2010 Prius Driving Impressions DISCUSSION Thread

Got my Prius today, in the UK, and it's the "T-Spirit" version in dark grey: this includes 17" Michelin Primacies, SatNav, HDD-based map info and Music files, Fogs etc.

First impressions: there's a lot to learn, and it will take some time. From the key-entry system to starting: from bikes to Cessnas, I don't think I've ever started any engine with my left hand before (it's right-hand drive). It feels odd.
The stalks have too many controls and options - but I guess once you get used to them, it'll all be done without thinking.
Driving the car is still quite distracting: there's so much information, so much to look at, when one's attention should really be 90% on the road and on assessing risks (the UK doesn't have roads with 100 miles between bends - as I discovered on the Nullabor plain in S Australia).
It's quite a bit more agile than I thought it would be. And it's going to give me 3 times the fuel economy of the car it replaces, an old Lexus Gs300. Just hope it gives the same mileage, close to 200k without a hint of rust. I'm not expecting the same 70-90 mph acceleration figures though: that's another reason to buy - to change my driving habits!
The bluetooth connection was great and downloaded the address book from a Sony Ericsson. The sound system seems OK, though I'll reserve judgement till I've explored it a bit more.

Generally, I'm pleased, and I'll be able to share the driving with my wife as it's not such a big car. Now, how does Park Assist work, again?

 

I have the same left hand start button and after 6 months I am still not used to it.

I do not know about your model Prius but mine is fully loaded and both the headlights and windscreen wiper can run in automatic mode. I find that both auto systems work well and consequently I leave them set to auto thus reducing the use of the stalk controls.

Be very careful not to concentrate on these displays or you could come to grief. Limit your eye diversion to quick glances. Does your car have the speed, etc. projected on the windscreen?

It will do that. One commentator when talking about the Prius said it was more like playing a computer game than driving. The game being seeing how far you could go on a tank of petrol. Keep off the high speed M3, M4, M23 and M25 and use the slower lesser roads to up fuel your economy. On second thoughts that may not work if these roads are still as congested as when I drove on them.

Have fun with that feature.

 

A 2nd look after 5,000 miles- To enjoy driving my Prius, I ignore all the displays except the m.p.h. (subtracting 2 m.p.h. from the display to determine my real speed.) I use my ears and the seat-of-my pants to judge if I am wasting gas vs. 'getting there fast enough'. I use the power mode to move out from a stop quickly, and the 'B' mode to slow down initially, shifting to 'D' after I start applying the brakes, but before I come to a stop so the engine won't be forced to idle. Yes, this driving style drops my m.p.g. a small amount (to about 45 m.p.g.), but at the same time it is more than compensated by increasing my driving enjoyment. After several 3 hour trips in the Prius compared with previous trips in my 2009 Honda Fit (average 40 m.p.g.), I must conclude that: (1) the Prius's seats offer less cushion and support (I have leather,) (2) the Prius has more rattles in the dash, (3) the Toyota's ride is just as harsh (it is a 'V'), but in a different way (harder bumps), and the 'V's steering vs. the Honda's offers more resistance (good for high speed, bad for city driving.) The Fit Sport retails for $ 10,000 less, and has 1.5X more useful cargo space. My next 'test' will be two 1,200 mile trips, one in each car. The Prius will either grow on me and become my car 'soul mate', or be gone (the '09 Fit is my second Fit, pushing 70K combined miles on both Fits.) It might take 10-20 years to justify the difference in gas savings vs. purchase price alone, but more importanr is the difference in value in driving and ownership enjoyment, which is still to be determined.

 

After a few months waiting for snow (winter is exceptionally warm this year, and we got only a small amount of snow), I have been able to test drive a Prius in the snow. I know many of you already have, but I thought my experience may offer a little extra to this forum, as I had been driving in that same snow with my Civic minutes before, so a comparison was easier.

My observations (the positive ones):
- General behaviour in the snow: much better in the Prius, thanks to the Trac and VSC systems. I felt a lot safer in the Prius.
- Climbing our 18% hill was easier with the Prius than with the Civic (although some of that difference might be due to the tires).
- Every morning I have to do a U-turn to go to work, and by accelerating I can easily make the back of the Civic slide laterally. That was not possible with the Prius - it started compensating before I could even feel the back of the car sliding. The VSC is very efficient. (Note that VSC is new to me, as my Civic is not equipped with it).

Negative observations:
- Sound proofing is not as good as in the Civic. There was a lot of slush on the road, and I could very clearly hear its noise when it hit the car (when thrown by the wheels). I could hear that noise through the doors. I even thought one of the doors had been left opened. The same noise was much softer in the Civic.
- Rear visibility would be greatly enhanced by adding a second wiper on the inclined rear window. Both would be arranged like the front ones, and this way would cover a much better portion of the window. Rear visibility is already limited, a second wiper would help a lot keeping it at that level during sticky snow falls.
- Steering wheel does not telescope enough.
- I thought the feeling on the brakes was strange - a "constant" pressure, very different from the Civic. I would have liked to feel a difference when going from regerating to friction braking - this way I would have adjusted my foot pressure to maximize regeneration and minimize friction. Perhaps that is already possible, and I did not drive it long enough to notice.

Neutral observations:
- The car did not feel as connected to the road as the civic. That did not bother me, though.
- There was less power on the Prius than on the Civic when accelerating to reach highway speed. That did not bother me either.
- Emergency braking (ABS) was similar in both cars.
- I did experience the "plunge foward" of the brake issue. It did not bother me at all.

In summary, I was very pleased wih the drive. My favorite part is when I (sadly) left the car to the dealer, who sat in it and left to go park it. I could not hear a single bit of noise, the car was totally silent on the snow.