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Toyota has showcased a lot of technology in the new Prius because of the high-tech halo the hybrid holds in the market. There’s all-new technology featured for the first time in a passenger car, as well as luxury features, like a self-parking system, generally found on much more expensive vehicles.

The one piece of technology most hybrid fans are all atwitter about is the solar-panel roof.

2010 Toyota Prius

The panel doesn’t actually provide power to the car or its electrical systems, but rather powers a ventilation fan when the car is parked and turned off; the fan keeps the cabin’s ambient temperature down. This is a first for any car, and while it’s a nifty use of technology, it seems like a bit of overkill when you look at the end result.

One of the standard features I thought was a terrific use of technology is what Toyota calls the Touch Tracer display. When you place your finger on the steering-wheel control for the radio or climate system, a display pops up in the dash where vehicle speed and other readouts are housed. The Touch Tracer’s two circles frame the speedometer, momentarily replacing things like the fuel-level display, but never your current speed. The display highlights what control your finger is over, and once you visually confirm which button your finger is on, all you have to do is press down slightly harder to make your selection.

The system might seem a little redundant, but it keeps your eyes much closer to the road, as the dash readouts are so close to the windshield. It worked flawlessly with no real time lag, so it felt natural to me.

The Prius will also come with an optional self-parking feature that can automatically steer the car into a parallel-parking spot or a traditional mall-parking-lot spot. Drivers must control the brakes, and it takes a bit of time to get the hang of it — meaning other folks on the road are likely to honk at you. You also need a fair amount of

clearance for the system to work, which to me is more of an inconvenience than having a car with a computer to help you park is a convenience.

Features & Trim Levels

One confusing aspect of the new Prius is its odd trim levels. While there won’t be any trim badges on the car’s exterior, the names Prius II, III, IV and V will be used on window stickers to differentiate models. Pricing wasn’t available as of publication.

The base Prius is called Prius II. It features numerous standard features, including electronic stability control. All four power windows have automatic up/down controls,

which you rarely see in non-luxury cars. Cruise control and push-button ignition are also standard. Steering-wheel controls for the stereo and climate systems are also standard, as is something called Touch Tracer display, which I’ll detail in the Technology section.

The next level up is the Prius III, which adds an eight-speaker stereo with XM Satellite Radio and Bluetooth. I found the sound system to be fairly robust in terms of having a wide range of mid-levels and highs. However, no USB input is available for an iPod or other MP3 player. Instead,

there’s a standard auxiliary jack and the ability to stream music via Bluetooth. The only device we’ve heard of that can do that, though, is the updated iPhone that’s due this summer. You can buy a $50-$150 adapter to do so from your iPod, but the handful of name-brand units we could find in a quick search online were all out of stock.

The next trim is the Prius IV, which adds a more sophisticated keyless entry system that unlocks doors upon touch. This is also the trim that adds leather upholstery and heated front seats. The switch for the seat heaters is hard to reach, though; it’s located behind the center console. The top trim level is the Prius V, which comes with 17-inch wheels, fog lights and LED auto-leveling headlights with washers.

The Prius is surprisingly nimble, and the standard leather-wrapped steering wheel feels great in your hands; it’s a perfect size and easy to grip. Feedback is a bit springy and tight — more like a subcompact car than a typical midsize sedan — and it doesn’t require much effort. The steering wheel also telescopes for 2010 (the previous generation’s only tilted), which helped me get into a better driving position.

Handling is much improved over the old Prius, and the car feels more composed overall on the road. Add the optional 17-inch wheels and tires on the top trim level, and things in the handling department get even better. It’s no sports compact, but it certainly will satisfy the average driver.

Braking will still feel odd if you’re not used to driving a hybrid. Like most hybrids, the Prius employs regenerative braking. That means when you hit the brakes the

hybrid system captures energy as the car slows down and sends it to the battery, recharging it. That’s one of the reasons you get such great mileage. Unfortunately, you can feel this happen when you apply the brake. There’s a slight squish, then the brakes kick in with relatively good grip. After that initial squish, the brakes are actually more responsive than recent Toyotas I’ve tested, including the non-hybrid Venza crossover.

