I picked this up from the priuschat site but thought it might be interesting to ecomodders to read about some of the details integrated into the new 2010 Prius. These bullet points are taken from current 2010 users so they might be observations rather than fact...so take them with a grain of salt if you disagree with any of them.
* The air conditioner uses an ejector cycle which causes gases to recycle and only liquified refrigerant to pass through the evaporator (cooling) coil. This increases efficiency by > 50%.
http://www.globaldensoproducts.com/c...tor_cycle.html
* The 2010 Prius engine is completely beltless thanks to an electric water pump and air conditioner compressor. The valves are operated by a timing chain (which technically isn't a belt).
* The fuel delivery system for the 2010 Prius is the non-return type to reduce on evaporative emissions caused by the returning unused fuel from the fuel-injection rail.
* The muffler in the 2010 Prius has a spring loaded door within which is forced open under higher load conditions to reduce restriction, and held closed under lower power conditions for quieter operation.
* The fan motors on the 2010 Prius w/ solar roof are a different type (brushless DC dual ball bearing) to withstand the higher duty cycle of running while parked.
* The solar panel, made by Kyocera, outputs 59W at full power. The fan system requires at least 10V to power the fan.
* New engine redline is 5200rpm vs 5000rpm from Gen 2, and 4500 from Gen 1. I've only observed max RPM at 75mph+ though.
* Windshield washer jets for the front are now located below the hood instead of on top.
* The radar antenna for the radar cruise control and pre-collision systems is located behind the front Toyota badge.
* Tilt headrests as well as up/down
* Stealth mode (no ICE) can be maintained up to 46 mph (vs. 41 mph in the Gen II model)