Review: 2010 Toyota Prius
06-13-09, 07:14 PM
#1
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Review: 2010 Toyota Prius
By numerous CL member requests, a Review of the 2010 Toyota Prius
http://www.toyota.com/sem/prius.html...610_p165326528
In a Nutshell: Superb electronics, gas mileage, and reliability; Not-so-superb road manners, sheet metal and interior plastics.
I know it's been a long wait for my new Prius review. A number of you CL members have requested it, but there wasn't much I could do. Toyota has not introduced it on the East Coast until now (I don't remember seeing it at this year's Washington, D.C. Auto Show either), although I know a couple of you in other areas have already seen it and (maybe) test-driven it. The first new 2010 Prius models are just coming into Washington-area dealerships now, although most shops have only 1 or 2 of them, and some still don't have any. As expected, like the new Chevy Camaros, most are pre-sold or otherwise not available for a review and test-drive. However, a Toyota shop close to my house had a bright-red, beige-leather, 2010 Prius-V model (the top-line version) demo that it was allowing test-drives in long enough for at least a basic review, so it was into my Outback and off to the review before I lost my chance and someone bought it (my guess is that it won't last the rest of the day).
The first-generation Prius was introduced the he American market in the late summer of 2000, allowing the first-generation Honda Insight hybrid (a smaller, 2-seater) to beat it by about 6-7 months.....the Insight was introduced in January of that year. Both cars had alrady been on sale for some time in the Japanese home market. As gas was relatively cheap then, neither the first-generation Insight or Prius proved particularly popular at the time here in America; the Insight for its very small size and limited usefulness, and the somewhat larger, more useful Prius for its geekiness and unsual interior and controls. The Prius, at the time, despite its excellent gas mileage, was perceived by many potential shoppers as a smaller, geekier, and more expensive brother to the ubiquitous Corolla, which, of course, sold in big numbers. The then-new electronics in the drivetrain were also, of course, new and unproven in the American market.
Of course, that all changed with the second-generation model. The Prius (and Honda hybrids) developed a reputation for reliability as good or better then most of their conventional gas-engine siblings, and, as gas steadily got more expensive (though still with sharp up-and-down swings in price), the car's popularity increased with it as well. Fire department and rescue personnel, though, had to go through special training on how to get people out of them after accidents, as damaged electrics and battery packs could be very hazardous to both fire personnel and victims.
And, of course, the car became a status symbol, not just among environmentalists and college professors, but as a Hollywood and celebrity car as well. A number of well-known celebrities, musicians, and entertainers in the Hollywood/Beverly Hills area chose to buy and drive Priuses, even though their enormous incomes allowed them access to some of the finest chauffeur-driven luxury cars in the world like the Rolls-Royce and Maybach. The appeal of the Prius did not just lie in the miserly gas mileage, but in the fact that small Toyota and Honda hybrids had extremely low emissions as well. Many Prius owners bought the car not just to save gas, but to make an environmental statement. It became the ultimate automotive expression of political correctness, since pure electric cars, which were even less-polluting, were rather impractical and range-limited.
For 2010, the third-generation Prius comes in four trim levels; the Prius II, III, IV, and V. All share the same drivetrain.....a 1.8L VVTi-four, permanent-magnet elecric motor, a CVT (continuously-variable transmission), and one of the most advanced Nickel-Hydride battery packs ever to go into a hybrid. As stated above, I reviewed a top-of-the-line Prius V model that started at 27K and listed at over 32K......that may sound expensive, but it is the top model, and much cheaper versions are available in the low-mid 20s, if dealers don't price-gouge and mark them up over list (as they did last summer with the Prius when gas was over $4.00 a gallon).
After reviewing the new third-generation model, I had mixed feelings about it, overall. It is a superb car if you want the ultimate in efficiency and non-sporting driving in a basic commuting car, and some of the controls/displays inside were improved over the second-generation model, but some other things about it, IMO, proved disappointing. For the details, read on.
Model Reviewed: 2010 Toyota Prius V
Base Price: $27,270
Options:
AdvancedTechnology Package: $4500
Destination/Freight: $750
List Price as Reviewed: $32,520 (Don't faint over the price tag......there are much less-expensive versions)
Drivetrain: FWD
(Gas engine): Transverse-mounted, 1.8L VVT-i in-line 4, 98 HP @ 5200 RPM, Torque 105 ft-lbs. @ 4000 RPM
(Electric Motor): AC permanent-magnet, 80 HP, Torque 153 ft-lbs. (peak-power electric-motor figures not published by Toyota)
Nickel-Hydride battery pack, CVT (Continuously-Variable Transmission)
EPA Mileage Rating: 51 City, 48 Highway
Exterior Color: Barcelona Red Metallic
Interior: Beige Leather
PLUSSES:
Superb Gas mileage.
Excellent reliability record.
Alternate-Fuel-Vehicle tax credits available.
Heavily promoted by celebrities and environmentalists.
The ultimate in political correctness (depending on your point of view).
Advanced, state-of-the art electronics.
Advanced Nickel-Hydride battery pack.
Battery pack location allows rear-seat folding for added cargo space, unlike many hybrids.
Quiet gas engine.
Ride comfort better than expected.
POWER/ECONOMY hybrid settings.
Full-hybrid design allows extended electric operation without gas motor.
Generally good wind and road noise isolation.
Good but not excellent paint job.
Extremely low 0.25 drag-coefficiency.
Hood insulation pad (for gas engine).
Interior controls and shift lever an improvement over previous version, but some still quirky.
Less-complex, less-garish hybrid gauges than before.
Excellent stereo sound.
Nicely-done sun visors and headliner.