There are four driving modes: the default Standard mode, EV, Eco and Power, which you can select using buttons near the shifter. The most interesting is the EV mode, which lets the Prius run solely on electric power up to 25 mph as long as the battery has enough charge. Toyota says the Prius will only travel a half-mile in EV mode, but I thought we managed to go farther than that during our hyper-miling course. Regardless, if you hit 25 mph, the EV mode cuts off immediately and the engine kicks on. If you want to keep driving in EV mode, you can re-engage the system by pressing the button once you’ve slowed back down. Obviously, this mode will greatly increase your mileage, as the car isn’t using the gas engine at all. The best times to use EV mode would be in parking lots and other low-speed zones.

Eco Mode maximizes fuel savings across all driving conditions, which means it’s a bit of a nanny that makes sure acceleration is smoother than any human right foot could manage on its own. Why a dedicated hybrid like the Prius doesn’t just start off in this mode is beyond me. Official EPA mileage estimates for the Prius were calculated using the default Standard mode, however, so if you diligently remember to use both the EV and Eco modes, you should see better mileage. I kept Eco on during most of my driving time in the Prius.

The Power mode is supposed to provide a sportier driving experience by increasing throttle response and acceleration. Neither my co-driver nor I noticed any change in acceleration when using the Power mode. Fortunately, the Prius feels peppy no matter what mode it’s in, so there’s no real loss there.

Exterior

Even though the entire Prius has been redesigned, from behind it’s tough to tell anything has changed. Move around to the front, though, and the nose has a new arrow-like peak to it. The headlights flow rearward and wrap around the sides of the car, and the profile is augmented by a styling line running the length of the car that Toyota says helps with aerodynamics. Is it the best-looking car on the road? Not even close. But the Prius continues to stand out as something unique; it greatly resembles the outgoing model, which has something of an iconic look.

Interior

While excessive road noise made the Prius seem unrefined when driving it, its upscale interior will surely impress everyone who takes a seat in it. Automotive journalists often struggle to describe how one interior feels more upscale than another, or how one type of plastic can feel cheap and another won’t — these things just are. With the Prius, Toyota made a number of good choices on both materials and eye-pleasing color combinations.

On the materials front, the center control panel’s black plastic has a slight grain to it that I really liked. Toyota has done this on other models, including the Venza, but it seems even nicer on the Prius. The gearshift, which used to be a tiny stalk near the steering column, now sits in the center console. This more traditional approach works well; its location doesn’t make the car feel more upscale, but its jewel-like blue knob and substantial weight look and feel terrific. The steering-wheel buttons are made of soft rubber and have the perfect amount of feedback to them.

The front seats have really been upgraded, a project Toyota says it spent a lot of time on. The new model is definitely more comfortable. Even with the base model’s fabric seats, there’s plenty of cushioning on the bottom and plenty of support for the back. The leather seats in the top two trim levels are quite nice, and they definitely up the ante in terms of luxury.

The backseat has plenty of legroom, so knees don’t encroach on the front seats. There’s also plenty of headroom despite the roof’s new, more aerodynamic angle. Cargo space is plentiful, with 21.6 cubic feet of room, which is significantly more than the new Mazda3 compact hatchback’s 17 cubic feet of space.

Three interior colors are available: Dark Gray, Bisque (tan) and Misty Gray. Dark Gray was my favorite, but going with tan wouldn’t be a mistake, either. All three feature a darker dashboard of black or dark brown for the tan interior.

Unlike the new Venza and redesigned Corolla, I didn’t notice any gaps or misalignments between panels in the Prius, and overall fit and finish were flawless. If you slapped an “L” on the hood and steering wheel, a Prius with leather seats could easily pass for a Lexus.

Safety

The 2010 Prius comes with seven airbags, including front-seat-mounted side airbags and side curtain airbags for both rows. There’s also a knee airbag for the driver. Active head restraints in front — which help prevent whiplash — are also standard.

The Prius features a cut-off function for the high-voltage battery when an airbag is deployed. This helps prevent shock to passengers or first responders after an accident.

Optional safety equipment includes a pre-collision system, which uses a radar sensor to determine when an object ahead isn’t moving fast enough to avoid a collision. The system then retracts the seat belts, increases brake pressure and reduces brake reaction time so the brakes will be more responsive when the driver hits the pedal. There are audible and visual warnings when the system goes into effect, but if the driver doesn’t react quickly enough it automatically brakes to reduce speed.
Source: Cars.com (By David Thomas)