2010 Toyota Prius

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DarkHand

Senior Member
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I've been renting a 2010 Toyota Prius for my disturbingly long commute to work (100-130 miles round trip depending on which office), and have actually been somewhat impressed with this 3rd gen model; they've improved alot of the things that were crappy about the first two gens. I've been averaging about 44MPG in the dense 10 degree air of Chicago in January without even trying to drive in an mpg-friendly manner, which is a godsend because I still have to pay for gas. :p It's intentionally dead slow in Eco Mode, to start the car moving under battery power only, but in Power Mode it's rather quick off the line thanks to the electric motors assisting the engine.

While it understeers like a pig on an ice rink, the traction control is kind of interesting. I tested it out on a backroad corner near my house that I like to slide around in winter (no salting!)... I purposely missed the corner, locked the brakes, and cranked the wheel in the direction of the turn. Instead of understeering until my speed burned off enough to turn, it used the brakes independently to purposely induce oversteer and point the car in the direction of my steering input. Maybe that's the way other systems work too, but I've never experienced it and thought it was kinda cool.

A more detailed review of some of the other neat options is here.
 
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what exactly sounds like spam about that

he posted up a well formed review of a car that he has been driving, based off of his experience with the car


i wouldnt call that spam at all... he isnt trying to sell anything... he isnt trying to get traffic for another site (sure there is a link to jalopnik, but who doesnt already know about that site?)


no spam here :slap:
 
Well written, big words, promoting Toyota. Internet and well written seldom go hand in hand.
 
The Prius is an awesome car and an amazing deal for what you get. Toyota is losing money on each one they sell. I work for Honda and there are more Prius's in the lot than Insights. I just wish the damn thing felt more like a car and less like an appliance.
 
i agree, but if you want a good car with good mpg you have to sacrafice alot to get there, if they made it to make me happy it would get 20-30mpg...
 
I experienced this today, looked it up and found I'm not alone:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Prius said:
Regenerative braking system

Toyota has initiated an investigation of 2010 model year Prius brake performance issues. Thirty-three complaints have been made to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Office of Defects Investigation, indicating that the Prius's brakes take longer to activate when driving over a bump or pothole. Although the NHTSA has not launched an official investigation, an internal agency memo indicates that the Prius brake complaints may be due to a delayed response in the switch from regenerative to friction braking when driving over bumps, the result of which "could be fatal for pedestrians".

I was slowing down from about 40, and as I hit about 10mph or so, just as the regenerative system was switching to friction, I hit a pretty harsh pothole. For a split second it almost felt like I started to speed up, but I would say it was more like trying to brake on wet grass... Some people may think they're speeding up but it's just the lack of braking effect. I don't know how the system works yet but I wouldn't call it a 'delayed response' like Toyota does; I'd guess that the bump knocks the regenerative system out of engagement before the regular brakes have had a chance to fully engage, resulting in about .25 seconds where you're no longer braking at all. I freaked out when I felt it and jammed the brakes, ABS'ing to a stop.

THIS
needs to be subject to a recall more than some gunky throttle cables.
 
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They're okkkkk


I dig the jetta tdi way better.
 
They already lost billions of dollars of company worth since Jan. 21st. I saw the article on my phone. Ill have to look it up.
 
They fixed the brake issue a few weeks ago, but today when heading to work I was flooring it to get on the highway, then quickly let off completely. I happened to be looking at the throttle display on the dashboard when I did... when I let up it went to 0 throttle as it should, but as it reached 0 it flashed full throttle for a split second, like it had wrapped around past 0 and gone to the other side. :ph34r::ph34r::ph34r::eek:o

It was maybe a 10th of a second and never had a chance to translate to any kind of change in actual throttle response, but I wonder if that's what's happening to these people who say their cars are running off on them. :eek:
 
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toyotaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


:D
 
I actually like the styling as compared to the older Prius but to be honest if I was going to spend money to be super efficient, A3 TDI or Jetta TDI. Can't get used to the crappy plastics in Toyotas.
 
The 2010 does look much better. Now if they can make a much better version of that, it'll be a decent looking car!
 
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