Fairly nice seat leather.
Good front headroom; generally good rear headroom.
Good rear legroom for a car this size.
Generally well-finished cargo compartment, except for cargo pull-cover.
Handy under-floor cargo compartment.
MINUSES:
Probably will be hard to bargain on in the showroom.
Exterior sheet metal/hardware not as solid as previous model.
Flimsy, shiny-black-plastic rear spoiler.
Hard-plastic, hard-surface interior-trim materials not up to snuff.
Cheap-feeling stereo buttons.
Small, kiddy-car steering wheel.
slow steering response even with new lower-profile tires.
Awkward shift-lever action.
Awkward-feeling, non-linear brake pedal.
Very low ground clearance for a non-sports-oriented vehicle.
Flimsy pull-shade cargo cover in back.
Hood prop-rod instead of struts.
Crowded, tight underhood compartment.
Temporary spare tire.
Lower-dash protrusion and somewhat tight knee room up front for tall people.
Front seat cushions rather flat and non-supportive.
Awkward, Peek-a-Boo heated seat controls.
Transmission-Park button not integrated with console shifter.
Under-dash, foot-operated parking brake rather awkward to use.
OK but not particularly good vision out the back from extremely flat roofine.
Digital speedometer too far forward and to the right (IMO, should be analog and in front of the steering wheel).
Cheaply-painted silver-metallic interior trim.
EXTERIOR:
As you walk up to the new Prius, the general overall shape looks very similiar to the new Honda Insight (not surprising, of course, since the new Insight will compete with lower-priced versions of the new Prius). The Prius is slightly larger on the outside than the Insight and substantially roomier in the rear seat (more on that below). I'm not a fan of the way the grille and headlights are shaped (or in the old Prius, either), but styling, of course, is subjective, and I didn't list it as a complaint. The exterior sheet metal and hardware seems thinner and less-solid on the new Prius than on the old one (the old Prius had pretty impressive sheet metal/hardware and durable interior materials). The shiny-black, plastic rear spoiler felt somewhat flimsy, and the twin side-mirror housings, while still having a nice smooth snap/swivel action, felt lighter as well. The paint job was good, but a noticeable step below the superb paint job of some other Toyota/Lexus products....and that of the old Prius. The bright fire-engine red on my test car (Barcelona Red Metallic) was glossy and kept your eyes open, but was not particularly smooth, and showed some noticeable orange peel. There are only seven exterior Prius paint colors offered, but included some nice shades......I liked the bright red and the medium/dark blue. The ground clearance, for a non-sporting vehicle, is pretty low....some care may be needed over speed bumps and ramp driveways, and it may be difficult to get a hose underneath to flush of the underbody after driving on winter-treated roads. The almost flat rear roofline hampers outward vision a little, but not as bad as in some other cars with similiar styling....and it DOES contribute to the car's extremely low 0.25 wind-drag coefficient, which helps raise gas mileage and lower wind noise. There are no body-side moldings to help ward off parking-lot door dings. The wheels and tires are distinctly lower-profile and more aggressive on the new Prius than the fairly tall, thin, low-rolling-resistance tires on the old model, but, strangely, did not ride or handle much differently.....more on that below.
UNDERHOOD:
Open the rather thin and unsubstantial hood, and you do find a nice insulation pad underneath of it, but no struts....you must use a cheap prop-rod. The rod tip fits into one of two holes to change the hood angle when it is up. With the 1.8L gas in-line four-cylinder and the big AC permanant-magnet motor stuffed into a small underhood compartment to start with, things are naturally a little tight, but there seems to be just enough space for air to circulate around in so that underhood temperatures don't get too high (That's a problem with some of the Nissan 3.7L V6 hoods I've looked at). A large plastic engine cover prevents access to many of the gas-engine components, but most people who own hybrids don't do a lot of their own work under the hood to start with (hybrids are just too complex for the average car-owner), so that's probably not an important issue. Most of the things that do have to be reached by the average owner (dipsticks, reservoirs, and filler-caps, etc...) are easily accessible.
INTERIOR:
Inside, the new Prius had some improvements over the old model.....and some disappointments. I'll start with the good stuff first. Some of the geeky controls and displays have been toned down a little bit on the new model. The old red/blue video screen for the gas/electric power flow is gone....replaced by bar-graphs at the top of the dash. The awkward dash-tab for the CVT transmission has been moved to the console (where, IMO, it belongs) and replaced by a slightly larger shift lever, though the awkward spring-back action still remains. The digital speedometer (I prefer analog ones) is still too far forward and to the right for my tastes, but is a little easier to see at a glance than the old one was. The NAV screen and controls seem to be well-integrated with the stereo *****/buttons and readout, though the stereo readout, at the top of the NAV screen, is a little too high above the controls for my tastes. The stereo itself (the top-of-the line Prius unit) sounds excellent.......I didn't have enough time to play much of my Heavy-Metal stuff today, and just sampled the regular AM/FM and satellite-radio functions. Headroom up front was good, under the sunroof, with the seat down all the way, and likewise, good in back for guys my size (6' 2") as well. Legroom, both front and back was also good for guys my size, helped somewhat by the clever, scalloped front seatbacks. The headliner and sun-visors, increasingly cheap on many cars today, were nice-feeling, with a thin but soft fabric. The beige leather on the seats appeared to be a decent grade, and not the grainy, rough, imitation stuff many cars today are using.
