2010 Toyota Prius steering wheel wants your Touch Pictures
There is one aspect of the 2010 Prius that AutoblogGreen didn’t highlight in its recent info overload post on the 2010 Toyota Prius: the Touch Tracer Display. There is usually nothing in front of the speedometer in most cars; we want a clear view of how fast we’re going, right? But there are also a lot of buttons on the steering wheel and constantly shifting our view from the road to the volume or temperature controls isn’t exactly a safe way to drive. To combat furtive downward glances, Toyota has come up with the TTD, which goes into action when you push the circular buttons on the steering wheel. Doing so causes little orange lights to appear on a screen that looks as if it’s hovering on top of the speedometer. The effect is definitely neat and kind of surprising the first time it happens. Once you learn to expect it, however, the feature is a great visual cue to go along with the wheel-mounted controls.
The new Prius also features Lane Keep Assist, Dynamic Cruise Control and Lane Departure Warning for safer driving. While these do provide a lot of feedback to the driver, they won’t drive for you. The 2010 Prius knows if you let go of the wheel while driving. Interestingly, you’re supposed to let go of the wheel when you use Intelligent Parking Assist, the mostly automated parallel parking feature. When you need to parallel park, press the button by your right knee as you approach the spot. This turns on a sensor near the right front wheel that marks where the currently-parked cars are sitting. The rear view camera turns on and displays a grid on the info screen where it thinks you intend to park. If it’s accurate, you press OK and then control the speed of the parking with the brake pedal. The wheel turns itself. If you just take your foot off of the brake pedal, IPA will shut down because it has a speed threshold. As smart as the Prius is, it’s not smart enough to know if a biker or a baby stroller suddenly appears in the designated parking spot, so you need to keep an eye on things.
