2010 Toyota Prius – Most Fuel Efficient Hybrid

First Look

The last Toyota Prius became the 13th best selling vehicle in 2008. The car turned the entire automotive world inside out and changed the purchasing priorities of American consumers apparently overnight. Regardless of their automotive needs, many of the auto buyers came to Prius searching for new cars, but get trapped by the sensible body style green image and most importantly the sky-high fuel economy of Prius. As a result of which, the car that ones was considered as an automotive oddity downgraded to hemp-wearing greenies, now became one of the best sellers for the country. Now we have the all new 2010 Toyota Prius, which is poised to maintain the hybrid revolution going, but at the same time get some even more appealing features for even wider audiences.

Having a quick look at the 2010 Toyota Prius, might make you feel that it has the same shape, but the car actually is a little sleeker, and a little (dare we say) sporty than its precursor. As a matter of fact the car looks smaller visually, but that’s an optical illusion that we think creates a more sleek appearance for the car. But, the fact is that the 2010 Prius is a little less than an inch wider and longer than the model we saw yesteryear. The interiors here have a completely different story as the headroom for the car has been reduced by a fraction of an inch. Though we think it could be a problem for taller drivers.

What’s New for 2010 Toyota Prius?

To sum it up the 2010 Toyota Prius is a completely new car. The key enhancements in the car includes enhanced fuel economy, extra power, more traditional interior controls, enhanced steering feel and sleeker styling.

Body Styling and Features

The 2010 Toyota Prius comes in four trim levels, which you definitely will like if you have love the ancient Roman tradition: Prius II, Prius III, Prius IV and Prius V.

The Prius I will enter the market later in the year and will have a slightly low price. The Prius II comes loaded with 15-inch alloy wheels, keyless entry/ignition, complete power accessories, cruise control, auto on/off headlights, a tilt-telescoping steering column, a height-adjustable driver seat, a six-speaker stereo system having CD player, a hybrid system display and supplementary audio jack.

Getting the Prius III brings an eight-speaker advanced stereo system with six-CD changer and Bluetooth.
The Prius IV adds leather upholstery, heated front seats, and extra external locking buttons for keyless entry, an auto-dimming mirror and driver lumbar adjustment in addition to the Prius III equipments.

The top of the chart, the Prius V comes loaded with 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlamps having auto-leveling, foglamps and washers.

Under The Hood

The 2010 Toyota Prius will be powered by Toyota’s highly developed gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain. Pumping under Prius’ hood with is a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine in conjunction with couple of electric motors (one for propulsion, one for an electrical systems generator). The generated power will be transmitted through a planetary-type continuously variable transmission (CVT).

The engine here will be pumping maximum power of 134 horsepower. The Prius sprinted from 0 to 60 mph in 10.1 seconds, which is pretty much the same what we got with the old car and is just a tad faster than the Honda Insight.

The most important thing here is the fuel economy, which as per the EPA estimation is 50 mpg combined. It should be noted that it is the best fuel economy for any vehicle sold in mass market.

Safety Equipments

The safety equipments for 2010 Toyota Prius includes antilock disc brakes (the previous edition had rear drums), traction and stability control, side curtain airbags, a driver knee airbag and front side airbags.

The optional safety equipments for the car include a lane-departure warning system and a pre-collision warning system.

Verdict

The 2010 Toyota Prius in one line is still the most fuel efficient hybrid car in the market. Though, there still are some flaws in the car, but on a whole it still is a considerable option.

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