But much of the rest of the interior was, IMO, disappointing. The dash in front of the steering wheel has the same blankness, with no gauges, that it did on the old Prius and does on the Toyota Yaris and some small Scion models. The steering wheel itself is somewhat undersized for my tastes and has a small, kiddy-car feel, though the controls on the spokes are nicely integrated. The dash, console, and door panels use thinner, hard plastics and surfaces that have a dictinctly lighter, cheaper feel than on the old Prius. As with the thinner exterior sheet metal, it looks like Toyota did some significant cost-cutting on the new interior materials. The painted silver-metallic plastic on the inside door handles is not well-done, and looks cheap. The front seat cushions are rather flat, with little support. The switches for the heated front seats are awkwardly placed, on the floor, at the bottom of a BIG hole under the center console.....you have to reach WAY down under the console to get to them. And the glove box had a thin, tinny feel, with a somewhat tinny lock as well. The stereo-**** buttons don't match the nice stereo sound quality.....they have a loose, cheap feel as well.
CARGO AREA/TRUNK:
Open the rear hatch with the electronic release-button, and you are treated to a nice, fairly well-finshed cargo area. A nice surprise, unlike most other hybrids, is that the split-rear seats can be folded down to increase the cargo room.....with most other hybrids, the big bulky battery packs behind the seats prevent the extra cargo room. In the new Prius, they are receded down low enough and far enough out of the way that they don't interfere.....kudos to the Toyota and battery-pack engineers for that. A nice grade of soft, light gray carpeting covers the folding trunk floor panel and the lower sides of the walls. I didn't see any remote-releases in the cargo area for the rear seats, but, at least, as I just stated, they DO fold, unlike most hybrids. Under the carpeted trunk-floor panel lies a nice big, wide, cubby-compartment, and, underneath that, the usual temporary/donut spare tire. The only real disappointment in the cargo area, besides the donut spare in place of a real one, is the thin, flimsy pull-shade cover that hooks around the rear flanges to cover up the things in the cargo bed. It feels like, if you aren't careful about how you pull and hook it, that you could tear it in half.
ON THE ROAD:
The Prius, of course, comes with a state-of-the-art electronic POWER start/stop engine button. A dash readout tells you if the electronic key fob is in close enough vicinity to start the engine. When I drove it, this particular car had been previously test-driven that morning, so the batteries were at a near-full charge. So, in this mode, when the when the POWER button was pushed, the electrical system turns on, and, like in the Ford Fusion Hybrid, you wait a moment for a green hybrid light on the dash to signal it's time to go. Flip the console-mounted shift lever left into Drive (it snaps back to the center position like in the old Prius), press the pedal, and you take of in complete silence like a golf cart. Initial acceleration, like in the old Prius, feels a little sluggish, even with the fairly strong torque of the electric motor. The new Prius dash doesn't have the old video red/blue circus screen showing electric/gas power flow like the old one did, but, instead, has video-bar graphs in the upper-dash showing MPG and hybrid functions. There are buttons to choose POWER or ECO hybrid programming as desired. In ECO mode, as expected, the electric motor runs most of the time for economy, and the gas engine starts up just long enough to recharge the batteries charges. I didn't see a tach, analog or digital, anywhere for gas-engine RPM, but it could (?) be mixed in with one of the many electronic button-modes that you have to access. In POWER mode, the gas engine kicks in when you hit the pedal for acceleration, and, of course, more gas is used and MPG goes down. The gas engine, though, is fairly quiet (you can hear it kick in and watch the hybrid gauges, but the engine/exhaust noise level is still low). The gas/electric combination, of course, gives you a little more spunk, but it is clear that this is no performance car. There's no free lunch, and even with today's advanced engineering, you still have to give up some power to get the 50 MPG this car is capable of.
The CVT transmision had none of the surging/rubber-banding characteristics I've seen in Honda hybrid CVT's, and lacked distinct gear "ranges", but did allow the RPMs to slip/flare a little on initial acceleration....another characteristic of some CVTs. I like the fact that the transmission lever is back on the console where it belongs instead of on the dash like in the old Prius, but it still has that annoying spring-back motion into the middle. The PARK function is a separate push-button in front of the shift lever.
The chassis/tires had a couple of surprises....two or three things I wasn't expecting. The old Prius had Roly-Poly handling, slow steering response, and a soft ride by today's standards. Since the new, third-generation model has lower-profile tires (especially on the upmarket versions) and a (supposedly) firmer suspension, I expected a firmer ride, quicker steering response, and less body roll. Not so. It DOES have a little less body roll, but the steering response, with the small, toylike steering wheel, feels just as slow as the last one did, and the ride comfort, strangely, seems to be just about as soft and comfortable as in the old model. Toyota may (?) be using a slow ratio in the electric power-steering rack that balances out the effect of the newer tires and suspension. Be advised....even with low body roll, this is not a car for the twisties or for canyon-carving. But it (still) does gives a fairly nice ride over bumps, without much firmness or harshness.
Wind noise was fairly well controlled. I wasn't able to drive the car long enough to test the road noise on a lot of different smooth/coarse road surfaces (the salespeople, not surprisingly, gave me a strict time limit), but road noise from the new-spec tires seemed to be generally well-controlled on the mostly non-coarse asphalt roads I had it on. Though the brakes had the efficient regenerative-braking mode that is pretty much standard on all hybrids where, on coasting, the electric motor works in reverse as a large generator to help recharge the batteries, I didn't like the pedal feel at all. Most of the pedal motion felt awkward, non-linear, ineffective, and super-spongy, then, when the pedal got close to the floor, brake effectiveness increased rapidly, and you pitched forward and stopped. You could get smooth, progressive stops, but it took some practicing and getting used to. I don't know if this is a design problem in the Prius brakes or if it is just a temporary problem on the assembly-line. It's not unsafe by any means, but I found it annoying. The pedal, though, did not seem to hang-up my big size-15 shoes while going from gas to brake, like it does on some cars.
