Seriously, there aren't many of them, and they are typically used only on the weekends for routes like the 8 and the 27/33, but Metro did a good job in buying these.
On the outside, they sport a cleaner, newer design, which makes it easily distinguishable from all of the other generic-looking buses in the system. The new hybrid-electric engine makes it so that I don't hear the bus roaring up the hill whenever I go to sleep early on a Saturday night.
On the inside, they are just as awesome. Instead of using plastic for the seat frames, they have switched to metal, which is much more visually appealing but also stays in place better. Seriously, one time my bus was clambering down the street at high speeds, and (no joke) one of the seats was jumping so much it appeared to almost be touching the ceiling. But that would never happen because the ceilings are much higher because of the low-floor design of these vehicles.
The buses are also much roomier and make for a more comfortable ride, unfortunately at the expense of a few extra seats. But this makes it the only bus where I can actually sit in a normal seat, and I can fit my cello in front of me, taking up only one seat. It's not the most comfortable position, but it more than does the job in a pinch. Another small thing I noticed was that the bell cord has a definitive click when pulled down on, which is a nice touch.
Can we please have some more of these?
(seattletransitblog.com)