First car ever! 2009 or 2010?

In the 2009 Prius, you can adjust the steering wheel tilt, but there is no telescoping action (toward / away from driver).

The driver's seat is 4-way adjustable - slides back and forth (2), seatback moves back and forth (2), that's it.

The seat bottom is set nearly in a full up position. If you happen to like the legroom and visibility underneath the low-hanging rearview mirror and fairly low top of windshield, then you're set. Otherwise, you are screwed, unless you wish to shave off your perfectly good seat foam, pay over $1k to have another seat installed, or have an extremely rare mod done.

The lack of seat height adjuster has been talked about here for probably 6 years. Just one of those things. They had to cut weight, cost or just made an idiotic decision.

My recipe for experiencing lack of legroom is to take a driver's seat where you normally have it adjusted, slide it 2 to 3 clicks forward, drive around like that.

The seat height adjuster is misunderstood as it tilts the seat bottom down. It also moves the seat bottom back (like a 1/4 circle motion, down and back).

 

There are more pros for the 2010 Prius

The chassis - the 2010's is all new. It is more substantial and much stiffer. Pretty sure I read the 10's chassis is more like that of a Corolla or Camry, but ask around for details.

The 2009 (non-touring) chassis feels pretty flexy to me. That's why some add more weight to the car with a stiffening plate. It doesn't seem very confidence inspiring to me on twisty backroads. I can drive twisty roads, but the car makes me feel like taking it easy. It just doesn't seems to like turns much, to me.

I understand the 2010 is much more confidence inspiring on twisty roads.

I kinda like my 2009 Prius, but I'm suffering from some discomfort in the legroom department (pants inseam like 35"). Eventually, I may go through a difficult modification of 'blending' a Corolla driver's seat with a Prius seat just to get the Corolla's height adjuster. Not up for it now. Maybe when I have $800+ extra to throw at the issue.

 

All that said, I believe, if you can afford it, it is better to get the new model car. It's not just the 'latest and greatest', it is the most current design available.

Sure, the 2009 is tried and true, but you are getting a car virtually the same as that intro'd 6 years ago. That's a long time given the pace of change.

I doubt there would be major issues with a new model Toyota. And if there are some issues, Toyota will fix them under warranty. Then you're set.

 

Watch the '2010 Toyota Prius Video' on www.edmunds.com

I haven't driven the new car, but I know what they're talking about in that video. Except it's kinda lame how one blames the awkward 2009 driving position only on the non-telescoping steering wheel - it's more than that.

A 2009 Scion xB does not have a telescoping steering wheel, but it does have a much better seat than a 2009 Prius, height adjust and lots of seat travel, hardly awkward.

 

While hardly complete, you can read my driving impressions of the 2010 Prius at http://priuschat.com/forums/2010-to...-driving-impressions-thread-2.html#post819419. I own an 06 Prius myself. Be sure to check out the other posts in that thread too.

The 2010 Prius has 4 modes: normal, EV, eco and power. No, the 09 Prius has no buttons to force these at all. You can retrofit current gen Priuses to have an EV mode button, but there's controversy about whether Toyota could deny your HV battery warranty in the event of failure, esp. in a CARB (10 year/150K mile HV battery warranty) state. The 09 Prius has no seat height adjust but the steering wheel can tilt. It just doesn't telescope.

There are a TON of articles covering what's new in the 2010. See 2010 Prius detail overload: will get 49 mpg highway rating; 100,000 sales predicted for 2009 and for starters. There's really too much for me to reiterate. The videos and PDF at http://priuschat.com/forums/2010-toyota-prius/60002-prius-technology-video.html are great! :thumb:

Besides a lot of whiz bang new features, the 2010 Prius has 24 more hp, gets 4 mpg better on the EPA test and is faster in the 0-60. Other advantages include 4 wheel disc brakes (instead of rear drums).

I'm sure that 09s will be heavily discounted to clear them out once the 2010s hit dealers. If you aren't so concerned about $ and absolute value for the $, then definitely get the 2010. If you're ok w/still very good fuel economy, don't mind not having the new features and having a 6 year old design (that's presumably more debugged), then get an 09.