THE VERDICT:
There is no doubting the advanced electronic hybrid powertrain, low emissions, and excellent gas mileage this car offers; currently the highest new-car gas mileage in the American market. It offers folding rear seats for added cargo space, rare in small hybrids, a smooth ride, better roll control than the old Prius, good-sized room inside for tall people considering its small exterior size, a CVT transmission that dispenses with at least some of the usual annoying CVT characteristics, better design of some of the gauges/controls this time around, and, of course, the usual excellent Toyota reliability. It also, in some ways, means keeping up with the Joneses........in this case, the "Joneses" being Hollywood and a number of well-known celebrities. And, with a Prius, you won't have to concern yourself in the future with getting a car that will meet Obama's 36-MPG standard......this car already far exceeds it.
But, as with any car, there are flies in the ointment as well. The powertrain, despite all-new engineering, doesn't feel much, if any, quicker than the old one, though, of course, you can use the power mode if desired, which helps a little. Some of the interior controls and features, though improved, are still a little geeky. The steering response, despite the better roll control, is still rather sluggish.....this is defintely not a sport-oriented car. The body sheet metal and interior trim/materials have (apparantly) been given the budget ax. And the brake-pedal feel needs some work.
So how does the new Prius compare with its rivals? The powertrain is defintely superior to the somewhat jerky, less-sophisticated Honda IMA hybrid units, but I think Honda does better interiors on its small hybrids, even with the Insight's hard interior plastics. But, a major problem on the Insight is its Munchkin-size rear seat, not fit for adults.....there, the Prius is far superior. The small Honda hybrids have much better steering response and handling....I would take one of them on a winding road before I would a Prius. The Hondas, with their more-conventional gauge layouts in front of the steering wheel instead of the middle of the dash, are also easier for many drivers to get used to.
However, the new Prius' main problem may not (?) be Hondas at all, but the new Ford Fusion Hybrid. The Fusion doesn't quite equal the Prius's 50 MPG, but, at 40 MPG, it is nothing to sneeze at. The Fusion is also larger and more comfortable than the Prius, though, admittedly, the Prius distinctly has more rear-headroom. The Fusion's interior is less-geeky and more solidly-built than the new Prius, with seemingly more durable materials.....ditto for the doors and sheet metal. It also, IMO, offers a more pleasant driving exerience. It is rare that I would choose an American-nameplate vehicle over its Japanese-nameplate rivals, but IMO, the new 2010 Fusion is the best overall hybrid I've driven so far.....and though the hybrid version is new, the reliability of past Fusions has approached the level of Toyota and Hondas. At 31-32K, the Fusion I tested pretty much equals the price of the upmarket Prius-V, model, but, of course, the Prius has the advantage of much lower-priced models (Prius II, III) and the Fusion Hybrid doesn't. Still, if it were my money, and 50 MPG was not a necessity for me, I'd probably take home the car with the blue oval on it.
http://www.toyota.com/sem/prius.html...610_p165326528
In a Nutshell: Superb electronics, gas mileage, and reliability; Not-so-superb road manners, sheet metal and interior plastics.
I know it's been a long wait for my new Prius review. A number of you CL members have requested it, but there wasn't much I could do. Toyota has not introduced it on the East Coast until now (I don't remember seeing it at this year's Washington, D.C. Auto Show either), although I know a couple of you in other areas have already seen it and (maybe) test-driven it. The first new 2010 Prius models are just coming into Washington-area dealerships now, although most shops have only 1 or 2 of them, and some still don't have any. As expected, like the new Chevy Camaros, most are pre-sold or otherwise not available for a review and test-drive. However, a Toyota shop close to my house had a bright-red, beige-leather, 2010 Prius-V model (the top-line version) demo that it was allowing test-drives in long enough for at least a basic review, so it was into my Outback and off to the review before I lost my chance and someone bought it (my guess is that it won't last the rest of the day).
The first-generation Prius was introduced the he American market in the late summer of 2000, allowing the first-generation Honda Insight hybrid (a smaller, 2-seater) to beat it by about 6-7 months.....the Insight was introduced in January of that year. Both cars had alrady been on sale for some time in the Japanese home market. As gas was relatively cheap then, neither the first-generation Insight or Prius proved particularly popular at the time here in America; the Insight for its very small size and limited usefulness, and the somewhat larger, more useful Prius for its geekiness and unsual interior and controls. The Prius, at the time, despite its excellent gas mileage, was perceived by many potential shoppers as a smaller, geekier, and more expensive brother to the ubiquitous Corolla, which, of course, sold in big numbers. The then-new electronics in the drivetrain were also, of course, new and unproven in the American market.
Of course, that all changed with the second-generation model. The Prius (and Honda hybrids) developed a reputation for reliability as good or better then most of their conventional gas-engine siblings, and, as gas steadily got more expensive (though still with sharp up-and-down swings in price), the car's popularity increased with it as well. Fire department and rescue personnel, though, had to go through special training on how to get people out of them after accidents, as damaged electrics and battery packs could be very hazardous to both fire personnel and victims.
And, of course, the car became a status symbol, not just among environmentalists and college professors, but as a Hollywood and celebrity car as well. A number of well-known celebrities, musicians, and entertainers in the Hollywood/Beverly Hills area chose to buy and drive Priuses, even though their enormous incomes allowed them access to some of the finest chauffeur-driven luxury cars in the world like the Rolls-Royce and Maybach. The appeal of the Prius did not just lie in the miserly gas mileage, but in the fact that small Toyota and Honda hybrids had extremely low emissions as well. Many Prius owners bought the car not just to save gas, but to make an environmental statement. It became the ultimate automotive expression of political correctness, since pure electric cars, which were even less-polluting, were rather impractical and range-limited.
