Advise before I buy my first Hybrid

OK well Virginia is not a CARB state. So we get the regular 8-yr 100,000 mile warranty. You can buy anywhere you want in that case. You might find the dealer addon fees are a little lower in MD, not sure.

 

5.) Are voice commands available if the phone is not an I phone?

Yes. Some (meaning darn near everyone) have voiced frustration with the car's voice commands, but after you get used to the system, its not so bad. My only advise is don't try and show off the feature on "day one" to someone who is not committed to the learning curve. BTDT.

If you have an iPhone there is a secret button (actually it's the one on the stearing wheel you would normally use to answer an incoming call) that accesses Siri Eyes Free. I use it mostly to do simple math calculations, but you can also have it read Wiki pages, check the stock indices or whatever.

I am give to understand that it might also be tied into the car audio and Nav, but I have my doubts about that. I have never used it that way-- one more thing for me to explore!

My bet is that most iPhone users simply use the regular interface, and many are not even aware of the Siri feature.

Surprisingly (at least to me) a couple features that one might think should require a phone -- like the 3-Day weather forecast and satellite weather map, as well as traffic updates -- don't require a phone at all.

The Nav has its own GPS, of course so no phone needed for that, of course.

 

Good thinking. I’m fortunate enough to have about 8 dealers within 30-40 minutes away. One day I wasn't planning to test drive, but just stopped at one nearby a meeting I had. I was all dressed up in a suit (normally not a suit person). They were falling all over me, because I looked more important than I am. I tested 2 models back to back... and he offered long 10 mile freeway drive both times!

This is the one time you don't want to be fully honest. It's the only time it's ok to be a little dishonest . Because they don't want to waste time with somebody not ready to buy. I have friends in the business and they have a saying... "buyers are liars". Ha ha - so true! So you have to string them along a little. Then when closer to buying, email every internet department and tell them your ready to buy. Get your lowest price online, before walking into where you want to buy.

The California Air Resources Board, also known as CARB or ARB, is the "clean air agency" in the government of California.
Also another tip is be prepared to walk away. You can always come back. When a salesman comes back with numbers the first time, say no (no matter how good they are). Make them go back to the sales manager at least 3 times. That's how the game is played. Even then be prepared to walk. Especially if it's on the last day of the month (which is the best day to buy). You'll be surprised how fast they'll be following you out to the car, or you'll have a call from them before you get home!

 

Just a heads up.

I'm not trying to further complicate you decision, but Toyota is introducing a new Prius model called "Prime." It will be available in late 2016. It is quite similar to the 2016 you looked at but differs in styling and its capabilities. You might go to the Prius Chat forum and look at some of the promotional information made available by Toyota. It may be something else for you to think about.

 

States which adopt California standards which include MD, NJ and a lot of Northeast states and they get extended warranty 10-yr 150k miles on certain major parts like the hybrid battery.

 

I have to say buying a Prius for the purpose of being green was probably last on my priority list if it was even on my list at all.

 

That's[/COLOR] actually not true for for being the best car buying day. What happens on that day, is husbands drop there the wife at the mall. They go test drive cars with no intention of buying. Black Friday is very slow for the car biz. I know this from first hand experience.

The last day of any month! Crazy things can happen on that day, because they want to make quotes... have had a slow month (or week)... sales managers have the owners breathing down there neck all day - to make just one more deal!! It's all true - I have experienced it first hand.

Another thing to consider is gas prices. Prius's aren't flying off the lot right now. If (and when) gas prices go back up, dealers will hold the gross price on a Prius more and be less flexible.

 

I bought mine on Christmas Eve. If a salesman sold a car he got to leave work early so our salesman was eager to get a deal done.

 

Toyota rules say the car must be purchased, registered. and normally driven in the CARB state to get the extension. So just buying in MD is not enough. But you might find some decent prices in MD on the Beltway.

 

Fitzgerald Toyota in Gaithersburg MD is a good place to buy.

 

prime is a prius with a larger battery. you can plug it in for 22 miles of electric driving, but it's just a prius after that.

nav displays on the large center screen.

 

Prime is a Prius with a bit of added efficiency. It doesn't have to be plugged in. It can operate like the regular Prius and get similar or better fuel economy, but if you have access to an electric outlet it's larger battery can be charged up to make your drives more efficient. On the highway, you can go over 600 miles on a tank of gas.

 

Prime is a plug-in hybrid car and will be 2 seats in back vs. 3 and lose quite a bit of cargo space in the back. So unless Kim is well aware of what a plug-in is all about and is anxious to try that, probably want to focus on Prius (or RAV4). Virginia is not a hugely popular state for plug-ins as we give no incentives.

I think she is a grandparent like me and needs to do stuff like this...maybe it was HamiltonPrius who is the other grandparent.

 

I'm a grandparent.

 

Kim, IMO It's a little early to predict issues you may see with the new features in the 2016 Gen 4. That said when it came time to replace my 2006 gen 2, I didn't hesitate buying the gen 4. You may know this. The Prius was the hybrid invention. It was amazing watching the R&D effort that went into this ground up design in the early 90's. I followed it in Japan and the release in the US with Gen1. Once I saw Gen 2, I knew they had something. The Gen 2 and Gen 3 made the car main stream here. So now the Gen 4 has taken that great design and further refined it. As well as adding state of the art electronics and safety features. Don't worry about the complex electronics. Just get in and drive, You'll learn it a little at a time.

If you pick up the 2016 Prius brochure at the dealer it's easy to see what comes with each model, and what options can be included with each. It took me a few days reading it and researching here before I figured out what I was looking for. I also figured out what I didn't want. There are trade offs with each model.

Mine is a model 3 with the ATP package. Black interior Gray exterior