2010 Features and Impressions

The pretty logo in my avatar is the emblems on the radar-equipped model. It is paint, not light. Front and rear have the same blue "glow" paint. It is apparently something to do with the radar function.

 

Cool! And it also serves as a subtle warning to the rest of the world that the driver can't drive or parallel park.

 

I was told by a Toyota guy (I wouldn't say who, even if I remembered) that the blue logos were a "Japanese styling thing". I came up to him and asked if he wanted input on the various logo treatments on the car, and he said sure. I said please do NOT use the logo on the blue car - a full 1" deep 3D logo will be a complete nightmare to clean and wax. Then I noted that the grey car had a nice smooth logo, but the blue would not cut it. His response? "THANK YOU FOR SAYING THAT!" We then got into a discussion on US vs Japanese styling, and he said the Japanese designers really, really like the blue, and he agrees with me that the US folks are most likely going to hate it on some colors (it's going to look HORRID on a Barcelona Red car). He noted they've had discussions on it, but the Japanese designers aren't "getting" the US viewpoint. I told him if they want that fade effect, use white or silver, it would go with any paint color.

Now for the fun part - he noted that there would most likely be a JDM part without the blue (similar to the black chrome logos you can get now for the 2G), and he promised that if the final product comes with blue logos, that the second he had the JDM part #, he'd make sure that we'd find out that part #.

He noted that after I said if it came with blue, I'd probably have to remove the logos, sand the back of them until the blue disappeared, and repaint them before reinstalling them ;-)

 

Here are mine:

• Hood's prop rod can stand on two positions for different height.
• The wipers are frame-less aerodynamic blades.
• The brake LEDs now use 88% less energy than the Iconic model's LEDs.
• Low beam LED headlamps use 20% less energy than the Halogen (My calculation: 44W Vs. 55W).
• Backup camera video quality looks better.
• Reverse beep is still there.
• The radio antenna screws on the 'sharkfin' shape base.

 

A couple questions for anyone who attended the show:

1. How does the LCD brightness compare with the Gen 2 Prius MFD? What about glare from light entering the windows? Depending on your heading and the sun angle, it can be a definite nuisance in the Gen 2.

2. How is the rear window visibility? I've gotten used to it in my Gen 2, but the crossbar in the rear hatch has always bothered me to some degree.

 

The lower glovebox no longer has the deep pocket at the back that held mapbooks and manuals so nicely.

I tried folding the seats flat, but couldn't do it. I thought I had moved the front seat all the way forward, and I removed the headrest - temporarily. Maybe the front seats are taller?

 

looked closely at the driver's side profile picture of 2010 ...

Words that come to mind -

Bolder, sexier, sleeker to name a few.

The more vertical front end gives a stronger look.

Crest in the roof obviously moved back, increased rear headroom. Maybe even increased roofline view for driver.

Rearend profile much improved. Gone is the rounded-in shape up to the spoiler which gives a bit of wanky-butt look to the 2nd Gen.

Steeper rake / downward slope of top of doorlines - looks sportier there

Good job Toyota! Don't worry, you'll sell tons of these

 

Great lists of the new features, guys! I'm glad you guys were all working your fingers off while I was sampling the bar offerings.

 

I was chatting up the models. Those women were very tall (at least when you are my height).

Tom

 

As to Japanese stylist's love for the blue background for the Circle-T badges,
blue appears to be the "eco" color in both Europe and Japan.

As a way to discourge its use on NA cars, perhaps someone with the right
connections should tell Toyota that the blue has a wholly different association
here. To my eye, it looks a whole lot like what back in the day was called
"Chevrolet Racing Blue." Further, it looks suspiciously like the shade of blue
used in the two broad racing stripes on the Ford GT-40 and some Shelby
Mustangs.

The Prius is supposed to be leading edge, not derivative, especially in the
corporate logo.

 

My concern with the logo was not so much the color (though I'd probably prefer the "without" than the "with"), but the size of the logo. Didn't it appear to be much larger?

 

The logo is a moot point. It generally comes off with the first blind pedestrian...

Tom

 

>Doors auto-unlock when shifting into park, and presumably lock when in motion.

Jeez, I hope not. I personally despise autolock doors (almost as much as using child locks on doors for school age children...)

On a more hopeful note, I read in one of the reviews that the front seats will have more legroom/longer travel; wouldn't it be great if the rails were compatible with the 2G models?

greg