Purchasing a 2013 hopefully on Tuesday

Consider if you want to own for the long term any car whose dealer is 3 hours away. I just sold 2 cars of mine where the distance was half that and one of the reasons was availability of service if something went wrong. Not that the Prius isn't reliable and that most of the services it will need on a regular basis can't be done by any local shop. But 3 hours there and 3 hours back to do warranty work and then you have to sit and wait.

But if that is where all the dealers are ....

Go to the Toyota web site and compare the features and see if the price difference is worth it TO YOU.

Do you park in the hot sun a lot and are you bothered by getting in to a super hot car and waiting for it to cool?

Any other NAV is going to frustrate you initially because you are used to the Garmin and its interface. I like just being able to leave it in the car and not worry about it yet didn't pay for the top of the line NAV package.

 

The Nav on my wife's 2012 Prius 3 is dated at best, the backup camera is a nice feature for busy parking lots and areas with alot of kids.
I'm not an audio guy so I can't tell the difference on the "better" sound system.
The solar roof depends on your location and personal preference. I love the contrast of the roof and body even though it would be useless most of the time in Washington.
There are many threads with MPG loss on the Prius Five or aftermarket wheels, use the search function for those.
Toyota Corp are running aggressive rebates on 2013 Prii (Bought my 2013 Prius two @ 21,500 and leased my wife's 2012 Prius 3 Blizzard Pearl w/o roof for 24,000) go to site like KBB or NADA to find the dealer invoice price. Never start negotiation from MSRP. Sale prices should be below invoice or at least the same, that depends on your area (supply and demand)
Good luck on your purchase

 

Solar roof is great. I like the NAV and it is integrated into the car. I can search a destination on my phone in Entune and upload my destination in my car and bam select. Those 2 things are worth the extra money since I use them often.

Good luck and let us know what you decide.

 

It is really up to you to decide, mpg over performance on the wheels.
Personally I don't like the looks of the 17s on the five also they are quite heavy @24 lbs I believe. The Road and Track study is a good reference. Keep in mind that, there are better LRR tires and lighter aftermarket wheels out there to minimize the affect on mpg. My inexpensive Motegi 17" Wheels @ 17lbs are only 1.4 lbs heavier than the stock 15" alloys' 15.6 lbs, and there are bigger wheels that are lighter than the smaller stock 15s to counter the heavier tires. The added 1" width on my Michelin Primacy MXM4 drives like a dream with much better handling especially in the rain (rains 24/7 here) and less road noise. If you are only dealing with light/infrequent snow, then you won't even need snow tires on these. I'm not going to go too much deeper in the subject because I'm a newbie myself and I'm not sure if you are a stock or aftermarket kind of guy. But if you are interested you can search PC member F8L, he did some detailed research on different tires/wheels' effects on ride quality and mpg. Tirerack.com also did some comparisons on different tires on handling and mpg.
Good Luck in your decision and share some pictures of your baby when you bring it home

mpg or performance/safety you be the judge
Tire Test Results : Eco-Focused All-Season Tires: Do They Deliver on the Promise?
Tire Test Results : Testing New Grand Touring All-Season Tires

 

Do yourself a huge favour and test drive it at night before buying it. If it has this windshield problem you'll regret buying it: ABC 7 - Potential safety hazard in popular car... | PriusChat

 

It was sponsored by a Toyota Commercial LMAO

 

LRR tires tend to have stiffer sidewalls that give a harsh ride.
The Prius has just about the same final drive ratio with either 15 or 17 inch tires. That's because they use a thinner side wall on the 17 inch wheel. The 15 inch wheel uses a 195x65 tire where the 17 inch uses something like 205x55. The wider tire on the 17 wheel and the smaller aspect ratio give you a better handling car in the turns. The smaller aspect ratio normally causes a harsher ride.

Navigation updates - something like $200 and they may not be updated yearly.

How many miles do you drive a year? At 15K miles a year you might pay only 100 to $150 a year more for gas when using 17 inch tires. Some people gladly pay the difference for the extra confidence the 17 inch tires give them on curvy roads.

 

17" Tires improve handling, reduce mileage & ride comfort.
NAV updates are NOT free from Toyota.
Solar roof cooling benefits depend on your climate.
Sit in one, make sure the seats are comfortable to the primary driver. If not, try the Four.

 

If you decide to buy one, just remember to vary your speed on the long ride back, it is not good for the new car if you drive at constant highway speed for 3 hours, just speed up and slow down now and then and you'll be fine. Good luck, I hope you like it
Tirerack have the tire for 140 each +a $70 rebate. I got mine there + wheels with no tax to counter the $100 shipping cost. They also have a list on recommended installers so you can compare the cost to put them on. I heard Costco also has good deals on tires. Tires are like your mattress and TV, if you choose the one with the lowest price, you are going to regret it.
Michelin Primacy MXM4
Low Rolling Resistance replacement tires: Current List | PriusChat

 

My 2013 Prius two came with Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max, tirerack rated them pretty low on dry/wet and snow traction. I felt the lack of wet traction alright, and the road noise was louder than that from my Roadster! Also search by tire size, 15" tire = 195/65-15 and the 17" are 215/45-17 The choices of tires that comes in those sizes are also different. Meaning the height and width are different, on the 17" tires you get at least 1" increase on width, more tire on the ground=better handling. Don't worry about tires for now, one step at a time Unless there is no other place for you to get tires, please stay away from Les Swab's tires Just Google Les Swab + review , you'll see what I mean. They seem to collect random tires from different brands and give them cute names.
BTW, if it snows alot there, then snow tires are the only way to go, no matter how good an All-Season tire is, it still has its limits.

All the Fuel efficient (LRR) tires are rated low on traction
Tire Test Results : Eco-Focused All-Season Tires: Do They Deliver on the Promise?
Tire Test Results : Testing Grand Touring All-Season Tires
Balancing handling and Fuel economy is purely up to you.
Even if a LRR tire saves you 3mpg driving 15,000 miles a year you save a little less than 100 bucks. LRR's benefits are more apparent in stop and go local traffic, on the highway they are a little less beneficial.
Fuel Efficient Low Rolling Resistant Tires
Low-Rolling-Resistance Tires | Tires for Fuel Economy - Consumer Reports

 

You should consider getting the viper remote start rather than the Toyota version, which has very short range and other shortcomings.

 

No, the Primacy MXM4 is a better tire than the Goodyear Assurance in most categories. The Primacy MXM4 is also better than the Primacy MXV4 which is an older design although they are designed for different applications (the MXM4 doesn't come in a 195/65/15 but the MXV4 does).

For MPG, comfort and snow traction, the Ecopia EP422 rates high. Unfortunately it is not a good handling tire. It was good enough for me though.

Check Costco and Discount Tire for the best deals. Les Schwab doesn't carry anything worth driving on.

 

Good Luck and have a safe drive

Since it sounds like you have very limited local stores.
note: To save money on TPMS reprogramming if you change out your tire/wheels often, it's worth looking at some programmable TPMS. Those can mimic the stock frequency so you don't have to bring your car back to the dealership to get rid of the annoying TPMS warning light everytime you switch from winter/all-season/summer. Some tire places also can do the reprogramming but it's better to get charged once and be done with it.