Pics from the Detroit Auto Show!

on closer inspection, the plug in appears to not be a 2010. so this would be an aftermarket mod then?

 

Re: The Wheels

The 17 inch wheel might look good, but with its low profile, and a tread wear rating of only 240, the ride will be hard, and tire wear will be excessive!

 

Overall I like the changes to the exterior. The interior still hasn't caught on with me yet. I'm sure the seats will be more comfortable though. Just seems like that large center console would make the interior feel smaller. I assume there's an integrated screen somewhere on the dash for the rear view camera for models without nav?

 

The interior does not feel smaller.

No integrated screen somewhere on the dash. Now in order to get backup camera you have to get a high package number with nav and screen. Personally, I hate that. I don't want nav and I hate to see an important safety feature like the backup camera become much more expensive to acquire.

 

The seats are more comfortable. The center console gives a more cockpit-like feeling to the front seats. You really feel snuggled into the car.

As stated above, you have to get Nav to get the screen and backup camera.

Tom

 

I agree with you Tom, considering that my 2008/pkg 2 Prius has the backup camera, I have to conclude that Toyota has decided that the backup camera is not so much of a safety improvement after all. I have to confess though, after more than a year of ownership, I still have not developed what I consider to be an effective inclusion of the backup camera when moving the car. At my age I depend very much on my old flying instructor's mantra: "keep your eyeballs un-caged and your head on a swivel" ... to make sure the coast is clear before moving the metal. I may finally look at the screen before moving, but it is the last part of the scan.

Thinking about it, maybe it should be the first part!

 

I like the backup camera mainly because it enables the driver to see what would otherwise be in a blindspot (children, very short people or anyone who is crawling, lying down, fallen or otherwise below your rearview even if your head is turned and you're looking straight back). I'd actually like an additional screen that I could see while I'm looking straight back (e.g., embed a screen into the top part of the rear middle seat back).

 

I was shocked to see it when I pulled off the cover as well. My initial impression was that it does not look as good as the current Iconic 15" rims. I think it is because the new one is 5 spokes (split to 10) instead of the Iconic 6 spokes, that I am used to. 2010 Prius 15" rims look lighter because there are less metal. I would guess it will weight about 12-13 lbs.

It is probably not as aerodynamic so they put the cover on them which also creates a nice swirling effect. I think it looks better than the Iconic rim with the cover (ring) on.

I wonder if we can put the Iconic wheel cover (ring) on the 2010 Prius 15" rim. It may work! [Edit]: It can't possibly work because the ring is molded for 6 spokes. Duh!

Iconic 15" 6 spokes rims without cover:


2010 Prius 15" 5 spokes (split into 10) without cover:


2010 Prius 15" rim with wheel cover:

 

I use the backup camera every time I back up, along with the mirrors and turning my head. I like being able to see the ground and rear bumper in the backup camera. You can easily pull up to within a half-inch without any trouble.

Tom