2010 Prius Comfort

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The 2010 Prius has seats that are a lot more comfortable and offers a better driving position for more people than the Gen II Prius:

1. The seats are just plain more comfortable and supportive all around, including the lumbar area, even in the model that doesn't have the optional lumbar adjustment.

2. The driver's seat has 2 to 4 inches more rearward travel than before.

3. The driver's seat has height adjustment.

4. The driver's seat has optional lumbar adjustment.

5. The steering wheel is now telescoping in addition to tilt. This fixes the problem of the Gen II steering wheel which to many people seemed about a half inch or an inch further away than what might be considered "standard" or "normal".

 

I really hope it is really more comfortable than the previous Prius!!

I rented a Prius for a day last year and couldn't get over how poor the seat comfort was. I still kind of wanted the car, so I researched various add on cushions and wedges to see if I could "fix" it, but later gave up and moved on to buy something else.

I'll have to sit in the new Prius to see for myself, but reviews I've read say the steering wheel tilt and telescope adjustments are very limited (barely moves), so the driving position still isn't that great for many.

Another issue I had with the 2008 rental was the center armrest seemed to have about 1/16th of an inch of padding under the fabric with a hard surface underneath, so your elbow and forearm would get sore after resting on the armrest for more than a short trip.
Does the 2010 have a better padded center armrest?

I thought there was 6-way power seat available, but all I can find is manual adjustment with power lumbar support. 6 way manual is much better than what was available before, but I thought there was going to be a model with or option for 6-way power.

I already have a 2008 car that I plan to keep until around 2011, but I could see the new Prius possibly being my next car at that time if everything I hated about the old Prius lack of comfort is fixed in the new. 2 more years gives them time to fix early glitches, add new features (lithium battery/plug-in version) and maybe change around option or add different package bundles (maybe make solar roof available in a package without the navigation) by then.

 

That's really disappointing. The comfort of the 2009 cloth driver's seat is absolutely unacceptable to me for any car at any price, and I am average height/build. I won't get leather because I do not care for it, and I'm certainly not going to pay 10% of the value of the car for the privilege.

 

I have the leather and the seats are very comfortable, both front and back.. More head room, more leg room in back, and what I consider a comfortable middle arm rest. And topped off with a much quieter and smoother ride.

 

I just sat in one today for the first time, but I did not drive.

The leg room is ample for such a small car. I am 6-1 and had no problem. The front seat really slides back pretty far! Head room was also good. I then hopped in back behind the drivers seat, with the seat in the same position, (pretty far back, but not all the way), and leg room was a bit tight but still manageable for my 6-1 frame. Again, head room was good.

Probably the most dissapointing thing is the rear visibility. I've never sat in a Prius before today, so I didn't know what to expect. The rear vis stinks.

The MFD was underwhelming. True, it has been moved more into your line of site, but it also sits quite a bit further away from the driver. Frankly, given the distance, the display is a bit too small - and monochrome. The much-hyped "touch tracer" is colorful, but seemed gimmicky. Granted, I have not used the display while actually driving.

Here's a funny thing. In the pictures, the climate control console looks warped. I thought this was just lens distortion. It's not. The climate control panel actually curves downward to the right. Weird.

The cloth seats felt cheap - but no cheaper than any other cloth interior. I expect the leather interior to be quite a bit better.

From the outside, the car looks a bit smaller than I envisioned from the pictures, but I am not a current Prius owner. Seeing it in person, I still think the Gen 3 looks a lot better than the Gen 2. Except the wheels. Oh my god, those 15" wheels are atrocious.

I'll take a test drive when the dealer gets a V.

 

I just put a Corolla seat with height adjuster into my 09 Prius yesterday for a 'fitting' (no driving).

http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-m...juster-vs-seat-remount-checking-them-out.html

If the 09 Prius had a height adjuster, it would not add very much for legroom. That's because the 09 seat bottom upper frame is already shifted back, just not down.

An 09 Prius height adjuster would put one a couple inches lower and gives a wee bit more legroom, that's it.

