Newbie to the #PriusLife

I'm tall too and my Gen2 Prius was incredibly uncomfortable on long drives until I removed the center console and replaced it with a pillow, which also makes car camping easier. I'd never buy a gen3 Prius because removing the console would require re-fabricating the dash... Also we just started a new Forum on here for Prius Camping & Roadtrips, so you might want to learn more about design ideas, as well as post more questions there: Living Life in a Prius | PriusChat . And if you want to start your travel photography in a Prius on the west coast, I'd be happy to help you find a good Prius to buy, as well as do all the battery cleaning & reconditioning so it's a solid car for many years of traveling.

 

welcome!
any way you could afford a prime? too many concerns on used gen3

 

Prius V may be a tiny bit larger on the inside, but way heavier and you'll never get to 50mpg, more like low 40's and over the course of a couple hundred thousand miles that adds up to a serious amount of extra money you'll be spending. They also discontinued the Prius V line so over the life of your vehicle used parts from wrecking yards are going to be much harder to come by then they are for regular Prius.

 

2010-2013 are the same, 2014 got pistons, 2015 got rings, but all are subject to egr clogging and failed head gaskets.
brake actuators are a thing too. then there's the hybrid battery coming up on ten years old.

 

Congrats and welcome. I suggest buying the youngest one you can afford. The traction battery lifetime is dependent on many factors and you won't be able to precisely estimate it. But 10-15 years is a useful guess.

 

Don't forget resale. It sometimes works better to get a $10k car and depreciate it down to $7k with usage than it does to get the $5k car and completely use it up. A lot of ways to play that, and none of them are automatically "right."

The private seller who needs a bigger car is nearly always selling a better car than anything you'd find at a dealer. People trade in their problems.

 

But after 2015 the lowly ones at Toyota were finally listened to and they actually realized that grabbing exhaust gas to recirculate in the engine further downstream is worth the effort. Or maybe it was loss of loyalty/lawsuits, hard to say?

When it comes to Toyota and many other car makers, the profit 1st agenda is all about how can we get them to love their car so much that the sooner we make it fail the sooner they'll buy a new one. Of course if it fails too soon then they don't buy a new one and go to a different car maker. And based on Prius sales numbers there's no shortage of people moving on to higher quality brands... Besides, the fact the EGR system moved further downstream in Gen4 speaks to fact that they did it wrong and are trying to do it better.

 

If your only planning on having this for a couple years, my recommendation would be to NOT purchase a Prius. But since your here, chances are your going to anyways. So get one that is as new as you can possibly afford. Then - begin saving. Because if that thing starts throwing codes, you'll need the cash.

Just too many instances of people buying these things - then it starts throwing codes a couple weeks to a couple months down the road. They are expensive to repair. So people clear the codes and off load it. To be honest, if mine started throwing codes. I'd do the same. Clear those codes and park it with a For Sale sign. Once it's gone, it the new owners problem.

*just being honest*

Leadfoot up there says it best:

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2015 and later Prius v have improved crash protection on the insurance institute tests.

 

I am quite happy with my early 2017 Trim 2.
In 2017 they designed the headlights to reduce glare and added many safety features as standard. In mid 2017 they added even more safety features as standard.

there are some threads in the knowledgebase discussion here listing the features fir the different years and trim levels.

 

Personally I despise the 3rd generation for its interior, especially that center console. I haven't driven a 4th yet.

 

I believe Prius v console is different. I have had no issues with either my son’s Prius v or my Gen 4.