Most Popular Prius Posts for October: Floor Mat Recall

It's the end of October, but we'll spare you the lame Halloween jokes and dive directly into the most popular posts of the month on AllAboutPrius.com.

Just like the month before, only two of September's most popular posts reappeared: the 2010 Toyota Prius Reference Guide (by now the year's undisputed champion), and last month's surprise entry about a drag-race video that faces off a 2010 Prius against its 2009 predecessor.

# 1: 30 Days of the 2010 Toyota Prius: Your Reference Guide. It's the Reference Guide. It's on top. It was on top last month. It will probably be on top next month. What can we say? It give you the basics on the all-new, totally redesigned 2010 Toyota Prius hybrid. Bottom Line: This is the place to start for any and all the 2010 Toyota Prius information you're searching for.

# 2: ALERT: Toyota Recalls 2004-2009 Prius, DoT Urges Removing Floor Mat. An important news story, one that hit national headlines, and justifiably so. Bottom Line: If you have any model of 2004-2009 Toyota Prius, the U.S. Department of Transportation strongly urges you to remove the driver's side floor mat to avoid potential safety issues with the brakes and accelerator. Toyota is developing a fix, and you'll hear from the company about next steps soon.

2010 Toyota Prius vs 2009 Toyota Prius drag race

# 3: Drag Race Video: 2010 Toyota Prius vs 2009 Toyota Prius. It hit the top five last month, and actually climbs a notch this month. Maybe it took awhile to catch on? Bottom Line: With a larger 1.8-liter engine against the 1.5-liter version fitted to the earlier car, it shouldn't be a real surprise that the new third-generation 2010 Toyota Prius noses out its 2009 predecessor over the quarter-mile.

# 4: High-Intensity Headlight Horrors Perplex Prius Owners. We're not sure why this article from mid-July suddenly blasted into the Top Five, unless there's a news item out there somewhere that we missed. Bottom Line: Does the second-generation (2004-2009) Prius have a reliability problem with the optional xenon high-intensity discharge (HID) headlights? An AdAge story says so, but the data seems fuzzy. The bulbs are expensive, no question. If you have one fail, here's our suggestion: Replace it yourself, rather than paying the dealer to do it.

# 5: 2010 Toyota Prius: Reviewing the Reviews. This is one we're pleased to see hit the top five. If you want one single post that reviews every facet of the new 2010 Toyota Prius, this is the one. Bottom Line: Out of 10 possible points, the 2010 Prius scored 8.2. It got high marks for fuel effiency (its EPA combined gas mileage rating is 50 miles per gallon), cabin space and general practicality, better driving feel, and standard and optional features. It did less well on comfort and quality, as well as styling, which is almost purely subjective. Dislikes: the limited knee room imposed by the Space-Age console design, and the hybrid driving experience.

So what's missing from our Top Five list lately? Here are a few longtime favorites that we suspect will reappear in the ratings, sooner or later:

2010 Toyota Prius: Overview

30 Days of the 2010 Toyota Prius: Day 1, First Impressions and 70 MPG.

30 Days of the 2010 Toyota Prius: Day 4, Equipment Levels and Packages.

Behind the Prius Scenes: How They Made the Harmony Commercial.

And if you want to see what rose and fell over the months (never mind the eternally first-place Reference Guide), here are the previous Top Five roundups for AllAboutPrius.com: