Hello! I know there are tons of threads and all have great advice on here, so my apologies if a similar post has already been made and/or addressed! I currently live in Chicago but am moving to LA for work. So, I'm buying a Prius! Question for anyone with experience, advice, or anything of the sort: I've been looking at two different one-owner used Priuses, a 2013 Prius Four Persona with 45,000 miles on it and a 2015 Prius Two with 17,000 miles on it. Both are about the exact price (around $16,500--seems about fair compared to the many I've looked at in the Northern Illinois area). Is there any reason to go with the older model that has more than double the miles on it for the same price? Does the 2015 drive better than the 2013? Yes the "leather" seats and deluxe whatnot of the Persona are all nice, but I am not too fancy, so if the 2015 is by far a better deal then I am happy with that! Thank you for any thoughts, recommendations, advice of questions to ask when checking both out, etc. Best, Luke
The Prius 2013 Persona is, technically, a Prius Three Persona (as it builds on top of the features of a Prius Three, and does not have Prius Four features like power seats or JBL Audio). It has 17" wheels, which look better and handle better, but are more expensive, easier to get the rims dinged by potholes (and there are plenty of potholes in Chicagoland ), and are harder to find snow tires for. The 2015 Prius has safety improvements over the 2013. Per 2015 Toyota Prius , Also, the 2015 is the only year of the "Gen III" Prius for which the Prius Two has a backup camera standard. Personally, I would go for the 2015 Prius Two, but it really comes down to which model is more comfortable for you.
I wonder if by 2013 the steering spec was the same for 15" and 17"? In 2010 there's was a definite improvement in feel with the 17" spec'd model, apparently something was different in the steering system. We test drove both. But at some point the steering was standardarized I think, mighta been 2012 model year. Also, with snow tires: if you're getting separate rims, nothing's stopping you using 15" rims with snows, say Corolla steel rims, or 15" alloys. But yeah, replacing the OEM's is a little expensive, I appreciate that.