What makes a difference if a lot of bend in knees ... is sliding seat back more, even if only 1 1/2 to 2" (3 clicks).

Since the 2010 Prius roofline is shifted back, the C pillar likely back, shoulder harness back, seat reported to go back further.

I've seen 2010 pics showing less rear legroom which tells me the 2010 seat can go further back. 43" from brake pedal to back of seat bottom would be good.

 

Leather 2010 seats get 6-way manual adjustment with power lumbar ad. No 6-way power seat and I'll bet it stays that way throughout the generation.

And yes, the Gen2 seats are notoriously uncomfortable for some.

 

Isn't it less legroom in 2010 with back with front seat all way back and down? Pics I've seen indicate that.

One thing the Gen 3 would not need is more legroom guaranteed in the back, that's for darn sure.

 

This answer's it. thanks.

Should see a Mazda 3 5 door with front seat all the way back .... no rear legroom, but the ergo's are nice up front.

 

The seating was one of the key issues for many. However I am the exception to the rule. Now at 115,000 miles in 3.5 yrs I find the seats to be the most comfortable I've ridden in over the last 20 yrs ( except our 04 Highlander ). This includes 4 Camry's, an Escort, a Solara conv, an MR2 Spyder, a Chrysler LHS, a Concorde and an Oldsmobile 98.

I can drive a 1000 miles with no back or butt discomfort. The others excluding the Highlander always hurt after a couple of hours. I have a 150 mi daily RT commute. But I'm probably the exception to this rule.

 

I was interested -- very interested -- in the Prius in 2001, but I had a hard time dealing the the "Echo" look and the narrow frame. When the second generation came out, I loved the look, the engineering improvements and pretty much everything else. I took one out for a test drive, and I was so befuddled by the look out the rear view mirror that I couldn't see the forest for the trees, as it were. Still, I was interested, but I couldn't get the timing right to buy. When I finally did pull the trigger, I had driven several and was accustomed to the rear view. I don't see it as any issue now, and I feel very comfortable in my ability to see behind me.

I hope you are able to get to the same point!

One reason it is hyped is that current Prius owners have seen it in the pre-production models and knew it for what it could do for us. One of the problems with the Gen2 was the poor lighting in and on the steering wheel. The on-wheel controls really were not visible at night. The touch tracer not only "lights up" the "wheel" but also brings the "wheel" into the line of sight of driving. No need to take you eyes off of the road to find the right spot on the steering wheel!! I cannot wait to use this feature.

I thought the Gen 2 wheel covers looked bad, but the 2010 donuts are horrendous. I took mine off after about one week (on my '07).

No need to do the same on my 2010, because I have the V. I think you'll be headed the same direction.

Even if you don't want to spend the bucks for the V (or you really want the Solar Roof Package and can't get the V), I would encourage you to buy 16" wheels in the aftermarket so you improve the look of the car. I kind of like the new 15" alloy wheels, but they still don't look quite right.

 

I had an opportunity over the weekend while I was getting routine maintenance done on my 2007 to sit in a 2010, it's quite a bit nicer inside, the quality overall has improved, the plastic, and rubber accents in certain areas of the trim. The seats are much better, and the driving position in relation to holding the wheel seems more comfortable, often in my 2007 I feel strained when using both hands on the wheel. I'm young so i can deal with it.

I still think since the gen II was fully built in Japan that perhaps it was more designed economically for the smaller stature of the Japanese, Americans are in general much larger people.

 

My husband and I drove to the beach for a vacation over the Memorial Day weekend and put almost 400 miles on my '10 Prius. We got 54 MPG on mixed terrain. We kept the car in eco mode whenever it was practical, shifted into power to pass in the mountains, and overall found the car quite comfortable. My 5'11 husband drove much of the time and had no problems at all with legroom. He didn't even have the seat as far back as it can go.

I know some of the men here were concerned about this particular issue, so I asked him to pay attention to the center console. He said he never once felt like he didn't have enough room to move his right leg.