Stay with Gen 2 or go to Gen 3

I too was recently thinking about this same thing. I have an '08 also. I was looking at getting a Prius v though. For me it came down to the fact that dealers weren't giving me quite what I wanted for the trade and I got tired of dealing with flakes on CL and Autotrader. Their reasoning for the low trade is that there are a lot of 2010's that are coming off lease. Well I came to realize that there is absolutely nothing wrong with my car and I couldn't see spending thousands of dollars just to have something new when mine is perfectly fine. Also it is important to remember that the Gen 4 is on the horizon.

 

i can't speak for the liftback, but i went from an '08 to a pip, and the thrill of electric driving hasn't worn off in 16 months. the rest of the car is about the same, maybe a tad larger and a few more mpg's.

 

Gen3 is better MPG/technology but some people find they like console, look, and feel of the Gen2, so make sure you will not be disappointed if you change. As Bisco said, PiP is interesting option if you need HOV access incentives (HOV in Mojave Desert? I do not know) but also elec can be expensive in CA so you have to understand that impact. If PiP sounds good, you could wait to see if the North East dealers get going on a massive sales deal again this Fall; last year we had quite a few CA folks head out East for cars due to the price advantage...and you might get a better trade there.

 

I am with James on this one. Wait for Gen 4 to come out. Then you should have even more choices as Gen 3's will probably be found plentiful on used car lots that were traded in by those who must have the latest and greatest. If I were to buy "new" today I would lean towards the Prius V unless I needed a full size sedan.

 

I personally have 0 interest in the Prius v wagon. I don't need the extra room, don't like that it's slower than the Prius liftback and don't like its speedometer placement.

If I want to take the mpg hit, I'd much rather go w/the much more powerful and faster HyCam.

Now that I'm leasing a Leaf, I'm not sure what I'd replace the Prius with, in the event it got totaled. I probably wouldn't buy a used Gen 2 but would lean towards a Gen 3, '12+ HyCam or PiP, possibly used. Right now, my Prius gets driven very little...

 

Here's a wonderful 2010 video from Toyota on Gen3 upgrades. You should also check FuelEconomy.gov for Fuelly MPG results for your models of interest. NOTE: when comparing Gen2 to Gen3 re: Cargo sapce, keep in mind there is a new Cargo Space spec in USA called "EPA Cargo Space". So the Cargo Space did not really go from 14.4 to 21.6 ft3 in Gen3, but Gen3 is a little bigger, which the video explains in good detail. I think I am going to ask Toyota USA to tell me how they get 21.6 ft3 cargo space for Gen3 (a lot of the numbers are in this video but we still have something missing).

 

Not worth it because it is a only 5 years old.

I went from 2006 to 2012 PiP because of the change in commute. The incentives helped in pulling the trigger. Got it for $25k after incentives. You can always get PiP out is state - don't have to be in the launch states.