For Toyota, launching the third-generation 2010 Toyota Prius must feel a little like being the crew of Apollo 12. Quick…what are their names? Don’t know? Didn’t think so. It’s not because their mission was less important (it wasn’t) or because they were less capable than Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins (they weren’t), but because Apollo 11 was an impossibly tough act to follow. That’s where Toyota finds itself with the new Prius, but with a wrinkle even Conrad, Gordon and Bean didn’t face: Now the Russians are on the moon, too.

OK, enough with the moonshot analogy, and enough of the teasers. The question is: What is the new Prius like to drive?

The 2010 Toyota Prius is a great car in many ways. It improves on the second-generation Prius with more power, better styling, and more technology than you can imagine. Toyota nailed all of the high points it needed to, and the Prius will probably continue to sell extremely well, thanks to its built-in fan base and well-deserved reputation as the leading eco-car.

The problem is that even with all the improvements, it’s still not a driver’s car. For that, there’s the 2010 Honda Insight. Sure, the 2010 Insight isn’t as thrifty as the 2010 Prius, and maybe it doesn’t have as many gizmos. So what? They both get amazing fuel economy, since Toyota will hold the line on Prius pricing the Insight will be cheaper by thousands of dollars, and the reality is that the money you save in gas costs with a Prius won’t even buy you an extra bag of groceries each month.

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An electric water pump may not seem like a very big deal, but it’s one of my favorite things about the 2010 Toyota Prius engine.

Making the water pump electric, rather than running off a belt driven by the engine’s crankshaft, holds a few benefits. First, there’s the practical benefit of reducing the drag on the engine. This means none of the engine’s power goes to turning the pump impeller, and that reduces drag. But Toyota also points out that by making the water pump electric, the ECU can more precisely control the flow of coolant through the engine. It can also run the water pump independently of the engine, allowing heat to flow even when the car isn’t running. Provided there’s enough hot coolant, of course.

read more from "2010 Toyota Prius Tech Part 23 – Electric Water Pump"

I think the philosophy behind pre-collision systems like the one on the 2010 Toyota Prius is that two heads are better than one. In this case, one of the heads is the driver, and the other is the car itself.

On cars equipped with the dynamic cruise control system, pre-collision scans ahead, looking for other vehicles. If it determines that you’re approaching another vehicle too fast or if you suddenly jab the brakes, it assumes a crash is imminent and starts taking steps to prevent it, or lessen the consequences at the very least. It tightens the seatbelt to keep you from flopping around too violently in case of a crash, activates the pre-collision brake assist, which basically means adding hydraulic pressure to the lines, and if you just sit there and do nothing, it will automatically start braking for you. Sounds like a great idea for the chronically distracted driver of today.

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Toyota, under the Lexus banner, introduced the world to self-parking cars a few years ago when it debuted the Lexus LS 460. It’s an interesting technology, combining cameras, parking sensors, electric-assist power steering and the driver’s sense of patience to let the car mostly park itself. It almost kind of works, too.

Toyota says it has improved the Intelligent Park Assist system for the 2010 Prius with a “Pre-Support” function that provides step-by-step guidance. Still, if it’s anything like the one on the LS, it still has some gestation before self-parking cars are really ready for prime time.

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Now, I’ve never really had much of a problem with lane drift. Somehow, I have managed to stay in my lane without too much problem, and without any technical assistance. Clearly though, there are enough people that need assistance that Toyota (and others) have developed technologies to help drivers perform this basic task.

The 2010 Toyota Prius has Lane Departure Warning (LDW) and Lane Keep Assist (LKA). Both of them use a camera that literally looks for lines painted on the road; obviously, it must be a well-maintained road with nicely painted lines, and it helps if you’re going fast on a highway. If the LDW system thinks the driver is about to drift into another lane, it sounds a warning and nudges the steering wheel a little bit. LKA goes a step further, actually helping the driver stay in the lane with additional torque on the wheel. Both of them need the driver’s hands on the wheel in order to work, and it deactivates if you let go. Still, do we really need this, people?

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This is more than just a pretty badge. Behind it lies a radar that is the heart of the dynamic cruise control on the 2010 Toyota Prius.

Dynamic cruise control systems like this aren’t new, but they are unusual for a car in this price class. However, it makes sense, and not just for pampering drivers. Hypermilers will tell you that leaving a car in cruise will give you the best mileage. However, when you’re in traffic, the cruise control loses its effectiveness because you’re constantly getting on and off the brakes and gas anyhow. Dynamic cruise could potentially save more fuel by monitoring traffic ahead and slowing or speeding up gradually, reducing fuel consumption. It’s part of the advanced technology package available on the Prius V.

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When is OnStar not OnStar? When it’s Toyota Safety Connect. The 2010 Toyota Prius comes with the system from the factory, and the dealer activates it. However, look over the functions and it’s virtually a duplicate of GM’s OnStar system.

Features include automatic collision notification, which tells the call center if you’ve been in an accident that deployed an airbag. It also offers a stolen vehicle locator – you’ll never guess what that does – and an emergency assistance button. There’s also a roadside assistance button, summoning service 24/7. A one-year trial subscription comes with the car.

Although it’s virtually identical to the OnStar system, this is actually operated by the ATX Group, a rival company, and one that is likely thrilled to have Toyota has a client. It will be available around August, 2009.

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If you order the navigation/JBL audio system with your 2010 Toyota Prius, you get a little extra: Bluetooth audio streaming.

Not every phone or music device supports Bluetooth streaming; check out Toyota’s site to see if yours works. However, if it does, and if your phone supports audio streaming, you can carry your entire music library with you without need for a USB cable. Plus, you can still use your phone through the car’s built-in Bluetooth system. The audio streaming function lets you control your device through the steering wheel or audio head unit controls as well.

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Steering wheel mounted controls are nothing new these days. Most cars have buttons mounted somewhere within thumb’s reach for audio controls, cruise, and maybe a few other menu functions.

The Prius takes this to an extreme though, letting the driver scroll through tons of different screens at the push of a button. To keep it all straight, the 2010 Toyota Prius uses what Toyota calls a Touch Tracer Display. Place your finger lightly on one button (think of the autofocus on a camera), and a duplicate of the button layout suddenly floats in front of the speedometer on the gauge cluster. The button you’re pressing is orange. It’s a good way to keep track of what your fingers are doing, even though you would probably just learn by feel after a while. Still, neat trick.

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While much of the technology in the 2010 Toyota Prius is admirable, this one left me a little stumped.

The air conditioning system on the level IV and V Prius come standard with a Plasmacluster ionizing air purifier. You’ve seen those annoying “Ionic Breeze” commercials before, and this works on the same principle, ionizing the air to help draw clumps of crud out of it, and kill bacteria and viruses at the same time. Problem is, these kinds of filters have been associated with high levels of ozone, enough so that Calfiornia effectively banned them.

The Plasmacluster thing isn’t new in the Prius, or other Toyota products for that matter. But considering the potential bad publicity, I’m a little surprised that it’s still there.

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