2010 Prius Driving Impressions Thread

He has learned hypermiling techniques pretty quickly! His Peugeot is a small hatch, manual transmission, with a 1.6 flex engine, 116 hp/5600rpm (ethanol) and 110hp/5600rpm (gasoline).

He claims a fuel efficiency of 12 km/l in the city and 15 km/l in the highway, which translates to: 28-35 MPG. He uses ethanol for hwy trips and gasoline for city driving because it’s cheaper that way in Brazil. He also said his car is not that much stronger than the Prius in ECO mode!

 

That is increditable! He does better than 95 % of all Prius drivers without practice. I have a 2010V and the best so far is 57.5mpg. Thanks for the post.

 

I know how you feel as the first new car I ever ordered was a 1967 Camaro Rally Sport. It was so much fun and would fly(before all the radar traps). We took it on our honeymoon and my wife(very conservative driver) was driving on the Kansas turnpike and exclaims "wow I'm going 115mph and I didn't realize it". We really love our new V. Have not reached your mpg yet. What presure are you running in your Toyo's?

 

When I saw the MPG in the MID after he parked the car back from his trip, my jaw just dropped! I checked the trip mileage to make sure he did not reset it going through the last downhill miles that give access to my house, just to try to fool me, but everything made sense! 450 miles round trip from Indy to Chicago with some downtown driving makes perfect sense. I could not believe it! He claims he kept right on the maximum speed limit all the time, but I doubt it. I think he was just going as slow as possible just to get the best mileage as possible and to beat the hell out of my numbers. The best I have done so far was 56.3. He's all proud of himself saying that I'm a loser when it comes to MPG .
Here is the problem: my brother is 23 years old only and he has always driven sporty cars. Can you picture how humiliating this is for me, since I’m 10 years older than him and spent lots of time giving him advice on hypermiling?

He’s also asking if he can take my Prius with him to Brazil…

 

couldn't you just check the avg speed recorded?

 

I did but I could not tell if it he was telling the truth or not about going always right at the maximum speed limit. His average was 50 mph and I think he may actually be telling the truth since he did some downtown driving and there are a few periods of 45 maximum speed along the way. So, I don't know...

 

please - you must stop all this constant posting about how much you love your prius!

just kidding of course

what is that axiom? something about the faith of the converted being stronger?

 

My thread about my 780 mile drive home from picking up my IV should probably have gone here. I'll edit it down to just to my driving experience:

Yes. I ran the border. The Dealer Region border that is. Took my Saab for one last road trip – driving straight through from Boston to DC and landing with friends in the DC area. Saturday we wandered to Maryland’s Eastern Shore where I picked up my IV with solar Prius and said goodbye to the Saab. Next morning I was off on a roundabout return trip that was designed to follow the break-in rules and have fun at the same time. I took slower state highways up through Gettysburg and Lancaster PA, NJ, up the Hudson River in NY and then got on the highway to zoom home. Over 780 miles of mostly rolling hills and some grades with the AC on, I averaged 52 MPG and 48MPH.

The sunroof is great – I think it’s the biggest/widest sunroof I’ve ever had. The solar panel ventilation was nifty. I had left the car out in the lot of the Visitor Center at Gettysburg. When I returned to plot the next leg of my route into the nav, I wasn’t looking for the ventilation, but I noticed it when I got in. It was definitely cooler than it would have been. (Wish I’d thought to use the remote AC (doh!))

Just having the fob in my pocket or purse and not having to really use it was very cool. Love that. Was happy with the sound system – I had brought an audio book for the trip and was happy to find that there was very little road noise to distract from the sound system. The Bluetooth worked well. My phone synced up with it – although I have not tried to upload my contacts yet. Those I talked to on the system said the sound quality was very clear.

Overall, I was impressed with the handling of the car. Went down a particularly steep and windy street and slipped into B just to see what the effect would be and was able get all the way down without braking. It also worked well on a couple of steep downgrades. There’s a more substantial feel to this car compared to the GEN II I drove last year- nice thunk from the doors. The nav worked well – I’m still figuring some of it out – when I knew where I was I realized it lead me in some funky directions, but I loved being able to wander home on this trip and know that the nice lady inside the nav would get me where I needed to be.

I’m going through the owner’s manuals a little at a time. I really want to better understand the various hybrid displays to understand what they all mean. I know that the times I had to push the car up a grade and go into the Red Zone (I figure red = bad) the normally quiet ICE roared up as I pushed to try to maintain speed. I was not trying to drive any differently than I would normally so that I could see what sort of mileage I would get without ‘trying’ – I was pretty impressed that the car performed well and didn’t need any special driving technique to get better FE than advertised.

 

I can't help myself!

I don't know. I wouldn't say I am totally converted to the Prius legacy as I will still keep my eyes open for other hybrids in the future, but if Toyota keeps up with the good job for the next generations, I can picture myself becoming totally addicted to it. Toyota will definitively have lots of pressure to make the Prius better and better because the competition is going to increase a lot for the next few years.

 

Luke 7:47 Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

I'm giving up a 14 mpg Expedition as a daily driver. I'll love my Prius a lot more than most of you.

 

Well at 10 pages a day it will take you two months. Add another month if you do the NAV booklet

 

I took delivery of my V / AT package yesterday. I have been driving a 2006 Gen II package 8 (leather, nav, etc). My first impressions accurately reflect comparison with the Gen II car since my last drive in it was only an hour before my first drive in the new car. It's important to note that the model V with its 17 inch wheels/ low profile tires does not drive the same as the other models. The V has a tighter suspension and sharper steering (less turns of the steering wheel lock-to-lock). This makes a big difference.

