To buy or not to buy

Sounds like you are looking for a car just like one I just bought. I was coming from my 305hp truck...so the big change is simply not having the acceleration that you are use. You have to be willing to drive a lot more conservatively. I have already noticed I am a much more conservative driver in my Prius than in my Titan...but the for me the car is dicating that more than anything else. I do not mind...it was an easy change for me. For some folks...they may not be so willing. Test drive one and you will know exactly what you are getting into. See my 250 mile review here since I have the same package you are after (the good, the bad, and the ugly). I am still a rookie, but hope it can help. I do not have any experience yet with the solar ventilation system. The seat are manual and sucks after having a captains chair in my truck...but I am managing. I also am missing the homelink rearview which I loved in my truck. The homelink is about the only thing that I really want to upgrade because I miss it that much.

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...oughts-after-250-miles-my-2011-prius-iii.html

 

Hi two comments:
1) the Gen 3 (2010 and newer) seats are mostly considered an improvement over the Gen 2 seats. (2004 to 2009) You may wish to be sure the complaints were not for an earlier car.

2) I wrote a 'you might not be the right owner for a Prius' post

http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/94450-considering-prius.html#post1334003

I hope this helps! I like mine, but people are different. One very wise advice is to rent one for a week. (My test drive was over night and I was sold)

 

The only way to know for sure is to drive it. If possible rent one for a week to know for sure.

Welcome aboard!

 

My Prius is a 2011 IV, no solar package, but Blizzard Pearl and Bisque seats. Live in north Florida, appreciate white vehicles and light interiors. Navigation is a Garmin Nuvi 1490. No rattles, and happy with fit and finish of my vehicle.

Seats are very comfortable (6' 232 lb. 60 year old) and have adequate adjustment... Comfort is so subjective that only you can decide by sitting in and driving one yourself. I could understand the need for automatic, six-way adjustable seats if continuously switching with a different sized driver... but I don't.

My driving style is rural highways preferred over interstates, slow and steady wins the race. Seldom exceed posted speed limit, prefer cruising at 55 to 65 mph. My idea of high performance is 50+ mpg, not 0 to 60 mph in 5 seconds, and enjoying the ride, not testing adhesive limits of the tires.

I enjoy the electronic features and toys provided by my Prius, but most of all is the comfort and safety. Feels like this vehicle was custom made for my style of driving and needs.

 

Driving style is irrelevant as no matter how you drive you still get excellent fuel economy. Should you decide to drive conservatively then you will be rewarded with even better fuel economy but you are not required to do so. Sometimes I feel like driving agressively and hitting the canyons hard and fast. My mpg tanks but I'm still over 40mpg to a tank. No other non- hybrid can match that.

 

I don't see a reason to criticize the 2010/11 driver's seat. Power seat is always a safer bet to get things just right, but the 6-way mechanical adjustment is setup pretty well on the 3rd gen Prius. I find the seat bottom to be well contoured and offer very good support for legs. Lumbar support is fine by me. Headrest is none too close either, doesn't jut into my head. I like the fabric too. I can tell I won't have any problems driving this car.

What else ... I don't find the plastic easy to scratch.
About rattles. Mine only has 280 miles on it and it's quiet. But I've been in a dozen Prius rentals some with over 6k miles and I never heard rattles with them.

2nd gen Prius is quite different - the entire chassis was different with roof peak forward, B pillars forward, and a notably smaller front set of seats without height adjustment and a pretty bad seat bottom contour IMO. No comparison, the 3rd gen is much improved on that, plus the ride quality is much better in 3rd gen, oh and it spends more time in EV mode, saving on gas.

 

Few more things that might help,

Mine doesn't have Homelink either, but I keep an opener in the door bottle holder.

Reset tripmeter and on a long test drive, see that 'Cons' comes up to nice high number, hopefully 50 mpg when car warms up.

If your big on resting your left elbow on door armrest while driving, well, the Prius door armrest is a little bit hard. Easy fix later to add a small pad.

One other little quirk in this Prius that you won't see on most any car, the seat is not exactly centered laterally in front of the steering wheel (maybe foot pedals too, not sure). It's no big deal, it's something I know about and it doesn't affect comfort.

There's some talk about the basic steering wheel texture which is ok to me, but I've felt better. But, it's good enough for me as is. I don't feel the need to cover it.

Some complain about the center console that flows from the dash. I used to trip on it before purchasing, but now, I'm fine with it.

When the car powers up, see that it is not in Eco mode (green light on dash). You won't be used to it and the response is pretty soft. Try normal mode and Power Mode too. In the city, Eco mode is nice at times. I haven't used EV button yet, I just let it do its thing.

I like to let it roll off line from a stop on battery. Engine comes on to accelerate and it's almost imperceptible. It's not quick per se, but it is very smooth, no shifting of automatic transmission gears, a big bonus.

See that the tires are decently inflated, bring a pressure gage. they can be low on a car that's sat for weeks.

The sun visor is kinda short for side window, but I've got a $15 solution coming from Visormates (Amazon).

 

The 2nd gen electric motor is listed as 295 lbft torque 0-1200 rpm and 67 HP

where 3rd gen elec. motor listed as 153 lbft torque and 80 HP

I think the higher torque explains the extra punch off the line of 2nd gen. Thinking back, I would also say the 2nd gen is a tad more punchy off the line. However, from what I can tell, the 3rd gen seems to spend more time with its gas engine off and it really is getting better MPG than the 2nd gen. I've seen 55 MPG indicated average so much in 3rd gens where high 40s or maybe 51 was more common with 2nd gen on average.

 

I've owned my Gen 2 for almost 6 years now and have only test driven Gen 3s a bunch of times.

On Gen 3, IIRC, in normal mode, the accelerator calibration is such that the Gen 3 feels slower off the line. (Some cars have very touchy throttle or give you a lot of acceleration in the first bit of pedal travel, like my 02 Nissan Maxima. My 04 350Z wasn't like that and was intentionally more linear.)

To "bench race", here are CR's numbers in the form of car, 0-30 mph, 0-60 mph, 45-65 mph, 1/4 mile time, 1/4 mile speed:
2010 Prius IV: 3.7 sec, 10.6 sec, 6.3 sec, 18.0 sec, 79.3 mph
2008 Prius Touring: 3.8, 10.6, 6.2, 18.1, 78.4 mph
2004 Prius Base: 3.7, 10.5, 6.4, 18.1, 78.3 mph

So, you can see, acceleration times are all very close but the 3rd gen has an edge in 1/4 mile speed.

Speed demon the Prius is not. If you want a fast hybrid that's not horribly expensive, wait for the '12 HyCam. From 2012 Toyota Camry Hybrid XLE First Test - Motor Trend

 

I wouldn't say Solar is a must for hot climates, but it helps. Getting into a 100-degree car in July is better than getting in a 120-degree one. The lighter color will likely help as well, but I'm skeptical how much that translates to the interior.

I recently had a choice of of a Prius Three with Solar or Prius Four with Nav for the same price and went with the Solar. As it turned out, a Solar Four in one of my preferred colors became available so I spent the extra for that.