For 2010, the third-generation Prius comes in four trim levels; the Prius II, III, IV, and V. All share the same drivetrain.....a 1.8L VVTi-four, permanent-magnet elecric motor, a CVT (continuously-variable transmission), and one of the most advanced Nickel-Hydride battery packs ever to go into a hybrid. As stated above, I reviewed a top-of-the-line Prius V model that started at 27K and listed at over 32K......that may sound expensive, but it is the top model, and much cheaper versions are available in the low-mid 20s, if dealers don't price-gouge and mark them up over list (as they did last summer with the Prius when gas was over $4.00 a gallon).
After reviewing the new third-generation model, I had mixed feelings about it, overall. It is a superb car if you want the ultimate in efficiency and non-sporting driving in a basic commuting car, and some of the controls/displays inside were improved over the second-generation model, but some other things about it, IMO, proved disappointing. For the details, read on.
Model Reviewed: 2010 Toyota Prius V
Base Price: $27,270
Options:
AdvancedTechnology Package: $4500
Destination/Freight: $750
List Price as Reviewed: $32,520 (Don't faint over the price tag......there are much less-expensive versions)
Drivetrain: FWD
(Gas engine): Transverse-mounted, 1.8L VVT-i in-line 4, 98 HP @ 5200 RPM, Torque 105 ft-lbs. @ 4000 RPM
(Electric Motor): AC permanent-magnet, 80 HP, Torque 153 ft-lbs. (peak-power electric-motor figures not published by Toyota)
Nickel-Hydride battery pack, CVT (Continuously-Variable Transmission)
EPA Mileage Rating: 51 City, 48 Highway
Exterior Color: Barcelona Red Metallic
Interior: Beige Leather
PLUSSES:
Superb Gas mileage.
Excellent reliability record.
Alternate-Fuel-Vehicle tax credits available.
Heavily promoted by celebrities and environmentalists.
The ultimate in political correctness (depending on your point of view).
Advanced, state-of-the art electronics.
Advanced Nickel-Hydride battery pack.
Battery pack location allows rear-seat folding for added cargo space, unlike many hybrids.
Quiet gas engine.
Ride comfort better than expected.
POWER/ECONOMY hybrid settings.
Full-hybrid design allows extended electric operation without gas motor.
Generally good wind and road noise isolation.
Good but not excellent paint job.
Extremely low 0.25 drag-coefficiency.
Hood insulation pad (for gas engine).
Interior controls and shift lever an improvement over previous version, but some still quirky.
Less-complex, less-garish hybrid gauges than before.
Excellent stereo sound.
Nicely-done sun visors and headliner.
Fairly nice seat leather.
Good front headroom; generally good rear headroom.
Good rear legroom for a car this size.
Generally well-finished cargo compartment, except for cargo pull-cover.
Handy under-floor cargo compartment.
MINUSES:
Probably will be hard to bargain on in the showroom.
Exterior sheet metal/hardware not as solid as previous model.
Flimsy, shiny-black-plastic rear spoiler.
Hard-plastic, hard-surface interior-trim materials not up to snuff.
Cheap-feeling stereo buttons.
Small, kiddy-car steering wheel.
slow steering response even with new lower-profile tires.
Awkward shift-lever action.
Awkward-feeling, non-linear brake pedal.
Very low ground clearance for a non-sports-oriented vehicle.
Flimsy pull-shade cargo cover in back.
Hood prop-rod instead of struts.
Crowded, tight underhood compartment.
Temporary spare tire.
Lower-dash protrusion and somewhat tight knee room up front for tall people.
Front seat cushions rather flat and non-supportive.
Awkward, Peek-a-Boo heated seat controls.
Transmission-Park button not integrated with console shifter.
Under-dash, foot-operated parking brake rather awkward to use.
OK but not particularly good vision out the back from extremely flat roofine.
Digital speedometer too far forward and to the right (IMO, should be analog and in front of the steering wheel).
Cheaply-painted silver-metallic interior trim.
EXTERIOR:
As you walk up to the new Prius, the general overall shape looks very similiar to the new Honda Insight (not surprising, of course, since the new Insight will compete with lower-priced versions of the new Prius). The Prius is slightly larger on the outside than the Insight and substantially roomier in the rear seat (more on that below). I'm not a fan of the way the grille and headlights are shaped (or in the old Prius, either), but styling, of course, is subjective, and I didn't list it as a complaint. The exterior sheet metal and hardware seems thinner and less-solid on the new Prius than on the old one (the old Prius had pretty impressive sheet metal/hardware and durable interior materials). The shiny-black, plastic rear spoiler felt somewhat flimsy, and the twin side-mirror housings, while still having a nice smooth snap/swivel action, felt lighter as well. The paint job was good, but a noticeable step below the superb paint job of some other Toyota/Lexus products....and that of the old Prius. The bright fire-engine red on my test car (Barcelona Red Metallic) was glossy and kept your eyes open, but was not particularly smooth, and showed some noticeable orange peel. There are only seven exterior Prius paint colors offered, but included some nice shades......I liked the bright red and the medium/dark blue. The ground clearance, for a non-sporting vehicle, is pretty low....some care may be needed over speed bumps and ramp driveways, and it may be difficult to get a hose underneath to flush of the underbody after driving on winter-treated roads. The almost flat rear roofline hampers outward vision a little, but not as bad as in some other cars with similiar styling....and it DOES contribute to the car's extremely low 0.25 wind-drag coefficient, which helps raise gas mileage and lower wind noise. There are no body-side moldings to help ward off parking-lot door dings. The wheels and tires are distinctly lower-profile and more aggressive on the new Prius than the fairly tall, thin, low-rolling-resistance tires on the old model, but, strangely, did not ride or handle much differently.....more on that below.