The first thing I noticed was the increased power. This is in normal mode. When I pressed the "power" button (what a great name for a control!), I forgot I was driving a hybrid. Yes, 9.8 seconds 0-60 is still in the "family sedan" range, but it is way better than the much slower pickup in my Gen II. As you might have guessed, I am not a hypermiler. I like to drive!

In general, moving the car through traffic at 50 or 60 is a joy. Much more fun than the Gen II. I really enjoyed that car, but more because I am a techie and loved the cool electronics and great mileage. No one could accuse that car of being a great handling car. Why? well, for one thing the overly aggressive stability control made sure that things stayed in the "nice family car" range. It even cut in when I entered a freeway.

The Gen III V is a totally different story. I put the car in "power" mode and at the freeway entrance, floored it. The combination of the new, more powerful engine and the bigger motor actually pushed me back in my seat! Big fun. Steering is quick and very responsive. While I wouldn't say it's a sports car, the Gen III V is, well, sporty. It's fun to drive. If you forget that this is a hybrid and just think of it as a regular small sedan, you will find it compares very favorably to a V6 Camry.

Having established that this is a very drivable car, next let's play with the new features. Pressing the cruise control button on its stem, changes the information display. A green symbol shows cruise is on and a large box replaces the hybrid data with the message "Radar Ready". How cool is that? There is a button on the wheel to adjust the follow distance for the adaptive cruise control. You can vary following distance from about 100 feet to 160 feet in three steps. I got up to (the legal) 60 MPH and engaged the cruise. The box on the display filled showing two big bars indicating I was set for the middle following distance. I was rapidly approaching a car in front of me. As it got closer, a car appeared on the top of my radar display. As the distance closed (quickly), I started worrying, but kept my foot off the brake. Sure enough, the car slowed and followed at the set distance. At an exit, the car in front of me showed his brake lights and slowed much more. So did I! All this without touching a thing. Unlike the standard cruise control, the adaptive control uses the brakes for slowing. If the car ahead slows below 25mph or a car cuts you off, a beep sounds to tell you that you are on your own. In practice this works really well.

Another cool feature is that lane keep assist (LKA). Turn this on and a beep will sound (and the wheel will move a bit) to warn you that you are departing your lane. Much more interesting is that if you are using the cruise control, LKA will actually steer for you and keep you in the center of the lane, even through reasonable turns. For safety purposes, you can't just take your hands off the wheel. LKA expects a certain sight resistance from you holding the wheel before it will act as an autopilot. Otherwise, it will beep to warn you that you are wandering. It was an eerie feeling when the car actually took turns in the road without my help.

I didn't try the parking assist yet. That requires time and space the first few times to learn how to manage the targeting, etc. I will get to that today.


Some things have improved dramatically from my Gen II

• Handling is much better, even sporty
• Much more power
• Better seat position and adjustments
• Telescoping steering wheel (really nice if you have long legs like I do)
• All 4 windows have auto down AND up.
• Improved Navigation. The screen is easier to read, the voice now pronounces the street names (amusingly at times), and the menus are much more intuitive.

Some things are not as good:

• The center compartment also covers a cup holder. To get inside the compartment, you have to first slide the cover back, then open it. It's very hard to see inside since the opening is nearly behind you. Also the compartment is smaller.
• The radio is about the same as on my Gen II. I had hoped that JBL could have stepped things up in the new car.
• Many of the configuration changes we could make ourselves (seat belt beeps, etc.) now can only be done by the dealer.

The Gen II was more of a statement than an automobile. I loved mine, but I had to trade handling and speed for great mileage and cool features. The new Gen III model V gives back the fun of driving while adding a very large number of available improvements.

If you have been driving a Gen I or Gen II Prius, you will instantly feel the improvements in the hybrid technology. The electric motor is used far more often, the gas engine is unobtrusive to the point that I can hardly tell if it is running or not. Everything is smoother. This model (V with AT package) cost about $4,000 USD more than my Gen II. It was worth it!

 

No kidding!! I find myself skipping around though - jumping to areas that I don't really know about. Unfortunately there's a lot of those! Hoping to go out tonight and upload phone contacts. Not sure yet if it will take them all at once or the painful one-at-a-time. This weekend will be the great wash and polish. I'm hoping the weather cooperates with this process! :rain:

 

Bose? The premium sound in gen 3 is by JBL. Was it Bose in gen 2?

 

You are right. Typo...it is JBL. I WISH it were Bose.

 

I wish it was Bose too, but I found the JBL in gen 3 too be good, it's not the premium sound you find in luxury cars but not bad for the Prius class. Of course, if there was no improvement from gen 2 like you claim, then I would be very disappointed too... Gen 3 is my first Prius so I can't compare its sound with gen 2.

 

What particularly got to me was that we bought a Tacoma at the same time. It has JBL sound and it is amazing! I realize that (maybe) there isn't as much speaker room in the Prius, but really this difference is too much!

 

Picked up Blue III this weekend. Really happy with the way the car drives and handles and sound system and XM radio with 3 month trial. Already have on my other car so need to see if adding a second car is reasonable. So far, happy with everything except 1) plastic steering wheel since I am used to leather wrapped; 2) Power plug in front storage areas - so tight that after a few times, the GPS connector is now stuck so guess the local dealer will get to remove it Monday; 3) Reverse beep needs to go; 4) It was 102 in eastern WA on the way back to Vancouver and the AC was not cold enough until drove in to temps below 95 in western WA; and 5) Still not sure about cloth seats vs leather, especially the door armrests which are material and so going to be a dirt magnet.

 

How is this for a great driving impression.
60.3 MPG driven over 90 miles at an average speed of 56 MPH.
Proof it can be done. That is 4 times the gas mileage of my last car.
Just say no to Gas Addiction. lol