thinking of purchasing 1 2010 Prius5

I wish I had the 5 with 17" wheels, but I got a great deal on the II, and I have other plans for the $$ I saved. But if you can swing it, go for it! You'll love it either way.

 

If I were you, I would buy a package III w/ Nav and buy aftermarket 17" racing rims, which look cooler and are potentially lighter than the OEM 17" wheels. Altogether it'll be cheaper than buying a V. If you don't care for Nav, then get the II. The II is even cheaper and the best value.

BTW, I believe you can get $3-4000 off MSRP for a V.

 

I ended up getting a V with the adv tech package. I was only really considering a IV or V because I wanted leather. After learning about the radar cruise control (parking assist and lane assist are nice additions too), I wanted the advanced tech package.
I paid $31,076 before taxes, MSRP $34,420. You can probably get a V with nav for around 27k-28k range.

 

Go for it. I bought a 2010 II last December and have been kicking myself ever since for not getting the IV or V.

 

Why? You just need to mod it. Make it your own.

 

I agree, I have a III w/Nav and have added fog lights and the homelink auto dim mirror. Next major upgrade will be Leather and then some new wheels. There is at least a $6K difference in price between what I paid for my III w/Nav and what I probably would have paid for a V w/Nav, and I figure I'll have invested an additional $2K in mods by time I'm finished, so I'll still have saved $4K over purchasing a V w/Nav...

 

To answer your original question, the V handles better, because it has a better power steering rack and because of the wider low profile tires. So it is more stable and more fun to drive (tighter steering ratio, less rollover on the tires when cornering), but the ride is going to be slighter harsher (less air between you and the road). Personally I have no regrets with the V and would not consider anything less.

 

Agreed. If I didn't get the 17-wheel V (or if my parking habit would make use of the solar roof), I'd get the II in Blizzard Pearl and mod it like below, with dark gray interior and aftermarket leather in burgundy (looks great with BP, black and silver). Can do without the crappy NAV screen and the one-door SKS is already a step up from my previous car and the current Lexus.

 

Can you do aftermarket LED headlamps? If not, then that's reason enough to get a V. As for wheels.........other than Five Axis, most aftermarkets are not as nice looking as the OEM 17". And then you gotta deal with buying TMPS and installation, otherwise the indicator light will be on full-time. (an issue I'll have to deal with with my winter rims)

Nice rims = nice shoes. A man has gotta have nice shoes when the occasion calls.

 

Not easily. Not cheaply. And probably not as nicely as the stock.

I agree that it can be hard to find the "perfect" rims. You really have to look hard. Don't settle. But the OEM 17" are certainly not the "perfect" rims either, at least not if you're going for the drifter look.

Yup. Like many mods, nobody said it'd be simple. But I believe if you find that "perfect style" I was talking about earlier, it'll all have been worth it. Hey, I'm still looking.

That be right playa-play!

 

To the OP:

How important is the seating for you? The IV and V trims have an adjustable lumbar support. I do not know if that can be added aftermarket. If that is important to you, you may decide you need to go to one of the higher trims (personally, I found the seats in the II and III to be like sitting in a wheelbarrow, very uncomfortable and hard on the back, worse than a base Honda Fit--the IV on the other hand, pretty nice). I know you can add aftermarket leather, but do not know about the lumbar support.

Suggestion: drive them all, extensively, on roads you normally use, not just the requisite test-drive run around the block on smooth suburban streets around the dealership.

The V will handle better but be rougher over bad roads. The rims (IMO) look way nicer than on the II-IV. The 17" low profile sticky tires will probably wear for about 30-40K (as opposed to 45-60K) and be quite a bit more expensive to replace. Tradeoffs.

My opinion? If I had (a) had the money, and (b) the roads around here weren't a complete moonscape, I'd probably have gone with a V. What are the roads like where you drive? If nice and smooth, that's a plus for the V.

Bottom line though, I think, if you do your homework, you'll be happy with whatever way you go. Good luck and enjoy.
~T

 

But, the 17" Prius rims are 'hybrid style' rims with small spaces between spokes to minimize turbulence. Last time I checked, lighter, aftermarket rims have much thinner spokes.

It would be nice if there are some hybrid style aftermarket wheels out. That said -

still think Prius would look very good and balanced in 16" wheels with 205/55-16 LRR tires ... Toyota listen up

As for the II, if you like some decent audio, might want to get the III. I haven't heard the II, but would imagine the JBL whups it.

Then there are the types that will pull off all the door panels and pull up carpets to put in a system. Not my preference on a new car.

 

True. Members here have reported that their much lighter but less aerodynamic 17-19" rims get about the same or worse mpg hit as the heavier OEM 17".

 

For me, the addition of the 17 inch wheels alone were enough to make me go for the Prius V. As for the nav and the atp, if i had it to do over I would skip them both. My 3 year old garmin is better than the nav. package and cost a whole lot less. Life time map upgrades are less than a hundred bucks and while driving, your co-pilot in the passenger seat can work the nav where as in the Toyota you have to pull over. Not sure but you may loose the back-up camera if you give up the nav but then, I got by this far without one. Included in the ATP is the pre-collision system which seems like a good idea. Personally I don't care for the Dynamic Radar Cruise so I turn that off and use the regular cruise control. The Lane Keep Assist is a nice feature the way it nudges you back towards the center of the lane. I tried it on purpose and it works very well as described but before you get to that (nudging back to the center) the guide warning part is so sensitive and beeps so often, most of the time end up turning that off too. I tried the parking assist a few times and to be honest I can do a better job of parking by myself so that is something I will probably never use. In the end this is just my opinion and you will probably be different so my advice would be to go to the dealer and drive one and try all the options for yourself and then decide whats important to you and whats not. Good luck.

 

I was mostly with you on all your comments except this one. They'll have to pry the dynamic cruise from my warm sweaty hands (since the PCS is probably going to keep me out of any really serious accidents!)!

 

End of story, then. Enjoy!