UNDERHOOD:
Open the rather thin and unsubstantial hood, and you do find a nice insulation pad underneath of it, but no struts....you must use a cheap prop-rod. The rod tip fits into one of two holes to change the hood angle when it is up. With the 1.8L gas in-line four-cylinder and the big AC permanant-magnet motor stuffed into a small underhood compartment to start with, things are naturally a little tight, but there seems to be just enough space for air to circulate around in so that underhood temperatures don't get too high (That's a problem with some of the Nissan 3.7L V6 hoods I've looked at). A large plastic engine cover prevents access to many of the gas-engine components, but most people who own hybrids don't do a lot of their own work under the hood to start with (hybrids are just too complex for the average car-owner), so that's probably not an important issue. Most of the things that do have to be reached by the average owner (dipsticks, reservoirs, and filler-caps, etc...) are easily accessible.
INTERIOR:
Inside, the new Prius had some improvements over the old model.....and some disappointments. I'll start with the good stuff first. Some of the geeky controls and displays have been toned down a little bit on the new model. The old red/blue video screen for the gas/electric power flow is gone....replaced by bar-graphs at the top of the dash. The awkward dash-tab for the CVT transmission has been moved to the console (where, IMO, it belongs) and replaced by a slightly larger shift lever, though the awkward spring-back action still remains. The digital speedometer (I prefer analog ones) is still too far forward and to the right for my tastes, but is a little easier to see at a glance than the old one was. The NAV screen and controls seem to be well-integrated with the stereo *****/buttons and readout, though the stereo readout, at the top of the NAV screen, is a little too high above the controls for my tastes. The stereo itself (the top-of-the line Prius unit) sounds excellent.......I didn't have enough time to play much of my Heavy-Metal stuff today, and just sampled the regular AM/FM and satellite-radio functions. Headroom up front was good, under the sunroof, with the seat down all the way, and likewise, good in back for guys my size (6' 2") as well. Legroom, both front and back was also good for guys my size, helped somewhat by the clever, scalloped front seatbacks. The headliner and sun-visors, increasingly cheap on many cars today, were nice-feeling, with a thin but soft fabric. The beige leather on the seats appeared to be a decent grade, and not the grainy, rough, imitation stuff many cars today are using.
But much of the rest of the interior was, IMO, disappointing. The dash in front of the steering wheel has the same blankness, with no gauges, that it did on the old Prius and does on the Toyota Yaris and some small Scion models. The steering wheel itself is somewhat undersized for my tastes and has a small, kiddy-car feel, though the controls on the spokes are nicely integrated. The dash, console, and door panels use thinner, hard plastics and surfaces that have a dictinctly lighter, cheaper feel than on the old Prius. As with the thinner exterior sheet metal, it looks like Toyota did some significant cost-cutting on the new interior materials. The painted silver-metallic plastic on the inside door handles is not well-done, and looks cheap. The front seat cushions are rather flat, with little support. The switches for the heated front seats are awkwardly placed, on the floor, at the bottom of a BIG hole under the center console.....you have to reach WAY down under the console to get to them. And the glove box had a thin, tinny feel, with a somewhat tinny lock as well. The stereo-**** buttons don't match the nice stereo sound quality.....they have a loose, cheap feel as well.
CARGO AREA/TRUNK:
Open the rear hatch with the electronic release-button, and you are treated to a nice, fairly well-finshed cargo area. A nice surprise, unlike most other hybrids, is that the split-rear seats can be folded down to increase the cargo room.....with most other hybrids, the big bulky battery packs behind the seats prevent the extra cargo room. In the new Prius, they are receded down low enough and far enough out of the way that they don't interfere.....kudos to the Toyota and battery-pack engineers for that. A nice grade of soft, light gray carpeting covers the folding trunk floor panel and the lower sides of the walls. I didn't see any remote-releases in the cargo area for the rear seats, but, at least, as I just stated, they DO fold, unlike most hybrids. Under the carpeted trunk-floor panel lies a nice big, wide, cubby-compartment, and, underneath that, the usual temporary/donut spare tire. The only real disappointment in the cargo area, besides the donut spare in place of a real one, is the thin, flimsy pull-shade cover that hooks around the rear flanges to cover up the things in the cargo bed. It feels like, if you aren't careful about how you pull and hook it, that you could tear it in half.
ON THE ROAD:
The Prius, of course, comes with a state-of-the-art electronic POWER start/stop engine button. A dash readout tells you if the electronic key fob is in close enough vicinity to start the engine. When I drove it, this particular car had been previously test-driven that morning, so the batteries were at a near-full charge. So, in this mode, when the when the POWER button was pushed, the electrical system turns on, and, like in the Ford Fusion Hybrid, you wait a moment for a green hybrid light on the dash to signal it's time to go. Flip the console-mounted shift lever left into Drive (it snaps back to the center position like in the old Prius), press the pedal, and you take of in complete silence like a golf cart. Initial acceleration, like in the old Prius, feels a little sluggish, even with the fairly strong torque of the electric motor. The new Prius dash doesn't have the old video red/blue circus screen showing electric/gas power flow like the old one did, but, instead, has video-bar graphs in the upper-dash showing MPG and hybrid functions. There are buttons to choose POWER or ECO hybrid programming as desired. In ECO mode, as expected, the electric motor runs most of the time for economy, and the gas engine starts up just long enough to recharge the batteries charges. I didn't see a tach, analog or digital, anywhere for gas-engine RPM, but it could (?) be mixed in with one of the many electronic button-modes that you have to access. In POWER mode, the gas engine kicks in when you hit the pedal for acceleration, and, of course, more gas is used and MPG goes down. The gas engine, though, is fairly quiet (you can hear it kick in and watch the hybrid gauges, but the engine/exhaust noise level is still low). The gas/electric combination, of course, gives you a little more spunk, but it is clear that this is no performance car. There's no free lunch, and even with today's advanced engineering, you still have to give up some power to get the 50 MPG this car is capable of.
