Wow, serious stuff. Can you still hear after the poor TDI ripped through your ears? And you're right, that car MUST have been broken!! Such deduction abilities.

 

Nice write up and review Mike.

I disagree about the sheet metal and "cheap" interior you guys are talking about though.
Sure the old Camry had a great interior - like 15 years ago. I remember those too and those days are long gone.
I thought it seemed alright for a Toyota these days.



However....

I was disappointed with the center console placement, it threw me off and seems like a waste of space.
Also for being a "revolutionary" technology car, there's still no iPod integration with the navigation. lol
I also don't think a leather option should be offered in a hybrid, I dunno, it seems wrong to me?

Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to look at the solar roof, I'm curious to see how that works.


Just my 2 cents.

 

Thanks.


Yes and no, Liz. The 2009 Prius seemed to have more-solid materials and higher build quality in those areas. The 2010, IMO, was a noticeable drop.....but some of that lightening of the materials may (?) have been done to save weight and help get that superb 51 MPG city rating.

 

No. You're living in the past.....decades ago. State-of-the-art diesels, today, are virtually distinguishable from gas engines, in starting, running, pollution, and noise.

 

I agree....I think there was something wrong with the one you heard. A normal VW diesel, these days, is almost as quiet as a gas engine.

Someone may (?) have screwed up and put regular gasoline into it instead of diesel fuel. That will cause massive detonation/knocking with a diesel's 20-1 compression ratio and mess it up real quick.

 

Mike, excellent detailed write-up and I agree with your observations!

I’m in a unique situation that I just had the opportunity to drive a rental 2008 Prius for the past month, and my mom just purchased a new 2010 Prius 2 weeks ago. She got the Prius III with the navigation package for $28k out the door. The best we got was $400 under MSRP.

One thing I noticed since I’ve driven both within days of each other, is that I did feel the 1.8L was a good improvement in power over the older engine. Merging onto highway traffic in the SF Bay Area, I used to have to floor the throttle to merge, and the old Prius really felt like a really slow car. The new one feels much better with more mid-range and top-end power, especially when using the ‘Power’ mode. I drove it all weekend in power mode and put about 200 miles on the car. I calculated about 42MPG, which is still excellent considering I was driving somewhat aggressive. I also felt the electric steering was more accurate.

 

Thanks.

Congragulations to your mom on her purchase. $400 under invoice is not bad for an all-new Prius. Some dealerships, in this area, mark them up over MSRP and won't budge........but this area is high-income and dealerships know they can get top-dollar, even in a recession. The Prius name has undeniable appeal to a number of persons and groups in this country.


The new one feels a little more responsive in the POWER mode and when the gas engine kicks in, but can still feel a little sluggish when taking off from rest, golf-cart-style, in the pure-electric mode.

 

minor correction, he said under msrp, not under invoice. 400 under invoice would be amazing for a new hot vehicle.

 

Thanks, bit. Yes, I meant $400 under MSRP, not invoice. You're not going to get a new Prius $400 under invoice unless you go into the place with an AK-47.

 

Thanks for the review mmarshall! Well said. I do have a few comments. I'm surprised that you found the V's handling to be worse than the 2G Prius. The Vs have different steering tunings to the models with 15" alloys. They have a quicker steering ratio and a 2.75 lock-to-lock (compared to 3.75 for the 15" model). They will all switch to the faster setting if you get yours in the Fall.

Also, you didn't mention the options in your $32k model. I don't think any other $32k vehicle can be equipped with this much technology.

I agree with the heated seats placement. Also a little miffed that it's still single stage heating.

 

i agree, or at least offer the option of NOT getting leather on the higher end packaged models.

yes. again weird you can't get the solar roof with package V.

 

Thanks.



I didn't necessarily find the handling worse than the 2G model....in fact, the 3G model did have less body roll. With the lower-profile tires and new suspension on the 3G model, I just expected a little more steering response, even with the 2.75 lock-to-lock you mention, and a slightly firmer ride than it actually had, that's all. It surprised me.

I did mention the options under the base price, as I usually do in reviews. It had the $4500 Technology Package, plus, of course, all the standard equipment that comes on the Prius V Trim level.

Of course, unlike many Subarus and some AWD Volvos/Audis, the Prius is not primarily designed as a winter car, so they probably didn't design the heated seats for Arctic conditions. That big hole under the console is probably (?) there to save weight, and I agree....that is a lousy place to put the heated seat switches. Worse, the two switches are mounted fore/aft instead of left/right as you would normally expect for heated seats.

 

I went to test drive the Prius at a smaller dealership. All were sold in 24 hours, they had none on the lot and their next 4 months allocation are spoken for. Amazing.

The Venza is nice though.

I went to Honda to drive a ugly *** Insight (its uglier in person) but it started raining, I guess God didn't want me to drive it

 

good info......

how many miles on your 05? any issues ay all???

 

That's why I grabbed the chance to review and drive that red Prius V that morning while it was still available. It (probably) didn't last the rest of the day.


If you get a chance to drive an Insight (don't give up...you might yet), I think you may be a little less harsh in your judgement. Granted, the Insight's hybrid system is jerkier and less-sophisticated than that of the Prius, and its back seat is a joke, but its chassis, suspension, road manners, brakes, and sheet metal, IMO, are somewhat better. It also, despite a lot of hard-plastic inside, has impressive build/assembly quality.