anyone else decided to buy prius II?

REPORT: Toyota already has 75,000 orders for 2010 Prius

Apparently, more folks than you can imagine.

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I, too, am on the list for a Prius II. This is my first Prius, although I have rented one and have several friends who own them. I am opting to stay with my portable Garmin (there are threads here arguing which may be better, the portable or the installed) and save the premium for that. I do think the sunroof is cool, but it is just too much extra. The fact that they have included so many "options" (like the smart key system) on the "base" model (until the I appears) made the decision an easy one for me. The technology on the upper models is great, but I know I will be just as happy with the Prius II. Now if it would just arrive!!

 

My wife and I recently were shopping and found a nice '09 in Barcelona Red in the showroom. It was a package 4 (actually had more features than we were looking for). The dealer gave us a good price and with 0% financing through Toyota for 5 years, we couldn't pass it up. It was just too good a deal. I'm sure the '10's are great cars, but we would never get the great price or the financing. In addition..........and an important point, the gen II's are a tested product with excellent reliability. My guess is the gen III's will be as reliable, but at this point...........it is a guess.

 

The navigation is a waste of money to me. The luxury of having a screen built into the car is not worth it when the navigation systems of any car maker are clearly inferior to an aftermarket unit. I just had my wife's car broken into for the navigation DVD, so it does not help prevent thefts to have the dealer navigation system. I use a bean bag mount in my car and store it in the center console. I also hardly ever use it anyway except when we leave town. It was cool the first month we had it to watch it follow the car around town, but obviously not necessary. $1800 is not worth it to me to save a few seconds to set up and take down the unit on the rare occasion I need it.

Bluetooth is necessary for people who insist on talking on the phone in their car. Like you said, you can now get this with your GPS for much cheaper, and it will be portable between vehicles. Audio streaming over bluetooth is a waste of effort- a $5 auxillary cord will produce higher quality audio, and for me I could care less about having the unsightly cord in the car. I will however probably get a 3 for the bluetooth because the radio is "upgraded" and I hardly ever use navigation but sometimes want to talk on the phone in my car. To me, this luxury is worth it, though I know $1000 is overpriced.

The "solar roof" function I still would like to see to believe it does anything significant, but like you I could only really test it one or two months a year anyhow. I would choose the $529 remote start option if the climate in my car was a major concern for me- this way I can both cool and heat the car and hopefully from a longer range like inside my house.

The only option that is worth it to me (as a luxury) is the moonroof. The $1800 cost is on par (though a bit higher in a low $20K car) with most manufacturers, but unfortunately it is not available without the navigation at this time, so I'd have to pay $3600 to get it. The moonroof is great for adding light and a feeling of openness into the cabin of the car regardless of the outside temperatures, and on a warm day is great to open up and not have the chemical smell of AC on.

The 4 package is only useful for the leather and homelink mirror. I don't like leather seats and avoid them if possible, so it's really not a choice for me but I realize I'm in the minority. As far as smart key on 3 doors, I don't think I will be entering the drivers' seat from the passenger door too often, though the trunk would be nice but not necessary. You can get the same exact homelink mirror installed for $500 or less. The upgraded seats would be nice, but it's still a half measure until power memory seats are available. You could probably do the seats and mirror aftermarket and save a little, but it may not be worth the hassle unless cost is a major concern.

I think it's pretty obvious which side of the need/want line the advanced tech package falls. If you are concerned about your ability to stay in your lane or not hit a car or a wall in front of you, you may want to rethink your choice of transportation.

 

Being in California, aren't you required by law to use hands free while using your mobile phone? In Arizona, it's not required (yet), but I still decided to go with Package III for the added convenience and safety of using Bluetooth. If a P II was available to me, I might have considered adding Bluetooth as an dealer/port option to save some money. I had to make a decision as I needed the car in June.

 

I am getting a package II, but I'm not assuming I'm saving any money. I have a 1994 Accord, runs great, gives me 25 mpg. I drive around 15,000 miles a year. Purchasing a 2010 Prius, total cost approximately 25k. This will also increase my insurance cost by $500 per year, which essentially negates the gas savings. If I kept the 25k and put it in a 5% muni I would get an additional $1250 a year. Even if gas is $10 a year it would be hard to recapture the savings vs. keeping my older car (including depreciation).

But I want a Prius!

Your point is well taken, though. Adding 4k to the cost of the car is a luxury, for some people it's worth it, and for others it's not.

Let's take Bill Gates (net worth: approximately 40 billion) and compare him to a person with a net worth of 1 million. For Bill Gates, spending an extra 4k is comparable to a millionaire spending 10 cents. I imagine he wouldn't blink at adding the navigation.

