10 days ago, I put down an $500 deposit on a #4 Prius. This is not usually available in California, but I really wanted vehicle skid control. The dealer told me that a #4 had been special ordered by their manager, had been allocated and would probably be available in 2-3 weeks. Now the dealer is saying that because this was a special order, it doesn't show up on the allocation lists ahead of time, so they don't know when the car will arrive until it actually arrives in the port. Now the ETA is "sometime in the next month." In the meantime, a #3 has become available at another dealership! Anyone been in a similar situation? Which would you do, wait for the #4 or go for the #3?
That depends on A) how safety-conscious you are, in juxtaposition with B) how impatient you are! I have TWO #3s. I thought about 4s, but the decisive factor for me was that I plan to stay, and do almost all my driving in, CA. If I lived in a more northern climate with a fair amount of snow, I might have tried to get 4s. So that may be another factor for you: where you think you might be living and driving during your Prius ownership. It may not take long for you to get a #4, and I know you could find one out-of-state TOMORROW if you were willing to travel to pick it up and to put in the necessary calling-around time. Good luck.
I hate skid control. It always intervenes at the most inopportune moments and does the exact opposite thing of what I want it to do. I only got it because it came with the GPS on my '05.