Solar panel roof OR LED headlights & 17" wheels (IV or V)?

I had the same questions and I ended up getting the V because the fleet manager at my dealership told me he had a lot of complaints about the effectiveness of the solar roof. I just liked the look of the 17" wheels and got the nav package in the V.

I have enjoyed my car. Didn't want the advanced technology package.

 

I got the V with the navigation package and am glad that I did. I like the look of the wheels and the GPS has been great. I think the solar roof and advanced tech package are great but I personally didn't want to pay for them.

 

HI there.
I also live in LA and I had the same dilemma.
I ended up with a V with all the bells and whistles and, even though I do not use the self parking at all, the ret of the features this puppie has are really cool.
I also heard many bad things about the Solar roof, besides, can you picture this?: Hail or debris hitting the solar roof and one of those super tech panels gest damaged?....well, need to say more?.
Hope it helps with your desicion.
Good luck on your purchase!.
Enjoy
W3Bconsultor

 

Keep digging. Lots of separate threads on the realities of V and IV with solar roofs. You will undoubtedly get feedback here. The V has a different steering ratio, and you will take a very slight mileage hit with the larger wheels. From what I've read there is a distinct driving feeling to both.

Have you test driven a IV and a V? That might be the easiest way to make up your mind. If you like the feel of one better than the other the decision might be a lot easier.

I'll let owners of IV's and V's present their cases.

From what I've read, there is a limited practicality to the solar panels. Once the sun goes down to a point on the horizon the solar panels aren't very affective. Having said that, "if" I upgrade, I'd probably take a IV with solar panel, but NOT so much because I want the solar panels and ventilation, more because I think I'd like the remote air conditioning and especially like the moonroof. I've said all along, I kind of wish Toyota would of just offered Prius with a moonroof and maybe some of the luxuries of the V and not added the solar panel...but such is not the reality. At this point, as you have discovered it's either/or at the top of the splintered line.

 

I bought the IV over the five for several reasons other than the solar roof. First i wanted the moon/sun roof. I like tilting the roof here in ohio to get air flow while driving and not using the air or having the windows down.
Also i like the 17" wheels on the V but don't like the MPG hit or the rougher ride or the higher cost of replacemnt tires. I also like the idea of the solar cooling when parked in the hot sun and the remote AC but they were actually third on my list of reasons i bought the IV. Of course you get nav on either one, and the advance tech items while i think are cool, they just did not inspire me to spend that much money on them. I did however buy aftermarket wheels for my car, i got 15" wheeels as i wanted to stay with the more economical tire size, but you can still use the 17" OEM wheels or aftermarket, all you have to do is have the TPS sensors transferred to your new wheels.
Good luck, either way you get a great car IMO.

 

You did? On this forum? What "many bad things" did you hear?

In warmer climates, like where I live, it does pretty much what it's advertised to do, which is, help keep the inside temperature close to the outside temperature. On cloudy days, or when the sun is setting, you really don't need it, as the car is not heating up due to solar radiation.

Finally, I would not own a car that did not have a sun (moon) roof. In fact, I've never seen a car over $30K that did not have a sun/moon roof.

Regarding the comment about hail damage destroying the solar panel. Ummm, is that really a problem in LA? When I use to live in LA, can't say I ever saw hail. But whatever. If you do have a bad hail storm that's bad enough to break the glass covered solar panels, I'd say you have bigger concerns to worry about, as the entire Prius body is likely to be pitted with hail damage.

 

I think this makes your choice clear for the V. I enjoy the solar, mainly because I like the feeling of spaciousness with daylight from the roof. Although the solar is a boon in the NC summer, I consider that secondary.

 

I will use the sun (moon) roof in the following situations:

(1) Will tilt the sun/moon roof and open up the sun shade just far enough to let air flow out, but not enough for sun to beat down on me. I then turn off the AC (unless very hot) to conserve battery. Tilting the sunroof creates just enough air flow (darft) to keep me cool enough on moderate temperature days that I don't need to run the AC. I have no data to say how much this reduces the ICE from coming on to re-charge the battery, but I have to believe running the AC is a drain on the battery, as well as overall horepower. One could accomplish a similar result by cracking the windows, but that does ceate more drag, and IMO, is a noisier solution to tilting the sunroof.

(2) On cloudy days, like what you have right now in SoCal, opening the sun visor does make the interior of the cabin a lot brighter (ie cheerier). A must have on gloomy days, IMO.