The CVT transmision had none of the surging/rubber-banding characteristics I've seen in Honda hybrid CVT's, and lacked distinct gear "ranges", but did allow the RPMs to slip/flare a little on initial acceleration....another characteristic of some CVTs. I like the fact that the transmission lever is back on the console where it belongs instead of on the dash like in the old Prius, but it still has that annoying spring-back motion into the middle. The PARK function is a separate push-button in front of the shift lever.
The chassis/tires had a couple of surprises....two or three things I wasn't expecting. The old Prius had Roly-Poly handling, slow steering response, and a soft ride by today's standards. Since the new, third-generation model has lower-profile tires (especially on the upmarket versions) and a (supposedly) firmer suspension, I expected a firmer ride, quicker steering response, and less body roll. Not so. It DOES have a little less body roll, but the steering response, with the small, toylike steering wheel, feels just as slow as the last one did, and the ride comfort, strangely, seems to be just about as soft and comfortable as in the old model. Toyota may (?) be using a slow ratio in the electric power-steering rack that balances out the effect of the newer tires and suspension. Be advised....even with low body roll, this is not a car for the twisties or for canyon-carving. But it (still) does gives a fairly nice ride over bumps, without much firmness or harshness.
Wind noise was fairly well controlled. I wasn't able to drive the car long enough to test the road noise on a lot of different smooth/coarse road surfaces (the salespeople, not surprisingly, gave me a strict time limit), but road noise from the new-spec tires seemed to be generally well-controlled on the mostly non-coarse asphalt roads I had it on. Though the brakes had the efficient regenerative-braking mode that is pretty much standard on all hybrids where, on coasting, the electric motor works in reverse as a large generator to help recharge the batteries, I didn't like the pedal feel at all. Most of the pedal motion felt awkward, non-linear, ineffective, and super-spongy, then, when the pedal got close to the floor, brake effectiveness increased rapidly, and you pitched forward and stopped. You could get smooth, progressive stops, but it took some practicing and getting used to. I don't know if this is a design problem in the Prius brakes or if it is just a temporary problem on the assembly-line. It's not unsafe by any means, but I found it annoying. The pedal, though, did not seem to hang-up my big size-15 shoes while going from gas to brake, like it does on some cars.
THE VERDICT:
There is no doubting the advanced electronic hybrid powertrain, low emissions, and excellent gas mileage this car offers; currently the highest new-car gas mileage in the American market. It offers folding rear seats for added cargo space, rare in small hybrids, a smooth ride, better roll control than the old Prius, good-sized room inside for tall people considering its small exterior size, a CVT transmission that dispenses with at least some of the usual annoying CVT characteristics, better design of some of the gauges/controls this time around, and, of course, the usual excellent Toyota reliability. It also, in some ways, means keeping up with the Joneses........in this case, the "Joneses" being Hollywood and a number of well-known celebrities. And, with a Prius, you won't have to concern yourself in the future with getting a car that will meet Obama's 36-MPG standard......this car already far exceeds it.
But, as with any car, there are flies in the ointment as well. The powertrain, despite all-new engineering, doesn't feel much, if any, quicker than the old one, though, of course, you can use the power mode if desired, which helps a little. Some of the interior controls and features, though improved, are still a little geeky. The steering response, despite the better roll control, is still rather sluggish.....this is defintely not a sport-oriented car. The body sheet metal and interior trim/materials have (apparantly) been given the budget ax. And the brake-pedal feel needs some work.
So how does the new Prius compare with its rivals? The powertrain is defintely superior to the somewhat jerky, less-sophisticated Honda IMA hybrid units, but I think Honda does better interiors on its small hybrids, even with the Insight's hard interior plastics. But, a major problem on the Insight is its Munchkin-size rear seat, not fit for adults.....there, the Prius is far superior. The small Honda hybrids have much better steering response and handling....I would take one of them on a winding road before I would a Prius. The Hondas, with their more-conventional gauge layouts in front of the steering wheel instead of the middle of the dash, are also easier for many drivers to get used to.
However, the new Prius' main problem may not (?) be Hondas at all, but the new Ford Fusion Hybrid. The Fusion doesn't quite equal the Prius's 50 MPG, but, at 40 MPG, it is nothing to sneeze at. The Fusion is also larger and more comfortable than the Prius, though, admittedly, the Prius distinctly has more rear-headroom. The Fusion's interior is less-geeky and more solidly-built than the new Prius, with seemingly more durable materials.....ditto for the doors and sheet metal. It also, IMO, offers a more pleasant driving exerience. It is rare that I would choose an American-nameplate vehicle over its Japanese-nameplate rivals, but IMO, the new 2010 Fusion is the best overall hybrid I've driven so far.....and though the hybrid version is new, the reliability of past Fusions has approached the level of Toyota and Hondas. At 31-32K, the Fusion I tested pretty much equals the price of the upmarket Prius-V, model, but, of course, the Prius has the advantage of much lower-priced models (Prius II, III) and the Fusion Hybrid doesn't. Still, if it were my money, and 50 MPG was not a necessity for me, I'd probably take home the car with the blue oval on it.