Cheers, Rich (neither Bill Gates nor a millionaire)

 

I would be getting the II if both satellite radio compatibility and bluetooth were included. A 1,000 bucks is a lot for those features, but I think over the course of the life of the car, the convenience will be well worth it.

 

My wife and I are considering either a Prius II with aftermarket leather installed, or, a III or IV with the Solar Moonroof. It's a huge (approx $5000) jump to get the Moonroof due the the $3600 packaged price and the required upgrade to a Prius III or IV.

The only reason that we would consider the cost to upgrade to the Moonroof, is to give the car a more "open" feel. My wife is a little clausterphobic and we are coming from a 2004 Toyota Sequoia, which is overly spacious inside. We still, however, haven't been able to sit in a Prius with the Moonroof - haven't found one yet at a dealer that has not already been pre-sold.

 

My wife and I went with the Prius II and we will use the Garmin 885T. I posted this sometime back in another post.
I don't personally see the value of getting a lot of gadgets and I dislike sunroofs as I tend to burn fiercely in the sun, yes even sunroofs.
I think it's great that people can order what they like. For me the only options I would consider if they were available is the LED headlights and the 3 door SKS.
Since I can't get those I'll take my Prius sans options.

 

This thread makes total sense. Don't forget that Toyota USA expect the II to be the biggest selling model. I'm sure they know their market.

But the higher spec cars also appeal to customers downsizing from a more luxury car because they want the Fuel Economy but still want their luxury car toys. Either way - its horses for courses as they say.

 

The II appears to be the best "bargain" and will probably hold its value best. I am waiting for a III for the bluetooth and better stereo/speakers (I hope). However, I recognize that the extra $1,000.00 for the III is a high cost to pay and probably should be a $400.00 upgrade (not $1,000.00). I will use a cheap portable GPS when needed. I think the $1,800.00 is way too much for the added features.

 

I can sum up the Prius options in one word: overpriced. Now, that's my opinion. The amount of money that these options are worth is totally subjective, but I can't imagine any sunroof ever being worth well over 3 grand. I'm looking for a Prius II with zero options. I'll pick up a set of weathertech floormats as soon as they come out. They are cheaper (and far superior) to the optional mats from toyota anyway. That's all I will need to be happy.

Now, if toyota offerred an option that further increases fuel mileage... I might be more interested.

 

There are many excellent points made here. I chose the III because I wanted the upgraded stereo and bluetooth. I chose the NAV for several reasons, among them the backup camera. The backup camera in my Honda CRV prevented me from backing up on my neighbor's 2 YO grandchild (he was standing right behind my rear bumper -- total blind spot).
And, while in the minority here, I love my factory NAV system in my Honda and use it several times a week because I am living in an area that I am still learning. I have a Garmin that I use when I rent cars but really don't like it for regular use for many reasons that I won't bother going into here, but they include readability, aesthetics and theft.
Bottom line, it is all about choices and I am glad we have them.

 

I also went with the II. The only essential above that level is the nav system, but my cell phone does the job just fine, and won't get stolen because it's always in my pocket when I'm not using it. I plan to use the savings to take my family out to a nice dinner - 100 times.

 

Don't forget that the bluetooth audio streaming also provides the ability to navigate your mp3 player using the car's audio controls as opposed to fumbling with the device as you drive. Not a must-have, but nice to be able to keep both hands on the wheel.

While most of us are fine w/ the bare necessities, Toyota will gladly provide choice in terms of luxury options for those willing to pay up. Sure, the tiering structure drives some of us insane (touch tracer and heated mirrors in lieu of 3-door SKS on Tier II?!?!), so just make yourself heard with your money. Who knows, they may "improve" the offerings next model year.

 

Yep, the 2010 II is on order. Started 'wanting' a V but threads about less stability in snow/ice made me reconsider 17" vs 15" tires. Our '06 HiHy Limited has a moonroof - Never Use It - and Nav. - seldom have used it; a Garmin will do just fine. The heated leather is nice in freezing weather so was considering a IV but $3800? So a III? . . . but $1,000 for the CD changer was just too expensive; we don't do cell phones (well maybe a 'buy the minutes' Tracphone someday) and can play the single CD when reception on the over-the-airways radio is not too clear. Let's face it, I'm an old foggey!!!

 

if you can get a stellar deal on a Gen II go for it, MPG wise they are about equal. The Gen III obviously is superior on many levels.

the dealer around here is still trying to push gen II's with base packages for around 23,500 up to 27,000 for more options, they had about 8 I saw on the lot over the weekend. And they had 3 Gen III, for to much.