Newbie First Drive Impressions

I picked up (and drove straight to work) my 2010 Prius V, Blizzard Pearl with light gray (ash maybe?) interior and Advanced Technology Package. First off, PriusChat is overwhelming because there is so much information and I don't yet speak your language but then I go and slide into my new Prius and it is difficult to breathe.

It only took me about 15 minutes to get to work so I don't have a lot of experience but I do have a lot of first impressions...

1. WOW

2. Fit and Finish - The car genuinely feels solid. Nothing (that I have noticed) feels cheap or flimsy. I am a big guy - about 360 - and am about 6' tall. I have no issues with the 'separated' front cabin and with the drivers seat pumped all the way down I can pull the seat forward about 4 inches and telescope steering wheel 100% and still get in and out without issue. I didn't try, but judging from the looks, with the drivers seat in this position (as I described) I would be able to get in the back seat behind even myself driving. The seat belts are plenty big enough and the seats feel very sturdy and are quite comfortable for a smaller Japanese car. I say it that way because the seat bottoms in foreign cars...specifically asian...tend to be short which can make the seats very uncomfortable.

3. Technology - I am an IT Operations Manager for a major airline so this car fits both of those industries. The 'flight' control layout is very nice and everything seems very easy to use and self explanatory. It took less than 10 minutes to have my home address programmed into the Nav, get my starbux POIs loaded up and to get my phone connected with all 200+ contacts synced up with the car. The sound/mic quality of the bluetooth connection is very good and in fact my wife was surprised to find out I was talking to her from and via the car. Now on to the Dynamic Radar Cruise Control. I got on the highway headed to work (still talking to my wife) and set the cruise control for 70 and the DRCC for 'long'. Within about 30 seconds, a semi had moved over into the right hand lane and the car actually braked, bringing the car down to 63 mph and held it there for the next 5 or 6 minutes (it was still showing 70 in the instrument panel as a reminder of where I set it). The semi turned off the highway and the car immediately brought itself up to 70. I was explaining this to my wife and she asked the logical question...what happens if somebody pulls in front of you?? Perfect timing because there was another semi on the on ramp that was going at a speed that would force me to slow down or move over...time to see what this baby will do. With my foot poised over the brake pedal, the semi broke the plane of the radar about 30 feet in front of me and the car instantly braked (hard I might add...harder than I may have) and slowed from 70 to about 32 I think and held that speed until there was an appropriate amount of space and then began to increase my speed up to 57 where it held it till I got off the highway. Other than that, I did have the lane keep assist turned on but I don't really have an opinion about that quite yet. I look forward to getting my iPod plugged in and operational via the built in port and controllable via the stereo.

4. Overall - Since I have spent less than 30 minutes inside the car I don't have much more to comment on other than comparing it back to my wife's Gen II. Miles apart in my opinion. I feel more cramped in the wide open cabin of my wife's Prius than I do in the separated cabin of mine. The car feels beefier (I don't know what else to say)...it just feels very sturdy and sure of itself. Not to say that my wife's doesn't...it just feels different and bigger. If there is something that I don't like or at least something that stuck out immediately are the side mirrors. What the heck is up with them. It feels like they are angled down regardless of what adjustments you make. Not a problem...just an observation. Other than that, you still have the limited view or the feeling of limited via the rear view mirror. The only thing I don't have a feel for is the Consumption/Energy readouts etc. On my wife's it is on the navigation screen whereas mine it is on the instrument panel. I have no idea how I did in the first 15 miles I put on the car. There is just a learning curve there that I have to overcome. Lastly, it feels different than any other car I have driven...except a golf cart. It has that sort of governed feeling to it when starting. Again, I understand why that is and it will just take time for me to get out of my 3.6L 280hp odyssey and into my new Prius.

 

260..you are correct...bad typo!!!

D

 

Not rude at all and in fact I am still wrong. I mentioned 260 to someone else at work and they corrected me...2010 it went from 210 (I think) to 248.

:focus: