REALLY trying to love the III

I'm really struggling with accepting the III I found rather than getting the IV, I had dreamed of. I have tried asking the dealer questions about the specific differences, done searches and research here and online, and have looked into paying for some of the upgrades separate and later to make it work.

The bottom line is, I can't find a IV and if I did, I'm not sure I could afford it. Would some of you who own III's and IV's offer some of your experience here. So far this is what I think I know.

*I know I can get custom leather later, so that becomes a non-issue. I can get the heated seats and some form of lumbar support at that time too, although the 400 for the lumbar support I found seems really expensive to me.
*I can upgrade the mirror, not sure I have the aptitude to install it but I'm sure the dealer wouldn't mind charging me to do that.
*The water repellent mirrors have me intrigued. I live in Oregon and we do see rain the sort that having a repellant feature makes sense. Do they work?
* I am most stuck on the smart key upgrade. I am driving an 06 now and no matter where I stand, that baby opens. I LOVE THAT. Arm full of groceries... go to the hatch and Wa La! How different is the lesser version? Is there a fudge factor... is it possible that it will open the hatch if I walk by the front driver door?
*The safety connect is actually not a feature I wanted so that upgrade works to encourage me to try and love the III a little more and let go of the IV.

Thanks in advance!
~Oct

I have a IV. If it were me...I'd rather get factory options then to try to add it all later. Either that, or do without the upgrades.

The mirrors are actually heated mirrors (so snow and ice will melt off of them...sweet!), but the side windows are water repellent...which I haven't noticed much of a difference because the side windows don't usually get much rain on them anyway.

For me, it seemed the price difference was worth the lots of little things it added. I need lumbar, and I like the leather, and I can't wait to have warm "buns" this winter!

When I was calling around, I would have taken any of 3 cars. A III, A III with Nav, or a IV base. Here are my thoughts:

1 - Leather vs cloth did not matter to me. I have been on leather for the last 10 years, and would have taken cloth. However, my wife really wanted the heated seats, so to get that I needed the IV. But, I am the main driver, so would have settled for the III if I found that first.

2 - Home-link did not matter to me. I had a feature like that on my 2000 Mercedes, and my 2005 Caravan, so I am use to opening my garage from my mirror. But, If i needed to mount the control on my visor again, big deal. I would have.

3 - Water repellant windows? huh?? When I first read that, I laughed. I said, does the III have porous glass? I have the IV with this glass, I see no "advantage". Don't let that make the decision.

4 - I did not know there was a difference in the key operation between the III and the IV. If you look at the specs on the Toyota sight, the keys should be the same. Are you sure there is a difference in this?

The biggest feature I wanted was the Bluetooth phone, so I would not take less than a III. I didn't want the Nav, but thought the better radio and backup camera would be nice.

1. Search the forums for leather and you'll find plenty of suggestions. Plus aftermarket leather is less expensive and higher quality if you find the right installer.

2. The outside mirrors are the same (heated) in all versions of the 2010 (see http://www.toyota.com/prius-hybrid/features.html). The driver and passenger windows on the IV are water repellent. Just use RainX or the equivalent on the III. No big deal.

3. SKS doesn't unlock any door by you just walking by...you have to touch something. You can, however, program the III so that unlocking the driver's door unlocks all the doors including the hatch (the manual explains how). It's not as convenient but it works.

The only things from the IV that I wish were on my III are the leather steering wheel and the 3-door SKS (I'd also like the radar cruise control from the V!). I can live without both though.

The III only has SKS on the driver's door.

I have (well had until I got rear-ended by a SUV and had it totaled) a 2008, and the IV is, in my opinion, the replacement for the 2008/09. You have to get the IV to get all the bells and whistles that used to be standard (and the nav if you want the back up camera).

For me I thought about a III, but I *really* want decent lumbar support, and I felt like I wouldn't missed all the little things my 08 had that the III doesn't. So I feel your pain. The thing you have to ask yourself is (a) can you be happy with the car for 5 - 10 years without the options the IV has and (b) are you willing to do lots of after market add-ons that may or may not integrate as well?

My wife and I have an '05 and an '06, and the smart key is one of the key (OK, pun intended) reasons we WON'T be getting a '10. It is a complete ripoff what Toyota has done with the packages or levels or whatever people want to call it. The safety connect is another aspect of the ripoff mentality Toyota has adopted. We really just wanted to upgrade the '05 so we would have a backup camera, but of course then you've got to go up to a III, add NAV, now with Safety Connect, and then you've got to go to the IV with NAV if you want to keep the Smart Key (3-door) system like the '05 already has. Way too expensive. Like my wife says, "That's just obnoxious."

The '10 Prius is a great car in many ways, too bad Toyota couldn't build it to its potential. Instead, as Tideland Prius pointed out, Toyota really built the car for a different group of people than the Gen I or Gen II Prius. The Gen III looks great, but the substantive improvement over the Gen II isn't there, and in many ways has been a step backward.

For the $14K our local Toyota dealer wanted for us to step up to even a Prius III, I can buy a new battery for the '05, do a PHEV conversion, AND install a backup camera for the safety we were looking for.

I have a III with only the driver's door smart key. Although I would have liked the 3-door SKS that's on the IV-V models, I have a system that works well for me. I set the SKS to open all doors when the driver's door handle is touched. If my hands are full of groceries, I just walk around to the driver's door and lightly touch the handle (it's very sensitive) which then unlocks all the doors. Then I can walk a few feet back to the hatch to open it. Touching the driver's handle can be a challenge with your hands full of groceries, but you'll still have to grab the hatch release whether it's 1 or 3 door SKS. To re-lock the entire car, I just touch the sensor on the driver's door. With this simple procedure, I never have to dig the remote out of my pocket and I don't really need the 3-door SKS.

I love my II and figured what ever else I wanted, I could add, but yes, this is a big missing link IMO. Sure, I never had a Gen II, and I can still use my fob, as I did with my Jeep, but I was really jonesing for this feature (tho obviously not enough to pay the extra $K's for )

I was thinking it would be kind of cool if I could put a fob on my dog's collar and he could get himself in the car

You can reprogram the fob to unlock all at the drivers' door but you have to touch, not just walk by... It's in the manual, early on. It wasn't clear to me, but after a while I figured out if I hold both the lock and unlock buttons at the same time, it cycles through the (2 for us) options of unlock - one or all.

Robbin

I'm really hoping someone offers a reasonably priced 3 door SKS upgrade...I have a II and its the only feature I REALLY wish I had...

I chose the III over the IV and am very happy with it. The main difference to us seemed to be cloth/leather, and while we considered leather, we decided on cloth and we like it a lot. Yes, you lose the lumbar, but I find the seat very comfortable and supportive. Cloth doesn't get cold like leather does, so I've never felt a need for a seat warmer with cloth. (On all our previous cars, the cloth has been extremely durable and easy to clean.)

As others have pointed out here and on other threads, both the remote and the sensor door opener can be programmed to your liking (in one case by you, in the other case by the dealer), so this should be a non-issue.

The side window glass is just fine in my car--it doesn't accumulate water. I've had the car for over two months, but today for the first time I had to drive through an unbelievable downpour with huge amounts of water on the road--no problem.

The stereo, nav and bluetooth are the same in the III and IV.

I don't know whether the Plasmacluster would have made a difference--others will have to comment on that one.

The only IV options I thought I'd miss were the automatic mirror and the Homelink. But some comments on other threads have suggested that the automatic mirror isn't working that accurately for some drivers.

So, basically I really think it comes down to leather. If you want leather and get cloth instead, you might be unhappy. But again, it's a nice fabric.

Good luck with your new Prius, whichever you choose.

3. Make them water-repellent yourself with Rain-X.

I know others may not notice a difference, but the difference is very apparent if you wash your own car. Water comes right off the front windows when you dry it with an electric leaf blower.

I'm not promoting the IV over the III, but FYI, the monthly payment cost of the $2,800 difference is as follows, assuming a 5% rate:
5 yr note = $52.83
4 yr note = $64.48
3 yr note = $83.92

Also, just because you can't find a IV in stock at a local dealer, doesn't mean you can't order it and wait for future allocations. Just do an e-mail to a lot of different dealers requesting a quote and specifying color and options. (kbb.com and edmonds.com will also do this for you). Trust me, someone will come back with an offer for what you want.

for some reason, the car Im driving now ( the 06) does. I thought it was just a proximity thing and the protocol was to require people to "touch" the handle to make sure they are within the proximity. Perhaps it is a glitch with the one I am in now? I wondered if I might be mistaken so tried it again to make sure and sure enough... .it opens when I stand there with the key in my purse.

I know! I did that math and no matter how I put it in the calculator I can't get it to go any lower!
Grrrrrrrrrr :heh:

Thanks for the note on my pictures! Back to your quandary. I can relate so here were my thoughts in going with a III and being very glad:

1) We previously discussed pros and cons of after market leather in another thread - at the time I thought you were in western OR. Being east, might be more hassle to do it - Boise is closer than PDX : ). Eventually I will get leather installed but not until next year when it becomes my only car. The non-wrapped wheel will annoy me enough to take the plunge. Also I am really picky about having firm seats - and this is the lowest price point car I have bought in years, but love the seats (without lumbar). I missed having a power driver's seat the first week, but got over.

2) SKS - I just cannot understand all the fascination and worship over this feature. I kissed the ground the day key fobs were invented, so no more insertion in doors but as far as my not having to push the button, once, or twice, whatever. I often have lots of packages, etc. and still...I was really worried that I would miss the three door vs. one but I don't. If you have kids or always drive with a husband, etc., then would be more convenient, but finding the right package and color, to me, was much more important.

3) Rain repellant glass; no way for me. Maybe Toyota has improved the technology since my 2003 Avalon &/or it’s a different concept, but I was so sorry I had it on the front windshield. It never worked well and the trade off, on that car, was no intermittent wiper function. I REALLY missed that feature - spent 4 years being the wiper assistant : ). I assume that has changed and it is on the P.

Then, living in Boise which is the windshield crack capital of US, I had to have it replaced twice in two years. The first was OEM - it cost over DOUBLE the cost of a regular windshield - about $1000 installed back then . Luckily my insurance covered it with a small deductible and no premium raise. Same for second, but by then, I said just use non-OEM, which was about $500, since we all "pay" in the long run.

I believe you have taken delivery - if you had not, I would have said, let go of the navigation and go for the IV. But over $28,000 for both, to me, was steep; especially given my opinion on Toyota nav (in Avalon too). Enought said in other threads so won't go there. So if you already own it, give it a bit more time and if leather was important go ahead and just do it - the other stuff probably will become less so after!

I don't have my car yet, it's on the boat still.
BTW, I did call that leather installer and have a good feeling about them doing the upgrade down the road. They were very clear that they would not do business with me on a "new" prius, as they have a contract with the Toyota dealers to do the leather upgrades.



Thanks for chiming in everyone. It's easier for me to understand the real value of something, the personal and day to day value, from hearing about other peoples experiences. It's hard to know how having or not having a feature will really translate down the road from just reading a description of it in the catalog.

Will you post a video when you do? that would be so cute!

My IV does not have the 3 door opening. I can only open the driver door (programming to open all doors or none thereafter is possible). I miss the touch pad for the hatch but I just keep the fob handy or touch the driver's door. I would not give up the SR for anything though!

If you have a IV then you have 3 door SKS. The IV and V come standard with3 door SKS, both front doors and the hatch.
If you do have the IV and it's not working take it to your dealer.