The review embargo now lifted, critics hither and yon are hustling to weigh in on the 2010 Toyota Prius. Herewith the early verdict: the Prius is scoring an average of 87 from reviewers, a whopping 5 points higher than the outgoing model. (One caveat: Toyota hasn’t released a final price for car yet, and most reviewers are making relative value judgments based on an anticipated price of $24k. If Toyota prices the 2010 model lower than that, its review scores will rise; price it higher, scores will likely drop by a point or two.) Okay, enough with the math. Here’s some quick opinionating from leading critics:
Edmunds.com’s Erin Riches touts the Prius’ kinda-amazing milage numbers, among other things:
You don’t need us to tell you that the 2010 Toyota Prius won’t stimulate your senses. It’s not that kind of car. The third-generation Toyota Prius is, however, a vast improvement over its forbears. It finally offers the kind of safe, predictable road manners expected of a modern car. And it now has a gas engine capable of moving around 3,000 pounds of hybrid piety.
Yet it’s that 50-mpg combined fuel economy rating that will ensure the continued celebrity status of the new Prius. It doesn’t matter whether it makes perfect economic sense to spend $25,000-$30,000 on a car just because it hits this magic number. After all, driving the most fuel-efficient car in the nation is a psychological victory, and it’s a more attainable one than driving the quickest car (for the moment, the $82K Nissan GT-R).
Scott Burgess, of the Detroit News, did his damnedest to drive those mileage numbers down:
But coasting this 3,000-pound machine up hills and accelerating down them, randomly coming to a full stop before flooring it again, did not work. The Prius still bested the city mileage of every single gasoline midsize sedan. Sorry Detroit, I tried.
Burgess then threw his hands up in happy exasperation:
If the first-generation Prius was a gimmick, and the second-generation a threat, the third-generation just might be a punch in the gut for anyone trying to catch it. It’s scary good. Improved is an understatement: Every change Toyota made spiraled into more improvements. the 2010 Prius just might be a punch in the gut for anyone trying to catch it.
Cars.com’s David Thomas also engaged in a bit of let’s-try-to-waste-gas gamesmanship. Without success:
On our first trip, we paid more attention to the car’s interior and tech features and didn’t turn on the A/C. It was a mix of city and highway driving lasting 20 miles. The trip computer registered 53.7 mpg. Next, I got behind the wheel, turned on the A/C and radio, and drove a similar course, with a mix of highway and city driving over 23.2 miles. I drove with a lead foot, too. Mileage registered at 51.8 mpg.
Jalopnik had some Jalopniky fun with the fuel numbers:
The 2010 Toyota Prius gets 50 MPG combined fuel economy, making it the most fuel-efficient car for sale in the U.S. But, did you know it returns 26.6 MPG at 102 MPH?
Not to be outdone, Autoblog.com’s Sebastian Blanco also went into MPG nerd-mode:
Through it all, the hybrid, officially rated at 50 mpg, performed well and delivered better-than-expected fuel economy. In fact, when we pushed the car’s eco prowess by using the EV mode as much as possible and employing a few other tricks, we blew that EPA estimate out of the water by almost 15 mpg. And we weren’t alone. The Prius’ chief engineer, Akihiko Otsuka, drove a 33-mile route in and around Napa and averaged 62.9 mpg…
In the end, Toyota knows most people drive a Prius because it makes saving fuel super simple. With the outgoing model, owners put up with abysmal rearward visibility because they got 45 mpg. They put up with the reverse beeping and the spaceship look because they can drive by gas stations without stopping more often. Now, with 50 mpg – or better – new Prius owners have even more reasons to quietly deal with any negatives the new car might have to offer.
The designated driver at MotorAuthority.com didn’t want to enjoy the Prius, but found himself converted:
Testing the new Prius in the desert hills around Tucson, I came to a realization I’m still only half-comfortable with: I actually like this car. It doesn’t go fast, it’s not ultra-luxurious and it won’t take a corner at anything above a sedate speed, but that’s not the point. It’s comfortable – much more so than the last Prius – drives like a car should in the city, and it not only gets incredible fuel mileage, it makes it fun to do so…
At the end of my day on the road with the Prius, I found myself not only interested in the car, but talking about it to friends and co-workers, extolling its virtues, advising a short wait to get the new one for acquaintances in the market for a hybrid. Am I a convert? No – I still like horsepower and handling too much to qualify – but I’m definitely a fan.
Alison Lakin of DriverSide.com found the handling a bit underwhelming (“as vague as ever”), and groused about the interior (“Cheap plastics and cloths swathe every surface”) before summarily praising the car:
The entire Prius, starting with the exterior design and culminating with decidedly vital alterations to the level of interior comfort – like a tilting and telescoping steering wheel! – have improved an already successful car. But its pièce de résistance are the fuel economy numbers, which have hit the magic 50 mpg mark thanks to cutting-edge aerodynamic feats and a 90 percent new hybrid synergy system. Now all it needs is a set of solar panels. Oh wait, it has those too.
Keith Buglewicz, who seems to have decamped MyRide.com for Wired, joined the other gushers:
The 2010 Toyota Prius is the best Prius yet, a car that’s roomier, more powerful and more fuel efficient than ever before. It remains the gold standard for hybrids. But then, it has to for one simple reason: The Honda Insight.
(Buglewicz also makes the requisite Whole Foods joke. Here’s Wired: “We love the rooftop solar panel. It runs a fan that keeps the interior cool while you run into Whole Foods, reducing the load on the A/C.” And now Edmunds: “It powers an auxiliary ventilation system that keeps the cabin from getting too hot or cold while you’re parked at Whole Foods.” Jinx!)
Automobile magazine, in a somewhat cranky mood, piled qualified praise on the car:
Let’s be clear. The Prius has not been transformed into a sport sedan, but it’s no longer a penalty box to drive. And, like it or not, we’re all on a long journey away from internal-combustion and toward electric vehicles, so any progress made toward building some fun into this new generation of vehicles is to be applauded. This year, the Prius joins the new Honda Insight and the new Ford Fusion Hybrid to prove that hybrid cars don’t have to be soulless appliances for eco-weenies. They can also be for you and me.
Click here to read more critics’ scores, and also to track any new reviews of the car.
Photo [Via.]
