Teen Prius???

Don't worry. My first car was a 1990 Ford Mustang GT 5.0 convertible and people here have bashed me for having such a "powerful" car at 16. Never did anything stupid with it either so my advice is to ignore people who apparently think that a 16 year old isn't responsible enough to handle anything dangerous. Funny enough, these same people are usually the ones who were irresponsible when they were younger so they're obviously unable to comprehend this.

 

Well if you ask for opinion on the internet...you kinda open yourself up to simply taking a lot of BS...one way or another. Comes with the territory.

But depending on the value of the mustang...that could translate into quite a bit of "help".

Infact....make sure you are getting good value for it, as a trade in or private sell.

 

But you asked about teens and I taught 3 teen aged girls to drive but no teen aged boys.

Right there you are doing better than 95% of drivers.
The Prius allows you to turn on the headlights at the dealer and never turn them off. As a guy*, I would have the dealer set them to a 0 second delay when you pick up the car. Also consider a single beep in reverse and leave on the seat belt beep so your friends are shamed into wearing their belts.

*Ladies may want 30 or 60 seconds of headlight delay so they can safely make it to their door.

 

Except it takes literally forever to get a Prius up to 100+mph and it doesn't feel "confident" at those speeds. Unlike a Civic/Integra/RSX which feel great at all speeds and thanks to Honda's crutch VTEC, once you hit 5000+RPM, it takes very little effort to hit the stratosphere.

 

The prius is a great car. As a teen the biggest thing you will have to worry about is getting suckered into driving everywhere because your friends wont get half the mpg's you do.

 

It sounds like you are responsible for a teen - if you can afford a V, go for it!

 

Josh, I've had many cars so Prius was new ground for me. I opted for the entry level version (the II) and have been very pleased so far. It has all the "creature comforts" I need...sometimes less is more. But Toyota has a good reputation for quality so if you want all the features, I hope you enjoy and can use them.

I think I'd like the "smart cruise" if it were just one add-on option. As it is, on road trips, I've learned how to "tap up" or "tap down" on the control to stay in pace with traffic. Good luck on the upcoming purchase!

 

I've had my prius for a month now. My previous car was a camry SE that had fog lights. Honestly, I didn't find them that useful (and on several times driving through the mountains, I did encounter dense fog). I don't think fog lights are a reason to consider the V...I only considered a V for the ATP package. But there are so few in inventory in the SE that I wasn't going to go out of my way for one (I don't use cruise control much and I've heard that most people give up on the parking assist). I decided that since I do live in a hot and humid climate, a solar roof package would be the best option. I'm not at all regretful of my decision! I think the sunroof is a good contrast with a blizzard pearl exterior, and the ventilation system does work. Most of the time my car is in my garage....but when I get in it when in a hot parking lot, my car doesn't have searingly hot surfaces. It still can feel somewhat warm, but it's not uncomfortable.

You also asked about being tall. I know a regular poster on this site has complained about his GenII prius for not having height adjustable seats (and he had to replace his). The GenIII prius is better for tall people because it has height adjustable seats, telescopic steering wheel, and a roof apex that's right at the driver's seat. I'm not that tall, but I do find I have a lot more headspace with my prius then my past camry.

As far as hills, the prius is adequate. I've driven mine up 441 through the mountains to get to Asheville. I did have to almost floor it to get it to go up one particularly steep pass up towards Sylva to stay at 55mph...but it did make it fine. Honestly, I think it would be nice to have more power available (especially in power mode), but that's just a minor complaint. The prius is the most efficient car on the road, and it has just enough pep. Test drive it and see what you think. If you find it doesn't have enough pep, then look at a Ford fusion. They have a more powerful engine, so they don't get as good gas mileage and they don't have much cargo space.

Good luck with your decision, and IMO the prius is never a wrong choice

 

Another thing I've thought to comment on is the nav system. I read so many negative things about it before my purchase that I was honestly thinking "well is the Ipod integration and sunroof worth the extra expense"? It's true that the nav system is more expensive then just getting a garmin. But at least the nav system isn't nearly as bad as I was lead to believe. Compared to the Tom Tom, Samsung Instinct, Mapquest, and google mapping that I've tried...this nav system is the only GPS that's found my home address. It also maps the best route to the highway I've found here in my area in Atlanta. I don't know if it's version numbers, densities of map areas of particular regions, or GPS reception (I've also found my FM reception is just fine)...but I'm finding its GPS isn't bad at all. The only thing it doesn't do is estimate time well...it gets routes right, but it's not even close with time estimates. I'm also not going to renew the XM traffic because that isn't updated too regularly. So I don't know if it's my version number or if it's maps are better for the SE...but I'm finding the functionality of the nav to be quite good. The ipod interface could be a little better, though. If you've got long track listings, it takes awhile to scroll through. But at least it's all through USB and stays charged and all digital.

 

I would have gone with the V just for the LED headlights and faster steering ratio. But with the ATP, it was out of my budget so I opted for the III with SR and Nav. I sorta wish that I went with the IV for the leather but I have plans to install Katskin's leather so that should solve that.