2010 Prius Models and Option Packages

OK AWESOME!!!:rockon:

 

This is how a Prius can be deadly!

 

According to the Toyota press release below:

Toyota Vehicles : Toyota Announces Prices for 2010 Prius / Toyota

The Solar roof Package $3,600 is available for the Prius III and IV. But not available on the Prius II or IV.

The only reference they make to differences in areas is re:
Base MSRPs do not include a delivery, processing, and handling (DPH) fee of $750. The DPH fee for vehicles distributed by Southeast Toyota (SET) and Gulf States Toyota (GST) may vary.

 

OK, today's disappointment
Costco said that because some dealers haven't received any 2010s and others have some "trickling in" Costco will not be offering a Costco price at this time.

It surprises (read that, disappointed) that none of the packages include the Solar Roof Package, so which ever you choose the III or IV, you still need to add $3,600 to have a moon roof! :-(

And since it is not available at all on the II or IV that choice is all there is.

Because I didn't care about Leather, I wanted a III. I looked at the navigation Package for $1,800 but it says the Solar Roof Package includes Navigation Package equipment. Not sure if that includes Nav system being voice & touch screen operated and/or music streaming via blutooth.
So this would bring my III with the Solar roof package to $27,350.

I am still a little unclear how much my tax deduction will be or what other delivery fees would apply her in CA

 

If you get a III with the roof, you get the exact same navi unit as if you got the navi system alone. Streaming bluetooth, voice, etc.

 

Has anyone tested the advanced technology package or did I miss that? Thanks, Hozz

 

It is not available on the II or V, it is available on III or IV. I agree with your sentiments. I don't know of any other car that requires Nav to get a sun/moon roof.

Roy

 

Yes, my own dealer that I gave my $500 deposit to last year finally returned my call, and verified that the same nav system comes with the solar roof package.

He also told me that Toyota is not producing any IIIs with the solar package for any dealer South of Bakersfield. (I live in San Diego) The closest III in blue (since they didn't give me yellow!) with solar roof package is in WA state.

So the in person in NY that was told their the dealers dont have the III with Solar package is in the same boat!

 

I never thought I would buy a new car.
I would say, "It depreciates as you drive it off the lot."
I am not sure that is true for the Prius.
It has a great track record for resale value.
The biggest incentive is 50 MPG, period. Although I am a techie (read that, geakish) so I do like all of the gadgets.
I waited in line beginning at 2 AM to buy our daughter a WII game the first Christmas.
I criticized them for introducing a product that they could not meet supply for.
This really feels familiar. A recent article said they had 70,000 pre-orders for the Prius 2010.
There must be a good reason why they didn't meet a target production of what should have been 100,000 cars near the delayed launch date. Surely they would not hold stock to increase a scarcity interest.

 

On paper, I like the Package III without additional factory options. Seems like a good value for around $23K.
I like the idea of the solar roof, but not for $3600 when I won't even like the features of the factory nav and I'd rather use a Garmin.
I like the looks of the Package V wheels, but not enough to pay the price to upgrade to a Package V.

If the 2011s offer a package equivalent to a 2010 III with standalone solar roof and/or 17" wheels, I'd probably get that. Otherwise, I'd go with the Package III and live without the rims and moonroof.

However, if they make big improvements to the nav for 2011, I will be more tempted to upgrade to a higher package.

 

Isn't there a hard disk based nav on the Prius in Japan that could eventually come to the US? Didn't they make a few improvements to the Gen II Prius nav after a couple years?

Apparently the map data doesn't currently include the side of the street your destination is on, so it doesn't announce which side of the street to look for the address when you arrive at your destination. That should be a basic feature.
I suppose that could possibly change in future map updates.

Unlike with a Garmin, the Nav traffic on the Toyota system doesn't give you the option to just automatically reroute when it detects major traffic delays on your route and the listed ETA doesn't include the traffic delays from NavTraffic.
Some kind of software update might be able to add that functionality in the future.
These things seem fixable.

If they can fix the most glaring issues, I would give more consideration to a model with nav.
It would still be expensive, but at least I wouldn't be paying $1800 plus $265 per year map updates plus monthly XM radio and XM NavTraffic fees and STILL LOSING features from a $250 Garmin.

 

If they can do it with just software updates, that's fine. I don't care if they keep the same hardware as long as they can add the functionality.
HDD and higher resolution would be nice, but not a deal breaker to me like the other features I mentioned.

According to this video, NavTraffic just gives you a bunch of info about traffic in your area. It doesn't seem to have any option for automatic rerouting to avoid the traffic.

http://66.132.206.224/PodCastToy/Prius/XM NavTraffic fixed2-H.264 for iPod Video 640x480.m4v

 

I noticed an autoroute option in the Nav setup options. It was turned off by default. I'll have to dig into the manual to see what it says about this setting.

 

I hope that's true. It's odd that the Toyota NavTraffic video wouldn't highlight that function if it exists.

Here is a short bit of video on Garmin traffic.

Here is another feature of the Garmin that a Prius owner might be interested in and it would have been cool if the factory nav offered:

 

The setting is called "Auto Avoid Traffic". If set to on, then when congestion info is received, a screen will appear asking if you want to reroute to avoid the congestion. If you say yes, another route will appear.

 

Ok, so that sounds better, but still not as automatic as on the Garmin where if you enable traffic avoidance, it will just do it for you without any extra prompts when you enter the route.
Not bad enough to be a deal breaker by itself though.
Now they just need to add street side announcements so when you arrive somewhere where the street address numbers aren't obvious, you will be able to limit yourself to looking for the destination on only one side of the street.