G'day - 2009 XW30 new owner

Hi I'm Bradley and I have just picked up a second-hand XW30 Prius from Canberra Toyota. Wildfire mica red with the base package no navi, cloth seats, etc. YIA 06X. I haven't stopped laughing.
It replaces a 2003 Citroën C5 wagon with 267000km/166000 miles, so you can see that I don't change cars often and I drive a bit. And I like something a bit different.

Background story: {cue slightly dramatic music} I was intending to lease a VW Passat Bluemotion TDI with almost all options, but I couldn't quite stretch that far. Disagreement over what constitutes the "cooling-off period" means that my $1000 deposit is held for 12 months. Rather than get mad, {cue slightly uplifting music} I looked for a much cheaper car for now. Found the Prius on-line and sent an enquiry. 10 minutes later I get a call from the dealer on a SUNDAY. (Unlike most capital cities, Canberra main dealers are never open on a Sunday.) Raced out to see and plonk down a deposit, which after telling my story of woe and getting the words "subject to ACCEPTABLE finance" in writing was only $500. Their 4-day sale saved $5102 from the (inflated) original price. Picked up in time for Australia Day holiday.

Slight downers: Car provided with two fingers of fuel, not a full tank {paid $1.50/L for E10 because of the holiday} and without a luggage cover, which was missing when the dealer bought the ex-fleet car at auction. I'll come to an arrangement with the dealer.

Of course it doesn't ride like Amélie the hydro-pneumatic Citroën, but is comfortable and secure on road in its own way. Have to remember to slow down for speed bumps and corners like a normal car.

Special thanks go to Robert Llewellyn's Fully Charged and Carpool podcasts for helping me see the light and calming me the #*&% down I was already a convert before I heard Priuschat and the Canberra EV community... I'm almost there.

 

Re: "XW30" Prius doesn't exist

It's a ZVW30.
Model year, calendar year, the fact that we have Xmas in Summer and it is already tomorrow here (but not in the Japanese sense) confuses us all.

Australian manufacturers (Toyota included) tend to use calendar year as model year. A December-plated car is 1 year older than a January-plated one. Notably Subaru model year starts in September, which seems a bit funny to us.

The manufacturer's plate states:
MODEL: ZVW30R-AHXEBQ
ENGINE: 2ZR-FXE
PLANT/BUILT: C25 MAY 09
etc.

In Australia all cars must comply with Australian Design Rules (ADRs). The "compliance plate" is fitted when the car arrives in Australia or leaves the Australia factory. This is usually taken as the date of the car as it is more realistic than the build date, especially when car has been in transit for a month or more. It states:
PRIUS 30 SER
Seats 5
06/09

The first registration was 21/07/2009 in NSW Australia.
So I have a car built in May 2009, plated June 2009 first registered in July 2009.

It appears that Australia received RHD ZVW30 from Japan at the same time the US got LHD. If they were sold in Japan from 18 May 2009 (wikipedia!), then a June release in Australia is quite rapid. There was a massive advertising campaign for the ZVW30 compared to low-profile releases of previous models. (No way the Honda Insight was going to steal its thunder this time.)

May 2009 is not in 2010. Anyone driving a new Prius in May 2009 might have felt like it was, however.

Happy Australia Day Bisco