2010 Toyota Prius

I had the pleasure of driving the 2010 Toyota Prius this past week. The 3rd generation car is all new except for the battery pack. According to Toyota, reliability has been outstanding so why change? One engineer I spoke with reported that 300,000 miles on the same battery is common. The new Prius is about half and inch wider and ¾ of an inch longer than the old car and has the same wheelbase. Rear legroom has been increased. Visually, the center point of the roofline has been moved back giving the car a sleeker appearance.

New options include lane correction, adaptive cruise control, accident avoidance and self parking. A camera mounted behind the Toyota hood emblem scans the lane markers and beeps when the driver drifts out of the lane. Adaptive cruise control uses radar to slow the car down to match the speed of the vehicle in front of you and maintains a constant distance between the two cars. Collision avoidance applies the brakes when the system senses you are about to hit another vehicle or object. In the early stages of detection it readies the brakes enhancing their effectiveness. The self parking feature has been available on Lexus and actually parallel parks the car for you. I did not test this feature but I’m looking forward to seeing it work. It’s a gimmick in my opinion but it does show the level of sophistication the cars embodies. Another advancement on this car is the exhaust coolant heater. Engine coolant is heated by the engine exhaust system enabling a quicker engine warm up lowering emissions.

The new Prius features a larger slower turning 1.8 liter engine giving the car better low end torque and increased performance. There are 3 driving modes. EV is electric only and works up 25 MPH or until low battery charge requires gasoline assistance. In ECO mode, throttle is controlled to improve fuel economy. Push the ‘Power’ button for brisk acceleration. Even in ‘Power’ mode we got very good MPG averaging over 40 in spirited driving on the twisty mountain road just outside of Tucson. Use the EV setting at every stop and you can get some amazing fuel economy numbers. On a 38 miles test loop averaging 29 MPH we got 73.9 MPG! This included hilly roads and 3 ½ miles of 55 mph freeway driving. To be fair, we were in a MPG competition with other journalists (we won) and so driving was gentle as possible with the A/C off most of the time. I got flipped off once and honked at 3 times!

Handling is really quite good with decent steering feel and not much body roll on those mountain roads. Braking was good. There is a transmission setting to increase downhill braking. Speaking of which, there is an all new transaxle for 2010. The interior is quiet and comfortable. The instrument cluster is low and long and mounted near the center of the dash. Bottom line, the 2010 Prius is a hit. Look for it to be at your local Toyota dealer by late spring or early summer. Pricing has not been announced.

Tom Collins
The Auto Answerman