 

2010 fixes the 2 main complaints about the 2009 (gen II) Prius - highway handling and seat comfort. It also adds just enough power to take away any possible complaint that it is underpowered, while still improving MPG (using econ mode, the MPG improvement will be even greater). The new stronger platform should also be safer in a crash. Some of the new options are only available on the 2010 (e.g., sunroof; adaptive cruise control).

 

2010 has USB (optional)

 

but only for units with navigation.

 

The purpose of the plate you mention is to stiffen the car, not to add weight. The old one is probably heavier, but neither would make any significant difference to the overall weight of the car.

To shadow, I'd say get the 2010, no doubt about it. It's got better seats, more power, better mileage, and better handling.

 

You can retrofit current gen Priuses to have an EV mode button, but there's controversy about whether Toyota could deny your HV battery warranty in the event of failure, esp. in a CARB (10 year/150K mile HV battery warranty) state.

 

As everyone has mostly said, the issues are better seating/driver comfort (depending on your size and preferences), and price/availability. I would ad that the 09 has several years of "fixes" for whatever technobugs may have existed, where the 10 is a brand new model, though derivative, some of the toys are new to the model. I've driven both, and after driving the shiny, spiffy 10, I got back into my freeway scarred, dingy 06, and am still amazed how quiet and smooth it rides after 83,000 trouble free miles. The 10 does have a higher mpg rating. I'm right about 45 now, after getting 50+ without even trying. Then I bought new tires, but that's a different story. I like the looks of the 10 (except the handling of foglights area), but I'd probably go for the 09, but in a Touring model if you can find one. Cheers.

 

Hello Shadowyi:

Welcome! :welcome:

I posted the following in another thread. It is just my humble opinion on why I went with the 2009 at this time, instead of waiting a few more months for the 2010:

In case you want to read the useful comments that other members had posted in that thread, here is the link to the original thread (started by smartalec89):

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-main-forum/60005-should-i-keep-my-2009-trade-in-2010-a.html

Additional comments: I'm only about 5'7", and my wife is a little shorter; the driver's seat on the 2009 works well for both of us at the fixed height. If I wish there was one ergonomic change, it would be that the steering wheel telescoped. But the current setup is adequate for us.

Another point: some of the option groupings in the 2010 have been received less than favorably by some members here. That could change in the future, as Toyota could always rearrange the packages somewhat, especially for the North American options. So in my mind, that would be another reason to wait.

Best wishes. There are a lot of really helpful people here on the forums. Whichever year Prius you choose, feel free to look for the answers to your questions here.

The "Search" function is customizeable: I usually use that first, and 80% of the time find the answers to my questions before I need to post them. I especially like the ability to only search for keywords in thread titles, versus in the entire body of the threads; many times this really helps to provide more meaningful results from the searches.

 

Woah! When I saw this post, I thought Priuschat's database was screwed up as I thought I made the above post.

Then, I realized it was copied verbatim from http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/61537-first-car-ever-2009-2010-a.html#post846615. Hmm...

 

If money is an object, a great incentive is to buy the 2009 at 0% financing till May 31.

 

Feh. Will those "more car knowledgeable male relatives" be paying for your new car? And *every* new model has some new bugs in it. Nevertheless I expect that you will enjoy it tremendously.

 

I'm new to the forum. I had to make this decision also. I went with the 2009 Prius. And the reason is this. I own a 2004 Toyota Tacoma. The last year they had this style Tacoma. And I have not had one problem with it. They have aced it with this truck. This Prius just seems so refined and right to me. And I am 5'9", and seat is comfortable to me. So maybe it isn't comfortable the tall folks.

 

If the seat fits, which it did for me (except not going back quite enough), go with the 2009. You will save quite a bit of money and have very close to very the same car. If you were a long time Pruis owner, you would probably notice some of the changes in the 2010 much more. I had this very same question and I am very happy with the 2009 and saved lots of money. I am looking forward to the 2015 model!