It's also personal taste - but I think the Prius, with the tilted sunroof, looks nicer, more aggressive (if that's possible on a Prius?), and more aerodynamic than the Prius without. As with tinting the windows, I think it enhances the overall looks of an otherwise bland looking car. I do like the alloys on the V, but I'm not too concerned, as i can always buy nicer alloys than what comes standard...down the road. That's an easy change to make. The only other two features on the V that I would be interested in are the fogs and headlamps...but I can get the fogs when I want, and if I change headlamps, I'll go HID. But I see no rush for any of this. You can keep all the electronic gizmo's on the V.

As I said - I would never own a car that didn't have a sunroof. I think it's pretty much expected on cars costing $30K, or more. Look around and see if you can find any $30K+ car that doesn't have a sunroof? You might ask yourself which model, with their respective options, will have greater re-sale?

The solar panel does a pretty decent job at keeping the interior of the Prius from becoming an oven on hot/sunny days. In places that get thunderstorms throughout the Summer (ie most places of the country), leaving your window, or sunroof open isn't really a viable option. More than once (on other cars), I've come out to a soaked seat after a thunderstorm. I do like the solar panel cooling feature, and for what it's worth, is such a unique feature - on any car made - that by itself, is a point of conversation with most people I meet.

 

Interesting that you would mention this car...it's an option. Most elect to go with the carbon fiber roof on that car, and with a carbon fiber roof, it's not an option (would allow too much body flex). But, you can get a sun roof in that car. If you elect to have the sun roof, your roof is steel, or some alloy, and not carbon fiber. Most owners of M3's and M5's are more about performance, than they are about amenities, ergo, the carbon fiber.

As I said, quite rare to find a car over $30K without a sunroof....but sure, there are always exceptions to everything. Just not the norm. Up until fairly recently, most SUVs and mini-vans did not have sun roofs. Now some of them have literally populated the entire roof with sun/moon roofs. As one goes up in price, there are certain amenities that most people expect. For me, at least, if I pay $30K+ for a car, I expect, nav, leather, sunroof and a great stereo for my amenities. Would have liked power seats, but what the heck, something had to give. These are all amenities, if I didn't have them from the get-go, I probably would not add later on because of the hassle, change in the aesthetics, or expense of the modification.

 

You live in Los Angeles so consider how much you'll get out of having SR. If you park indoor at work during the day, 5 days a week, you'll hardly get anything out of it, not to mention it doesn't really get too hot in LA if you do park outside on the weekends.

Also, unless you find a dealer like Dianne Whitmire of MB Toyota who grabs Vs with no AT en route to other regions, you may be stuck with the Advanced Technology package if you go with a V as it's the only option that dealers in California can preference for the Vs.

 

Not that I care one bit what this guy gets (anybody that has M3 should be able to figure out on his own what he wants...), but I do have to take issue with your comment above.

Maybe if you're right on the beach. But most of LA is far away from the beach, and outside air temperatures can easily climb to 90F (or higher) in the Summer.

While daytime Summer temperatures in LA might only average in the 80's, the inside cabin temperature can easily be a LOT (~ 30F - 50F) hotter than that. I use to live in LA, and can remember quite a few Summer days that it was so freekin' hot in the cabin I couldn't touch the steering wheel, and hated to sit down on my leather seats.

hot-in-the-car

Consumer Reports Cars Blog: Dangers of hot cars (watch the video)

 

Well, I work in downtown LA and it's not that much hotter than Redondo Beach. The valley, on the other hand.....

 

Average daytime temp in RB is 78-79F, from June-Sept. Downtown is more like 83 during the same period. That equates (depends on the color of the car, windows, etc) to an inside cabin temperature of between 110-130F....without the solar cooling and windows rolled up. With the solar cooling, the inside temperature will be just a few degrees higher than the outside temperature. Trust me, there is a significant difference. From a purely fuel efficiency perspective - if the inside of my cabin is already 30-40F cooler because of the solar panel driving the fan, and keeping the inside close to the ambient outside temp...then that's less time the AC has to run to help bring down the temp.

I think some folks here view it as a gimick, but from where I sit, it's not a gimick. It's quite useful for those of us who live in warm climates. That said, I wish it did more with the captured solar radiation...but this is a start.

 

4F hotter is about right, not that much hotter in my book, especially compared to the valleys where it easily gets over 100F.

I'm just saying the OP should consider his parking situation as a major factor, not just the temperature of the area. In fact, my wife who works in an area of 78F would get far more use out of SR than I do in 83F (or even 100F) simply because she parks her car outside and I park my car inside during the day.

 

I'll only add that you can't argue that you don't want the 17 inch wheels because it effects mgp adversely then turn around and say you want the heavy sunroof. Just say you preferred the sunroof over the wheels.

 

I went for the LED headlights and 17" wheels.