You're welcome.....anytime.

What did you think of the new Prius?

 

Yes. Exactly.

 

You're In CA, I see. Does your car spend any time outdoors in the CA desert areas? In summer, the CA sun can be absolutely brutal, and enough to attack almost any automotive trim or finish.

I agree the plastic trim on a lot of new cars is cheap.....Hondas are often no exception. But, IMO, you won't find better-assembled vehicles from any other manufacturer, except possibly Lexus.

 

I find the steering-column stalks in VWs to feel flimsy and cheap, but, yes, most of the rest of their interiors uses good parts. The new Passat's dash, however, is a little on the light/cheap side, despite wood-tone and metallic trim.



Yep. VW is notorious for electrical problems. Even fairly new ones, quite often, have bulb, socket, connector, and wiring problems.

Yes.....totally correct. I made an issue of pointing all of that out in the review. The Fit, however, is not designed for aerodynamics like the Insight.....it has a very tall roof.


The main problem with the Prius, as I see it, is the quirky dash and controls. Other than that, it is a great little hybrid.

 

The Prius IS a better car in some ways.....mostly under the hood, and in a slightly better ride.

I always check tire PSI manually with my gauge before a review or purchase anyway. The Insight recommends 32 front, 32 rear, with the LX-model tires.

 

Thanks.


The Honda currently fights the Yaris with the Fit. Both seem to be successful in the American market. The Fit (known as the "Jazz" overseas), with its tall hatch lid, is actually a lot more practical than a sedan.

 

I felt the LX model would appeal to those seeking the cheapest possible new hybrid with 4 doors, which was the whole point of the car's marketing in the first place. The EX model also starts to overlap with the slightly larger Civic Hybrid.





That wasn't a particularly accurate color chip. Google images are not always the best. Most of the U.S.-market colors are duller than that particular blue, anyway.

 

Thanks for the review mmarshall, can't wait until you get your hands on a 2010 Prius The newer Honda interiors have been a bit too busy for me. It makes it easier to activate certain features without going through a touchscreen/iDrive setup, but it's not so easy on the eyes.

 

I forgot to thank you for the review ----

and to request the 2010 Prius review.....REALLY interested in this one (2G Prius will be cheaper to buy now when the 3G comes out...might get a CPO).

 

I still think Honda interiors still keep their user friendliness, I actually like the arrangement on the new Accord.

 

No doubt they're easy to use and very functional. I just don't mind the additional menus to keep things clean on the center stack.

 

they're "safe" color choices IMO (no low volume choices)

 

You're welcome .....and the new Prius is on my list.


I really hope the new Prius goes to a more conventional dash/control setup like on the Insight and Civic Hybrids, with the primary gauges in front of the driver, and a conventional transmission shifter instead of that little stub that sticks out of the dash. The Prius has a better hybrid powertrain than the Hondas, but I've never liked its dash.

 

The new Prius now has a more "conventional" dash layout. I like the Prius dash myself - it's easy on the eyes and concise. I don't like the Scion/Mini/Saturn ones though - too busy or too diminutive.