Just purchased a new '26 LE FWD from dealer in Houma LA, so had to join this community, certainly seems to be the most active of any Prius forum I've found. In coming days/weeks/months will be educating myself on many areas. Spare tire solutions, cat converter shields, hitch receiver install (for bike carrier not towing) are high on my list.
Welcome to PriusChat... We promise to give you lots of true as well as false information. You get to decide which is which.
Yeah, like all vehicle forums I’ve been in, filtering the info presented through opinion and news-you-can-use sieves is always interesting. Ford/GM/Honda/Hyundai ones no different. But I’ve already gained a wealth of knowledge here on my spare tire solutions journey and am acting on that now. I’m in a bit of a unique position in that I’m not the final end-user of the Prius, my daughter in southern CA will be. My role is sort of a ship-through upfitter - what Ford calls a Qualified Vehicle Modifier (QVM), although not so sure how ‘qualified’ I am – and a purchasing agent. She’ll ultimately (early 1Q26?) get a Prius with a spare tire solution, a way to use a hitch-mount bike rack/cargo basket, a cat converter shield, and maybe some other things. And of course, a very low miles 55+ mpg vehicle under warranty with no monthly payment. I haven’t driven the LE enough (just bought it a week ago) to form any hard opinions, still 100% in learning mode. It’s very different than any vehicle I’ve previously owned (all ICE-only, mainly nominal ½ ton PU’s, some smallish SUV’s, a few compact sedans). My pre-purchase research gave me pause in a couple of areas – smaller (than Gen 4) cargo area, lack of a spare tire/scissors jack, the M20A-FXS oil spec to name a few. I got heart palpitations when I saw 0w-8 JASO GLV-1 spec called for, I’m no tribologist but I was gob-smacked, flies in the face of conventional wisdom as I know it but hey, I’ll get over it (although just for grins the engineer in me will keep me looking into this further). The Prius as a primary vehicle for me/wife wouldn’t work, main reason is ergonomics. I’m old (70’s), tall (5’ 16”), big (~230+ lbs), some back issues. Once I’m in the driver’s seat and traveling all is good but getting in and out is a challenge that I can’t fix, and no way my wife (recovering stroke patient) can deal with passenger seat in/out either. And the low ground clearance would (will) be a challenge where I live in south Louisiana; road condition in many areas, and occurrence of standing water (we do get some serious rain at times and my bench seat Chevy Silverado and Hyundai Tucson solve that and our ergo issues when needed). But the LE makes sense for my daughter on the financial side (~double the mpg of her current ride, uncertainly on southern CA gas prices after the planned 2026 refinery closures, ability for her to use sales proceeds from her current ride for a gas/insurance/maintenance fund, etc.). So, it’s a win for her, and I get to mess around with a new car and learn some stuff while doing it.
Yeah that was (and still is) my standard response when (usually) older people than me comment on my height and ask how tall I am, they look at me quizzically and then smile when they 'get it'. Sometimes that little devil on my shoulder gets the best of me.... That low roof height on the LE is interesting, wonder how many times I'm gonna whack my head between now and the transfer to my daughter...
i can't even get in and out of our camry without a head bonk. saw stars a couple times. i much prefer our cuv.
I'm only 5'11", and I don't have my LE yet, but when I test drove one, the slope of the windshield seemed to make it so that you'd want to keep your head back from that when getting in and out.
