Somebody HELP! Prius Five 2013 with Bells 'n Whistles.

If you are worry about true cost of ownership, keep you CIVIC if it still runs.

 

Then get the Prius II, forgo with the bell & whistles that cost you a lot of money. But if you have lot's money to burn, then get your toys.

 

No one can guess what each feature is worth to you. If your goal is just to save money, the c One is the cheapest. The more time you spend in your car, the more important it is to have it livable.

I drive 30,000 miles a year so I spend at least 600 hours in the car each year. I have no idea the gas mileage of your previous car but I went from 24 MPG to 46 MPG (Forester to a Gen 2) so I saved 600 gallons a year ($2100 a year at $3.50 gas) Your numbers depend on what mileage you get now, which model you buy, and your price of gas in the future. (it won't get cheaper)

What are your goals for owning a car? I use my vehicle as a cargo carrier (notice how full it is in my avatar) so I compare my new Prius v to other cars that can hold as much. if you just need to get one person to work, a c may makes more sense.

If any features sound wonderful, ask around, we can tell you the best and worst of each feature. (I personally like 3 door Smart key, which leaves me with upper trim levels, but that is because I am in and out of the hatch so much. I use the Nav way more than most drivers, as I am going to places I have never been, and most likely won't return to for 5 years) once you find which features you want, you find the trim that seems to have the ones you like. You will never 'make back' options, so they better be what you want. As you can tell from my examples, we each have our own uses for the car.

 

DRCC sound most helpful if you use CC in traffic. Folks who do seem happy with it. I do not see much traffic, personally.
PCS is only going to be used once, until we get many folks who crashed with it, we won't know.
LKA would be important if you drove long enough to fall asleep in states without groved pavement in the shoulders.
VIP you know your neighborhood better than I, I do not even lock my doors.
Remote Start owners do not sound pleased by it. mostly they wish A/C worked better.

 

You gotta tell me what state you are in, besides in love with a Prius
But I appreciate the post because I just wrote a letter to the Washington Post editor saying how high Virginia tax is on a Prius, and this one would be a doozy here. On the other hand, if you live in WV, go for PiPA (Plug-In Prius Advanced) and get $7500 off state tax as well as $2500 off Fed tax.

 

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OP- have you taken the Prius for a test drive yet?
There is a major difference in ride between the Five with it's 17" low profile tires and the other Prius models with 15" wheels. The Five is not for everybody, I had a 2012 Five, now I have the PIP- I much prefer the ride of the 15" tires over the 17" tires.
As others have already mentioned- if you're in the right area you can get the PIP (Plug In Prius) for $25K after rebate/tax credit. The PIP is the king of fuel efficiency for the Prius line- I'm averaging 80+/- MPG on my 28mi commute to work every day with my PIP.

 

I will tell you my experience, for what it's worth now that I have owned my Prius for 2 yrs 3 mos and ~47k miles.

I bought the bare bones Prius II (or now 2) for $21,000 because I had a tight budget. I wished then that I could have bought a higher package with all the bells and whistles, but I chose a cheaper price that allowed me to finance only a small amount that I paid off in 6 months.

Now that I've had the car for a while, the enchantment with it has worn off. I see it for what it is -- a very practical, frugal commuter car. It is not a Lexus or luxury car by any means. It is a noisy, harsh ride and it rattles pretty badly. I am so glad I didn't spend a lot of money on all the fancy packages, etc. I would have been really disillusioned with it now. Loading up an economy car with a lot of expensive accessories is not the best way to go. Better to spend that money on a bare-bones more luxury hybrid like the Camry hybrid or maybe the lowest end Lexus hybrid.

It is your choice. Do you really want to pay another $10k for accessories or put that extra money towards a better car?♦

 

prius v or liftback package 5? one is a minivan type and the other is a high end liftback.

also consider a 2012 pip advanced. it has all those tech package at the price. Or hybrid camry decent mpg but good compromise on acceleration.

 

From a fellow newbie with a Prius Five-The HUD is very cool, use it all the time. The DRCC is ok-the problem with it is it matches speeds with other drivers who probably AREN'T using crusie control, and slows you down when you don't want to slow down! LKA is a useless toy-unless you are a person with problems staying awake. It also hiijacks your display. Not sure about PCS-since I haven't had any close calls or wrecks yet! I cannot believe the top of the line car does not have Blind Spot indicators! I would have traded some of these in for Blind Spot indicators. It also has headlight washers. No one told me about that until I sprayed my hood down!

 

....you would not be the first person owning a PiP who did not charge too often. Given Toyota's design (smaller EV batt) strategy it can be used as plug-in when you feel like it. But a lot of folks, once they get a plug-in, they really want to use it for EV, so it depends on your personality - if you are bummed becuase you are not charging, then no. I do not want to over-sell PiPA but the point is you may find better deal (see thread Price Paid on PiP) for some recent PiPA deals and you get $2500 Fed credit. PiPs have no spare tire and gas tank is a little smaller so those aspects must also be considered.

 

If you are going to compare the Prius to other economy cars then my suggestion is to get a fully loaded Mazda 3 for about 24k and pocket the extra 12 grand. You will get a fun to drive car that still gets good gas mileage. You will never make up the fuel economy savings of the Prius.

If you are comparing it to a BMW, again no contest here. If driving dynamics are something you're after then it's no contest. Get the BMW. You can always get a well equipped off lease cpo 3 series for the price of the loaded Prius unless you absolutely need a new car. Go see Mohammed at chambers BMW in Boston.

If you're into all the feel good "emotional" reasons for hybrid ownership then there are other hybrids on the market such as the fusion/cmax that drive better and have nicer interiors than the Prius and have all the bells and whistles available.

 

The ride with from the Five the stock 17" low profile tires is more harsh than with the other models with 15" tires- please try a Five before you buy one!

 

I like it a lot. My other car is an Avalon, so by comparison, it is louder. Driving comfort is very good, head room is better on Prius (I am 6'3"). So far my mileage seems to lag my expectations a little. I am running about 46 mpg consistently on the trip computer. The interstate merge seems to get me every time! I think a sound dampening package with the higher end interior would have been a nice touch. I almost bought a Avalon Hybrid. The quietness of that thing was remarkable! Its mileage was reported at 38-probably more like 33-so I am driving a car that was $12k leass, and is getting better mielage. I gave up some of the bells and whistles for cost and mileage.

 

Why not find a nicely priced fully loaded 2010? Youll save yourself the hit on depreciation.

Im in Michigan and used lower mileage Gen 3's are going for around $18-19k.