Should I stay or should I go?

After having mine for the last four years with 90% of my trips totally as an EV, I am now sold on electric vehicles. I still have less than 20K miles on it, so there is nothing pressing me to replace it. One safety feature that has been most helpful to me is the rear traffic alert. When backing out of a parking space between two large SUVs it can be a life saver.

 

I looked at my drivers side A pillar more closely yesterday. I think they changed the shape compared to the way I remember our Gen 2. I think the new ones are narrower but thicker front to back as if they turned a rectangle 90° so as to be seen from the narrow side rather than the wide side. I'd have to see a Gen 2 again to be sure.

 

It's improved, but not cured. It'll be an issue in any car that has airbags mounted in the A-pillars.

 

They are all fairly thick, even without the airbags. The greater slope of the windshield for aero just puts further into the drivers field of view.

 

Another factor is how far away it is from the driver's eyes at eye level. The closer it is, the more of the field of view it will block.

 

The design constraint is that federal regulations require that a car can support its own weight resting on its roof. You don't want to be crushed in a rollover.

 

Which is where high strength steel comes into play. When the gen2 came out, it may have seen use within the crumple zones of a car, but that has quickly expanded. Mazda's SkyActiv suite essentially uses it everywhere for weight saving. With it, the car's pillars can be thinner than they were in the past, and still meet the regulation.

 

This is an excellent time to trade in to a new Prius Prime. Get a value at Carvana and Vroom for your existing car, it will likely be higher than you think. Combine that with the incentives/discounts/rebates on a new Prime and be happy.

 

Famous words to a rock song:

The Clash – Should I Stay or Should I Go Lyrics | Genius Lyrics

(79) Dusty Springfield - If You Go Away - YouTube

 

Thank you for the warning about the loss of the climate controls on the steering wheel--I had not noticed that on a test drive since it was actually pretty nice out! That seems a little crazy with no physical controls on the Limited (and XLE). Are the AC/Auto settings at least a bit better in the Prime than the ('04) Gen 2?

I find that in the 04 that when it's really hot, I chase the temperature up/down to keep it just a degree or two below the outside temperature or my wife freezes, or I bake (which means I use the steering wheel climate controls often, especially in the spring/summer).