Last edited by mmarshall; 06-14-09 at 10:43 AM.
06-13-09, 08:00 PM
#2
The review that everyone is waiting for!!!
Mike, you want to compare the Prius to the Ford Fusion Hybrid, but I believe that is more of a Camry Hybrid rival (which the Ford Fusion Hybrid trumps). I would love to see the HS250h compared to these larger sedans.
As far as size is concerned, the Corolla and Prius are similar. Do you think Toyota should use the Prius' technology (maybe the second generation's hybrid engine instead of this new one) on the Corolla? Perhaps the xB even?
Mike, you want to compare the Prius to the Ford Fusion Hybrid, but I believe that is more of a Camry Hybrid rival (which the Ford Fusion Hybrid trumps). I would love to see the HS250h compared to these larger sedans.
As far as size is concerned, the Corolla and Prius are similar. Do you think Toyota should use the Prius' technology (maybe the second generation's hybrid engine instead of this new one) on the Corolla? Perhaps the xB even?
06-13-09, 08:17 PM
#3
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Well, I was waiting for it myself. 
The Prius, in general, sems to attract a different group of buyers than the Camry hybrid. The Camry hybrid, while, of course, more fuel-miserly than conventional Camrys, is not an ultra-high MPG car like the Prius. Nor, for that matter, can it quite match the Fusion in that department.
As soon as Lexus starts shipping HS250's, I'll review one. I may (?) be interested in a possible HS250 purchase myself, if I don't go with another Subaru. But, for now, as I said in the closing remarks of the review, the Fusion, overall, seems to be the best hybrid I've seen yet.
The Corolla? You bet I'd like to see the Prius' drivetrain in a Corolla......IMO, that's what Toyota should have done in the first place. The Corolla, IMO, has a better-designed interior, more conventional gauges/controls, and much less geekiness than the Prius. However, it lacks the useful hatchback cargo area the Prius has.....but the Matrix, of course, would solve that problem.
That's the direction Honda took, BTW, with the regular Civic Hybrid.......putting a hybrid drivetrain in a more conventional car and interior.
I'm not sure the xB is a good candidate, though. It is bought primarily by those who want a low price, and the added hybrid hardware might (?) drive the cost up too much. The Honda Insight, for example, the lowest-priced hybrid on the market, is a much smaller vehicle than the second-generation xB, and still runs 20-22K.
Mike, you want to compare the Prius to the Ford Fusion Hybrid, but I believe that is more of a Camry Hybrid rival (which the Ford Fusion Hybrid trumps).
I would love to see the HS250h compared to these larger sedans.
As far as size is concerned, the Corolla and Prius are similar. Do you think Toyota should use the Prius' technology (maybe the second generation's hybrid engine instead of this new one) on the Corolla? Perhaps the xB even?
That's the direction Honda took, BTW, with the regular Civic Hybrid.......putting a hybrid drivetrain in a more conventional car and interior.
I'm not sure the xB is a good candidate, though. It is bought primarily by those who want a low price, and the added hybrid hardware might (?) drive the cost up too much. The Honda Insight, for example, the lowest-priced hybrid on the market, is a much smaller vehicle than the second-generation xB, and still runs 20-22K.
Last edited by mmarshall; 06-13-09 at 08:26 PM.
06-13-09, 08:43 PM
#4
Lexus Test Driver
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: CA
Posts: 1,279
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Great analysis. I too have inspected, but NOT driven this Prius and I have to agree with most everything you've said. The doors on this car felt like an econobox, a la Matrix. Interior is CHEAP city.
06-13-09, 08:48 PM
#5
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Thanks.
Interesting, because the second-generation model was quite solidly built, with some excellent materials. I suspect that, on this new model, Toyota put so much money and resources into the electronics and drivetrain that there wasn't very much left over for the rest of the car.
I too have inspected, but NOT driven this Prius and I have to agree with most everything you've said. The doors on this car felt like an econobox, a la Matrix. Interior is CHEAP city.
06-13-09, 08:52 PM
#6
Lexus Test Driver
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: CA
Posts: 1,279
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I noticed the hollow feeling body panels, and really the interior was a huge dissapointment as I though Toyota would greatly outdo the cheap Insight. At least it looks better, in my opinion.
06-13-09, 09:11 PM
#7
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
The Insight's jerkier and less-sophisticated IMA powertrain, though, can't compete with the much smoother and more advanced hybrid powertrain in the Prius. Both of them, though, as you note, have rather cheap interiors.
Trending Topics
06-13-09, 10:08 PM
#9
Lexus Fanatic
iTrader: (20)
$32k for cheap materials seems a bit much. toyota is becoming the new gm...
06-14-09, 01:55 AM
#12
Lexus Champion
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: MIchigan
Posts: 2,025
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
but no struts....you must use a cheap prop-rod.
How about the first gen?
And where is the dual front climate control?
Last edited by pagemaster; 06-14-09 at 02:05 AM.
06-14-09, 03:47 AM
#13
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
Well, not all Prius models run this much (they start in the low-mid 20s).....I only drove a top-line Prius V version because there wasn't much choice. And GM, even when it used cheap interiors, generally didn't use thin sheet metal like the new Prius does.
06-14-09, 03:51 AM
#15
Lexus Fanatic
Thread Starter
See my reply to bitkahuna above.......GM never used thin sheet metal, even back when it did cheap interiors. And Honda, today, still has what, IMO, is a superb assembly process at the factory.