Got my hands on an '06 brochure

According to the official Toyota option package information located here,, all the packages ABOVE GY have mp3/WMA playback capability.

I can't speak for the '05 models, as I've never been in one, but the '06 has a total of four cup holders (two front and two back).

 

I can attest that the GY models do not playback MP3s.

In addition to the front and driver side airbags, it also has the pillar/curtain airbags.

 

Just got my Silver #7 19 days ago - but here goes...

1. go for the mp3 playback - it will become bigger as time moves forward and the wireless connections are ok at best. Best option is to have it hard wired.

2. '06 has different front and rear fascia - i dont think there was a difference i could discern when I test drove both. But this really goes to another question you posited - rear backup camera. We have one on our '04 Sienna and we would not purchase another car without it. We love it. I think it almost vital in the Prius if you are in stealth mode so you can make sure you are not going to run anything or anyBODY over - more true if you disable the backup beeper - which I would not do. It is damn scarery when you back up in stealth mode - totally silent.

3. Mats are great, especially if you are going to keep the car for any period of time. Not a huge $ considering what you are dropping for the car itself.

4. Not as many cup holders as in our Sienna which has 20 I think - but more than sufficient so far for me.

5. Be picky - it is your money - do it ONCE and do it right.

PS - I love pack #7 - love the DVD/NAV, the smartkey is so great that you don't realize it until you have it (like walking to the car and not having to drop all yourpackages to fumble for your key and then unlock it and then pick up your packages...... Again, if you plan on keeping the car a number of years, the cost is not that great.

Best of luck. I am almost 3 weeks into a love affair with a car - something I have not had in several decades and several dozen cars.

 

I'm not sure if HG has the HID headlights. They are very nice if you do night driving! I think it's HK (package 6) that has all the goodies except Navigation.

I would recommend that since the $$ amount is only slightly higher and this will definately help your resale value in the future, although I don't think you'll ever sell the car once you have it.

 

The HG package does have MP3 playback for CDs - that's the package I have. It also has an MP3 player input in the console. The MP3 CDs are great though - you can get like 8 hours of music on one and organize it in folders and such.

The view out the back should be the same on the 05 and the 06 - the 06 has the advantage of the backup camera.

I have to disagree about the HID's - the huge extra expense is not worth it to get to the package that has them and the regular headlights work fine.

There are 2 cupholders in the front - the second one flips down. towards the front of the car. There are also bulges in the door pockets so that you can fit a bottle in the door (with the lid on). There are also 2 cup holders that flip down for the back seat people. Also there is a "secret compartment" that slides out of the bottom of the console in the front.

In my opinion, the pkg 4 (HG) is the best value in terms of safety and fun features, unless you really want leather or nav. Of course I'm biased, though since that's what I picked!