Looking to buy a 17 Prius

From what I've read (mine is on 15" rims), the 17" drives a bit sharper. All the journalists are given 17" versions, my cynical streak thinks it's to impress them.

I've had mine for 11 months, 15,000km, don't regret it. I'd looked at PRIUS in the past (11 yrs ago, again 7 yrs ago), but wasn't convinced enough till I drove this version.

The car is essentially trouble free - I had a faulty brake light switch which they replaced and no more problems. It's won or got close to the best in various reliability surveys. Personally, I never buy additional warranties, but then, I don't keep cars past 4 or 5 years, often less.

The white interior pieces are super practical, by the time you put a bit of clutter there you barely notice them. They don't show dust - maybe don't even attract dust like the gloss black does.

No idea about sub-woofers, other than they can cause premature deafness.

 

Lot of Questions:

You may want to hold off on purchase to wait for the "2017.5" prius that are slowly rolling in as per this thread
Are the new 2017.5 Prius' on the lots yet (with standard blind spot on two trims)? | PriusChat

Looks like they will come with a few extra 'freebies'

I have the 2016 Three with ATP, my MIL got at 2016 Four so I'm familiar with the differences. This table helps:
Visual Tables of Gen4 Package Combinations | PriusChat

But yes, the big differences are the seats (front seats have power adjustments), not sure if the difference will be smaller if the 2017.5 comes standard with the blind spot mirror (BSM), you do lose out on the spare tire on three touring and above, just FYI

I can't answer the audio question, but I believe the Prius now has a standard 12v car battery and should be able to handle load like most cars.

There are accessories to most of the white trim pieces, the only one you won't be able to fully hide with the applique kits are the steering wheel controls and inside of the center console. You can check my post history for ideas on how to make it more unique (I like the color orange )

If I really could afford it, I may have bumped myself to the 4 with ATP as I toyed with the idea of leather seats and BSM, I really like the moonroof and the HUD as I've never had that before, but that's just me. There were some good incentives when I bought in Nov 2016, so it made the ATP option "free" to me.

Toyota's are pretty reliable, so I haven't thought of extended warranty, it is true that cars are more complex now.

 

Reminds me of a bumper sticker I once saw which said, "I listen to rap music .... at every stoplight"

Prius has a 12V battery, but it is only used when the car is not running, at all other times electrical power comes from the much larger and more powerful hybrid battery, aka traction battery, which is constantly recharged by the gas engine. Note that the concept of "running" is a little different in a Prius than a regular car. Think of a regular gasoline car's ignition switch with Acc, On and Start. Turn the key to Acc and you can run your radio (and yes your subwoofer) however you are draining the 12V. Turn it to On and you can also now power the windows up and down and run the ventilation fan, but you are still draining the 12V. However if you turn it to Start and get the engine running, you fall back into On mode but since the engine is running you are no longer draining the 12V as the engine is now providing electricity via the alternator.

With the Prius it's surprising similar once you get used to it. Press the power switch once without pressing the brake pedal, and you are in Acc mode and you can run the radio (and yes your subwoofer) but you are draining the12V battery. Press the power switch again, without pressing the brake pedal, and you are in On mode and can run the windows up and down and run the ventilation fan, while draining the 12V battery. But at any time if you press the power switch while pressing the brake pedal, the car goes into "Ready" mode, indicated by a READY indication on the dash, which means the car is technically "running" even though the engine may or may not be running. In this mode, electrical power comes from the hybrid battery which you never have to worry about draining because it gets charged as needed by the gas engine. In fact the hybrid battery is what "turns" the engine to start it, which is why the 12V battery can be less powerful because it is not used to start the engine.

Okay so your question really comes down to does the electrical system in the Prius have enough power for your subwoofer. Well after all of my explanation sorry I can't answer that question for you, maybe someone else can. But at least all of this background hopefully makes it clear that the size of the 12V battery isn't an issue for your sound system unless you are tailgating at a football game or something.

Heated seats are for comfort, not to save money. I don't need them in Atlanta but me (and my posterior) certainly appreciate them whenever I have them in rental cars in northern states and Canada during the winter.

Rental cars seem to usually be the Two model, which comes with black center console tray. The higher end models with Moonstone interior have what Toyota refers to as "bone china" center console tray, although others have coined more colorful names for it. Toyota sells an accessory applique that fits over it if you want it to be black. However based on comments I have read it's best to hold off on buying the applique until you have had the car for a few weeks, by which time most people seem to get used to the white, and even learn to like it (similar to Brussels sprouts) and some have said they like that at night as it makes it easier to find the phone, drink cup, etc.

 

Your sound system is way too loud! You'll be deaf before your fifty years old unless you learn to keep the gain down to a muted roar, (or even quieter)! We've all been there when we couldn't imagine ever being like OLD people, but trust me on this it will come back to bite you one day.


Lecture over, have fun.

 

I literally as of yesterday traded in my 2015 dcsb TRD Off Road Tacoma for a Prius. I was expecting to hate the car and not be willing to trade my truck in because I loved it and had a ton of aftermarket stuff in it.
As soon as I started the car up and just had a look around in it I'm like, ok this is pretty cool. I drove it though some city streets and then on the highway for a few miles. The salesman tells me to put it in power mode at a light and punch it. I laugh thinking it's not gonna go anywhere fast, boy was I wrong! These cars actually have some power in there!
Then I test drove a 17 Carolla and absolutely hated it. It wasn't anywhere near as comfortable as the Prius.
Long story short, I'm now a happy owner of a 17 Prius three touring with the 17's and LOVE it. I love driving to work and see that I'm using electric through town and not gas. It's an amazing little car and I would definitely buy one again.

 

I'm wondering if the salespeople are trained to deceive buyers or they are misinformed about the "Power" mode. My salesman led me to believe that changing modes was actually doing something internally with the way the power of the ICE and electric motor was matched up. It really didn't surprise me when I learned those modes are only adjusting the response of the pedal.

 

He was most likely just an idiot salesman but I've seen some be deceptive about stupid things like that before. I bought a camaro with a 350 in it and the salesman told me it was a big block. I asked since when did GM make them as a big block and I called him out on it. He was just completely ignorant and shouldn't have been selling cars.

 

Most sales people don't know much - they could have just as effectively be selling mattresses (most of them don't have a clue either).

Because Hybrids are rare here, I rang my dealership, said I wanted to talk to a sales person who KNEW about PRIUS, telling her that if it proved he didn't have a clue like most salespeople I'd spoken to, I'd be hanging up. She was away for a couple of minutes then put me through to a chap who was previously a mechanic and had worked on them. Pleasingly, he knew what he was talking about.

 

My good salesman still drives a Gen 1 Prius. He talked us through the car's features for about 45 minutes before we drove it.

 

Mine too was very well informed. Sadly, he's moved to another dealership when I called today to collect a new front left blanking cover that fell out several weeks ago. (£40 ~$41 colour matched and sprayed up)

 

The fog light covers on ours are black. The tow hook covers are colo(u)r keyed, though.

 

Yes, that's the one! The tow hook cover. We have the fog lights instead of blanking covers.

 

congrats! all the best.