Should I buy 2017 Prius or the 2018

Nobody knows what changes are coming in 2018. Probably nothing major.

 

If I didn't already have a 2017, I would attend the absolute 1st car show that has 2018s and perhaps decide if I wanted the new one at probably full price, or a suitable leftover at a better price. Or I guess one could decide to forgo immediate purchase if one decided the 2018 was worth the wait... and wait 'til they are more readily available and priced accordingly. I tried that strategy between a 2015 PiP and a 2016 PiP, but the fooled me big time by 1) stopping production of the 2015 early and then coming out with the Prime skipping a whole year! Egg on face, place! P.S. All the 2015s were gone long since.

 

I believe I read in Consumer Reports there are no significant changes for the 2018 Prius (Hatchback). Therefore you can get a great deal on a 2017. They're not exactly selling like hotcakes. Year to year sales are sharply down again. You can save thousands of dollars on a 2017. Take advantage of it.

 

i'd get the 4 w/ tech, but it's a personal decision. does the 4 come with a spare tire?

otoh, maybe wait and see if they lower the hatch floor and add a seat on the 2018 prime.

 

No one outside of Toyota, including Consumer Reports, knows whether there will be significant mid cycle changes or hardly any changes for the 2018 model year. There is a good chance that announcements about the 2018 Prius will be made at the LA auto show which starts Dec 1st.

I would wait until then if you can.

 

Yeah, I'd wait to see if there are any changes in 2018. Gen 2 and 3 were updated for their 3rd model year, 2006 and 2012 respectively, which means 2018 for the current gen but no one knows outside Toyota.

 

Even Car and Driver reports to expect "Minor trim changes."

Toyota for 2018: What's New | Feature | Car and Driver

Of course, it doesn't hurt to wait for the 2018 details. They should be out very soon. On the Toyota hybrid car page, they already show five 2018 hybrids, including the Prius c.

 

Yeah the Prius C surprisingly got another MMC for 2018. If you didn't like the 2015 Predator grill from the first MMC, then you'll be pleasantly surprised. I'm not sure why Toyota would update the car a second time. It's 7 years old now? It's usually time for an all new model.

 

Is it the Toyota fog lights you're considering? They're pretty ineffectual; it's actually hard to tell if they're on or off. A couple of thoughts:

1. Member @Frederickdawg got a level without fogs, and painted the (cheap looking) mat black blanks body colour, big improvement. Look through his postings for his thread on that.

2. Get the cheapest decent-looking fog light set (non-Toyota) money can buy, just install them, but don't bother wiring them up.

No offense, but that makes me shudder. Take the time to research the levels.

 

Probably because similar to the Prius v, the Prius c is a low selling model. But it apparently sells enough to keep it going in its current design. I think the v is the interesting question right now, it's somewhat running out of time for Toyota to either discontinue it or redesign it. I'm hoping for the latter as I still root for the resurgence of station wagons in the U.S. (I still have a 1992 Camry wagon that I bought new).

In Europe wagons are still popular. They are extremely sensible cars, they just have the unfortunate drawback of being "uncool" in an era of SUV's and crossovers. My Camry wagon can haul more than many of the crossovers out there which is why I still keep it for weekend hauling. With the rear seats folded down it has a six foot long perfectly flat floor. Wagons typically used to cost just slightly more than the sedans they were based on since they shared nearly all the same components. Whereas modern wagons (the few that exist) not so much. Like the v which is based somewhat on Gen 3 but not all the dimensions are the same so not all parts are interchageable. Whereas my Camry wagon shares nearly all parts with the sedan other than of course things like the hatch and rear body panels. In fact the 1992 factory service manual (which I have) was for both sedan and wagon, with just a very few sections that related only to the wagon, basically just anything in the very rear of the car.

 

Adding cargo capacity will always reduce mpg somewhat because of the extra sheetmetal, glass and plastic as well as the reduced aerodynamics. Of course v is a little more complex because it is slightly wider and has other differences, but even if they made it exactly based on the liftback it would still get somewhat lower mpg, which is the tradeoff. But still way better than a crossover with similar cargo capacity.

 

Yes, but would anyone buy then? Keep in mind, cars of yore weighed much less than the 3000 pound behemoths we call compact cars today. All the safety and modern gadgets we take Ford granted have a weight penalty. Even if fuel economy isn't advancing, there has been a lot of improvement.

A Prius v that gets 60 mpg is easy but who's going to buy a $250,000 carbon fiber Prius?

Or on the other end, a stripper Prius that has low crash test scores, no stereo, no automatic climate control, no options of any kind. The key is balance. Some would say the Prius has gone too far in the name of fuel economy.