Mr. Pirillo spends a great deal of his time in front of the camera making videos related to technology and pretty much anything else he  finds interesting. Today I ran across a nearly 12 minute video he made and uploaded to YouTube in early October of 2009. With tens of thousands of hours of video experience, he is a natural at this. In fact, Toyota might well have considered Chris over the Blue Man Group when they first introduced the redesigned Gen III Prius.

Chris…next time you are in Central Iowa please look me up and bring your camera man. We can make a short video of us racing - your loaded up 2010 Prius V against my more conservative 2010 Prius III. Oh, and I should mention that I’ll be in Power mode while you are watching your hybrid system indicator. It will surely be another global sensation.

Just kidding Chris – you are an expert hypermiler and thanks for the review! Lastly, if you need help turning off those annoying reverse beeps, drop me a line. While you may be the #1 Chris on Google, I own the same position for an equally as competitive phrase - 2010 Prius biggest complaint.

My kids have become experts at the Prius Punch game since we started playing it a few weeks ago, so with everyone trying to protect their arms from any more bruises, it is seldom we pass a Prius without someone spotting it. Even so, here in central Iowa I rarely see a Gen III Toyota Prius (or a Gen I, for that matter). And even though the 2nd Generation and 3rd Generation models look totally different to me, I sometimes think I’m seeing a new model only to find out it’s a Generation 2 version when I get close enough to tell.

For this reason, I thought it might be helpful to compare the second and third gen Prius’ to point out a few of the most visible exterior differences using side-by-side photos (or top/bottom in this case).

Front View

One of the first things you will notice when comparing the Gen II (above) and Gen III (below) is the length of the grill. Also, the Toyota emblem is more pronounced (with a blue background) on the new model. Lastly, the fog lights/covers on the Gen III model are rectangular and have been incorporated into the outer edges of the front bumper area.

Side View

From the side, the main thing I look for is the fuel door. It has changed from being square (Gen II) to round (Gen III). Also, the ‘04-’09 models have the indentation across the bottom of the doors.

Rear View

Once again, the Toyota emblem is easier to see on the Gen III with its blue fill. Even better, the Prius lettering and Hybrid Synergy Drive logo are in line with the emblem, and all three are above the license plate on the Gen III.

There are lots of differences between the exterior of the 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, and the 2010 model. When these hybrids are parked and you can get up close, it becomes easy to distinguish one from the other. When they are zooming by you, coming at you, or have already passed you at a more than 30 miles per hour, it’s not quite so easy.

To spot a Gen III that is on the move, try to look for rectangular fog lights in the front, a round fuel door from the side, and badges/logos above the license plate from the back. Again, if you can only see the passenger side, the Generation III doesn’t have the indentation in the lower area of the doors (the Gen II does).

So, how do you tell these two cars apart when they aren’t sitting still?

1.  There is a small LED light mounted in the overhead console and it shines down on the shift lever. Besides adding light to the lever when it is dark, I don’t know what it does.

2.  When you approach the Prius and open the driver’s side door, you hear an strange sound that lasts just a few seconds. This is the brake boost pump being activated to make sure you have sufficient pressure when you first take off. If you wait more than a couple of minutes to start the Prius, the pressure is reduced and you have a hard time braking properly until the car has been driven a block or two. I especially notice this when backing out of the driveway. The brakes can be really touchy and they grab a lot if I wait too long.

3.  There are no belts on the Prius engine. Instead, the water pump and air conditioner compressor run on electricity.

4.  The Prius has alloy rims. You just can’t see them very well, because they are covered by plastic wheel covers.

5.  All four windows are equipped with the auto up and auto down feature, not just the driver’s window like most cars.

6.  The 2010 Toyota Prius requires synthetic oil.

7.  On the left side of the driver’s seat, there is a small storage area on the floor. I’ve never seen one in that location on another car before.

8.  There is a vent in the backseat, just to the right of the right rear passenger seatback. This is an intake vent to keep the hybrid battery cooler, so you shouldn’t block it with anything. See the picture above.

9.  The 3rd generation Prius is more than a full second faster the the previous model in accelerating from 0 to 60 miles per hour. Now it only takes 9.8 seconds!

10. The plastic and foam materials used in the interior (seats, dash, trim, etc.) are not made from petroleum (like most vehicles) but instead are derived from plants. The ecological plastic emits less CO2 during manufacturing and throughout the life cycle of the car when compared to oil based plastics.

I’m sure there are lots of other interesting facts and near useless tidbits of information about this most incredible hybrid, so feel free to add more to the comments section below and I’ll update this post with more in the future.

When you spotted a VW Beetle (Bug) you slugged your brother, sister, or which ever kid was next to you – usually in the arm or leg. At the same time you said something like, “slug bug” and if you were smart you followed it with, “no slug backs”. Basically that meant that that VW Bug was now off limits, and the person you just smacked could not hit you back.

I don’t know if that game regained popularity when the new Beetle was released several years ago, but since you can now go weeks without seeing the older style VW Beetle, I assume it either did or the game died out.

Now that I’m driving a Prius, I’m starting to become more aware of other Prius that I see when out and about. My kids and wife are the same way, and we seldom travel more than 20 miles without spotting one (I imagine that distance would be much less in a state like California, but there are still more farms than Prius in Iowa!).

Anyway, on a recent 50 mpg trip I told my wife that it would be fun to start playing the Slug Bug game when we saw a Prius, but we’d need to come up with a catchy name for it. We tried out the following:

1. Prius Punch
2. Prius Pinch
3. Prius Poke

Of the three options, I found out the hard way that Prius Punch, No Punch Backs! became the favorite…and I have the bruise to prove it. So, if you are up for trying out this game that’s sure to become a nationwide sensation, I’d like to hear your input. Are there some better options we should be considering? In either case, let me know if you’re playing.