reverse beep.


The huge meter you describe is called the Hybrid System Indicator (HSI for short). It's new for the 2010 Prius and we look forward to learning all about it.

[Indyking]

Originally Posted by espionage

If you just attach your portable GPS to the windshield, you should be fine but I'm not a fan of doing that since it can indicate that you have a GPS

What? What's the problem of indicating that you have a GPS? Besides, I see Garmins mounted over the support on the dashboard all the time, so they are not hidden as you think they are...

Originally Posted by espionage

My wife and I didn't like the fact that you can't lock the glove compartment. I guess we won't be keeping anything valuable in the car.

Thiefs usually go after locked glove compartments because they know there is often something valuable in there.

...and you first trip MPG was...

[Blauer Glimmer]

Originally Posted by Indyking

What? What's the problem of indicating that you have a GPS? Besides, I see Garmins mounted over the support on the dashboard all the time, so they are not hidden as you think they are...

I've heard of people breaking into cars just because they saw the ring left from the suction cup after the GPS was removed from the windshield in hopes that the device was left in the car. For some areas this is, unfortunately, a genuine concern.

[Indyking]

Originally Posted by Blauer Glimmer

I've heard of people breaking into cars just because they saw the ring left from the suction cup after the GPS was removed from the windshield in hopes that the device was left in the car. For some areas this is, unfortunately, a genuine concern.

I understand it can be a concern in some areas, but having a NAV unit mounted over the dash vs. in the windshield will not make any difference. It's still pretty visible in both ways. I don't have problems with this where to live, but when I travel; I usually take my Garmin with me when I leave the car. It fits in my pocket and sometimes I actually use some of its features outside the car too.

[espionage]

Originally Posted by Indyking

I understand it can be a concern in some areas, but having a NAV unit mounted over the dash vs. in the windshield will not make any difference. It's still pretty visible in both ways. I don't have problems with this where to live, but when I travel; I usually take my Garmin with me when I leave the car. It fits in my pocket and sometimes I actually use some of its features outside the car too.

Blauer Glimmer is on the money: it is a security concern for me and makes a difference since the windshield mount is visible and the portable dash mount is not. it's not like i'm leaving the dash mount piece and taking the gps out when i leave my car - i hide the dashmount in a compartment and take the gps with me so there's no trace of a gps there.

the last thing i want is a broken window just because someone thinks i may have left my gps in the car.

[Blauer Glimmer]

Originally Posted by espionage

Blauer Glimmer is on the money: it is a security concern for me and makes a difference since the windshield mount is visible and the portable dash mount is not. it's not like i'm leaving the dash mount piece and taking the gps out when i leave my car - i hide the dashmount in a compartment and take the gps with me so there's no trace of a gps there.

the last thing i want is a broken window just because someone thinks i may have left my gps in the car.

The beauty of that beanbag dash mount is that it can be hidden away without a trace. I'm lucky enough to live in an area where car breakins are few and far between, but when I travel out of town, it would be nice to have peace of mind. I have the Nav system in my Prius, but I may get the dash mount for my husband who inherited my Garmin (and my CR-V). Hmmm... good Fathers' Day gift

[Tideland Prius]

Originally Posted by Indyking

What? What's the problem of indicating that you have a GPS? Besides, I see Garmins mounted over the support on the dashboard all the time, so they are not hidden as you think they are...

Thiefs usually go after locked glove compartments because they know there is often something valuable in there.

...and you first trip MPG was...

Yeah GPS thefts aren't common in my area but they are in some places (after all, they're small and expensive. Perfect for a thief). In the UK, the suction cup marks will tempt a thief. What's the worse that could happen? They just break a window and check. You've got more to lose cause now you've gotta replace that window.