Picked up my IV w/SR yesterday, see my "Bay Area first?" thread for a pic and purchase details. Keep in mind that I am first and foremost a driving enthusiast and this is my first hybrid. Here are a few initial impressions. Overall I like the car very much. Wow, pretty slow. Numb steering. Massive understeer. Weird brake feel. I wasn't expecting a Carrera but this will take some getting used to. After a few minutes I got into the right mindset and started enjoying it. I need to approach this much like when I get in my Land Cruiser SUV. This car drives very much like an SUV, but that's OK. I would have gladly paid an extra $1K for better suspension. The ride is bouncy on rough roads, yet still leans too much in corners. Compared to my M5, which is much smoother and more complaint yet corners like a race car. I miss having the 3 blinks turn signal when you lightly move the stalk, that my other current cars do. No auto-on headlights? Are you kidding? No iPod/iPhone integration? Are you kidding? Aux is not the answer. I expect USB that charges while controlling via the steering wheel while keeping the phone bluetooth paired for calls. There should be an option to see the song title in the MID so I can leave the map on the Nav. I have that on 2 other cars. I live in a small town. When I tried to set "Home" on the nav by inputting the city and street, my town was not found. I had to set current position to "home" then adjust the position until my address was accurate. Weaksauce. Damn those A pillars are huge and sometimes in the way. Would be nice to see the front of the car from the drivers seat too. I love how smooth and quiet the car is on smooth straight roads! The stereo is much better sounding than I thought, although my expectations were pretty low. I totally forgot that it has XM radio! That was a pleasant surprise last night as I'm sitting in the car in the driveway playing with various gadgets. Haven't figured out the best way to easily view my travel time and mileage each time for my commute yet. My Audi does that automatically. I could use some help here. Seat is pretty comfy, although way too flat and Buick-y. I like sporty buckets that hold you in place. Although, with this level of handling I probably won't need it. Fantastic interior room, front, back and cargo. Truly bigger inside than it looks. Perfect size for my family. I'm 5'10", wife 5'9", 2 young kids. Bluetooth iPhone. Pairing and contact download was easy. The other person sounds great to you in the car. You sound like crap to them. This is true of my other BT enabled cars as well. It should have grocery bag hooks in the back, instead of relying on aftermarket nets or boxes that are clumsy to use. Is there a power outlet in the back? Gotta train my kids and be diligent about making sure they don't block the battery air intake with jackets or backpacks, that will be a PIA. Wow, the Nav screen and MID are BRIGHT at default settings. I know you can turn down the brightness of the Nav screen, but other Nav's I have automatically dim when the auto-on lights come on, so I don't have to go back and forth twice a day. I LOVE the red/dark grey combo. Overall I like the aesthetics and that it's somewhat unique, despite the Unshorn Vegans of the Eco-Apocalypse vibe that some people still assocoate with the car. That split view out the back sucks. Sounds like I hate it, right? Not at all, I love this car, warts and all. I think that people that appreciate it for what it is meant to be will love it. A highly practical, efficient and well thought out device to move you and your stuff around in urban or suburban areas. Nothing beats it for that. People that want a sports car, an SUV, or a luxury car should go buy one. Cheers!
There will be an adapter for complete iPod integration coming out in September that can be seamlessly added to Priuses with Nav. As far as the view out the back ... yes, it kind of sucks but it's how it works with hatchbacks ... the way I look at, at least they added the little window under the divider or else it would be REALLY tough to see. As far as ride, etc. ... maybe the Pkg V would've suited you? (but then no solar roof available) If you leave the headlights in the on position they work like auto on light except that they're on all the time you drive rather than just automatically coming on at night. If you leave them in the "on" position they will shut off when you open your door to leave the car. They will then turn on when you power up the car later.
Waaaaaaht, no auto-on headlights??? That's real weak sauce. It's not like some super advanced expensive feature, my old clunker has them. I think leaving your head lights on all the time is a waste of energy in relatively bright countries. It's great to have an owner come forward with the little annoying things that every car has, no matter how great it is overall.
I had an Audi A3 hatchback with a great view out the back, it's more about the slope of the window. I'll get used to it. The problem is more in the suspension than the wheels. The V might be very slightly tighter but then also more noise, vibration and harshness due to the lower profile tires. Maybe Bilstein or someone will come out with a reasonable aftermarket kit.
There was some mention of possibly being able to upgrade the power steering assist... apparently in the fall all cars will have different steering "somehow". http://priuschat.com/forums/2010-toyota-prius/60065-wheels-steering-shocks-oh-my.html It's all very confusing and nobody wants to give any straight answers, but I do agree, the steering feel on the car I test drove was very very poor.
First in-the-metal-look at the '10: I've been on this Forum for 2 months now and looked at hundreds of pics and articles. The time came this afternoon. First one (and only one) at my local dealer. Caveat - I did not test drive as it was in the showroom and sold. A Model III Impressions (and I am not a current Prius owner): - The Blizzard White...is very white. Pearlized, but not enough for my taste. I saw Barc Red in other Toyotas on the lot...yep, that's my choice. - It had the dark gray interior. Again IMO. Quite bland inside. Not enough contrast as with Misty gray or Bisque. Hardly any accent with the console color. - Seating position, nice. I'm 6' and driving position was 2 notches forward of the furthest. The seat height adjustment is mandatory for me, and did the trick. However once seated comfy, the wheel did seem a bit far away - not enough tele to the seat. And the armrest seemed esp low - couldn't rest my elbow and still hold the wheel. Same for console armrest but a bit higher. Steering wheel seemed nice/thick - but I will prefer the leather. - pushed the on button twice and the inside lit up - yay. I LOVE the instrument panel! Very crisp displays and the touch tracer is VERY cool. The panel is not much of a drop and to the right for the eyes while driving. Super job. - Was a III - the JBL sound system was OK...nothing special although I didn't crank it too high. The console...nice - but a bit plasticky, although texurized. The shifter is WAY COOL! Smaller than I thought. And the 3 Mode buttons are within very easy reach and falls into the hand nicely and shifter is not blocking as I thought it would. The console width does not seem to get into "kneeway" - but time would tell while driving. -Visibility - rear...well serious adjustment required, and may sway me to the Nav and RV camera... -The Toyota emblems - OMG - WAY too in-your-face. The size and the blue. Makes it appear toyish and impacts "class". The non - fog versions...well the gray plastic filler - yells "filler". I would definitely paint body color if not a V owner. - Styling - nice and pictures do it justice. Front end very nice, back - the clear light bezels make the lights huge looking - can imagine on a darker color.... - The 4 doors don't seem to have that "thunk" closure and seem light. Hood and trunk do... that aluminum hood...nice. And the hatch is huge. - I'm in SET - FL. The Region will plug in the Toyoguard at $699 - what an utter waste. If I can't get that not-done at the Port or a very good deal on it- I'll buy in another region. And I expect higher "fees" too. Don't want to get POd at the dealer before I have a chance to test drive. The car came in last night - the dealer manager told the reps NOT to call their Prius deposit/list customers. He was afraid they'd flock to the showroom and his reps couldn't help other car lookers over the weekend. He called me before the mgr made that decision. So, I'm waiting for a test demo and see a V model and colors. So far so good.... Not dissapointed...
Wanted to chime in and agree with you on the armrests ... the door armrest seems a bit low to me as well ... the middle console feels about right though. A bit more telescoping might be nice as well, but I didn't mess around with all of it for too long. The taillamps look even MORE HUGE on the dark colors imho.
NAV/MID brightness - make sure your brightness control wasn't turned ALL the way up. At the highest setting (detent), the devices are in daylight mode. Turning them down should allow the NAV screen and MID to dim adequately.
Not much to comment about, since quick impressions often don't match the long-term anyway. But that quote above gave me a chuckle. Having a hood blocking the view of what's in front of the vehicle never made any sense. It was a design shortcoming people actually grew fond of. Go figure. Of course, driving east to work in the morning and west in the evening, the sun glare from a hood pretty much ends that front appeal. Sure glad I don't have to deal with that anymore. .
Thanks for the impressions. Everything you've mentioned sounds exactly like someone coming from a European car (e.g. the lane change signals and wanting a firmer ride).
Accurately stated. I'll adapt to all of it EXCEPT, the beep on reverse. That needs to go. Now. I'm not kidding, it's hugely irritating. My understanding is that's a dealer settable option. My dealer didn't know that. I will educate him tomorrow morning. :twitch:
Actually YOU can change that setting ... not sure if it's the same procedure as in the 2009 and before, but that's the way it was in the "older" model ... run a search and see if that brings up the procedure. Like I said, not sure if it's the same as in the "older' model, but I'm sure someone else will let you know ASAP.
It does have one European feature... that's the emergency flashing of the brake lights when you come to a stop, hard on the brakes from over 70km/h. Yes it is. Most Toyotas with a 6-spd manual have that too. On the 2nd Gen Prius, it's defeatable. In the 2010, it's dealer-customisable and it will only beep once when Reverse is engaged.
115,000 miles on my Gen 2. The view out the back is a non-issue after a week or so. As you say you'll get used to it. I actually put the bottom of the rearview mirror on the 'split' in the window and use only the top half. I can see everything behind me perfectly. The vertical section of the hatch serves no purpose at all. Just ignore it.
