Practical alternatives to a new Gen 3?

A camry is a good family sedan. It has a slightly roomier interior.

 

If money is an issue, a lightly used Gen 3 Prius will be the best bang for the buck if she also wants to save on gas. With these "low" gas prices, along with the Gen 4 coming out, you can probably snag a great deal on one.

If you can get a new Gen 3 for close to $20k though, I'd say go for that, if she doesn't need all the bells & whistles.

A Camry hybrid wouldn't be so bad either.

 

Ya the used gen 3s are dirt cheap right now, I've seen them in my area ranging from $9k to $15k. Back when I got my gen 3 in 2014 a used gen 3 was $15k to $19k in my area. The way see it gas will go up eventually so it is worth investing in a prius at the current prices.

 

For comparison, a little over a month ago, I got my used 2012 PIug In Prius w/ 37k miles for $14,998.

I am seeing posts that people got new 2015 prius 2 for $17,xxx.


iPhone ?

 

Mazda 3 skyactive hatchback

Or

Subaru Forester / Impreza hatchback

Or

Ford C-Max Hybrid

Or......

 

2015 Prius, or 2016 Scion iM Review and Road Test - In 4K

Consider a used plug in; Certified Used Toyota Hybrid Cars & SUVS

 

The advantage of buying new is that your guaranteed to have a car without a "history" behind it. If you've had a series of bad used cars where the previous owners trashed them, then this is a good route to go if you want to avoid that hassle.

If you can still find a new Gen 3 Prius for $19-21k, and she can get the $1k rebate + 0% financing for 60 months, then that's a great deal. The $2500 rebate is really good too if she can get a loan with a low enough interest rate, usually from credit unions, and you can pay it off within 2-3 years to avoid paying too much interest.

If there are no new 2015's left in your area, and you don't want to drive a few hours to a smaller dealership farther away, then current deals on the Gen 4 isn't terrible either.

The good thing about a used car is that they're much cheaper to buy relative to a new one. Getting one that's just a coming off a lease is usually a good buy, as the last person driving it probably didn't abuse it to avoid having to pay extra fees on it for going over their mileage limit, or having to fix it up before they returned it.

Prices on used Priuses have taken a hit due to the Gen 4 coming into dealer lots, along with this continued "low" gas prices causing everyone else to buy trucks and SUV's. Which means you can snag a great deal on one, and can probably haggle more off than you normally could. Then once gas prices go back up, the Prius buffers against that "sticker shock" at the pump very well.

A used Plug-in Prius isn't a terrible idea, provided she can live without the spare tire. It still gets the same 50 mpg a non-plug in Prius does. If you guys are living in California, they may still have the solo occupancy HOV sticker on it, though this will add some cost to the PiP price due to said sticker being pretty desirable and increasingly rare. And should she happen to find a public charger, it only takes 3 hours on a 110v to charge it up, or 1.5 hours on a 240v charger.

If I were in the market for a new Prius, I could live with a Gen 3 if the price as low enough. While I could probably live with the looks of the Gen 4 Prius, it doesn't offer significantly better mpg than the old model. I'm sure it's more fun to drive, but if I have to pay a few thousand dollars more for it, I don't think it's worth it.

 

A Ford Fusion Energy is a great choice and great prices on returned lease vehicles for about 20 to 25 K.
These are more like Camry with a luxurious interior a full of comfort that the Prius line doesn't have

 

Honda Fit is a solid choice too!

And she would come in under budget..

 

I can't get a feel how important the vehicle size might be.

It seems to be a factor, but then "budget" or the expected ability to get a good deal overrides.

I think you could get a good deal on a Gen 3 Prius right now. BUT....
I also think starting out ownership of a new vehicle believing it was a compromise due to savings is a bad idea.
Saving 2-3 grand can make you feel good immediately, but 2-3 years from now if you are feeling you are cramming into a vehicle that doesn't really meet your needs, you're probably going to regret it.

I don't think a standard Prius is too small for a single child family. But it's not me buying the vehicle.

So I guess my answer is it's really all up to your sister.
If she feels a Standard Prius will meet her needs immediately and in the future? Make the best deal possible.

If she feels it's a compromise in terms of the room she thinks she wants or needs? I wouldn't purchase it just because it's potentially a "good deal" right now.

I haven't been in the market, but with gas prices low, and the new Gen 4, and sluggish sales of Prius as a whole, I'd think a good deal could be leveraged for a Prius v.

My bottom line especially when purchasing a totally new vehicle, is be as happy with it as possible the day you drive it off the lot. I think it's generally a bad idea to compromise, it only leads to buyers remorse, or second guessing with the passage of time.

As far as practical alternatives?
I own a Prius. But I would also say, with gas prices low, there are a LOT of options depending on what you want.

I recently went to an Auto Show and was impressed with the Honda HRV. Good gas mileage for a ICE vehicle, and it's kind of like an upsized Honda Fit. That is it has fold up seats, and a flat load floor.
I'd take a look at one of those. And maybe even check out the perennial Honda CRV.

But utility family vehicles of this class are plentiful from all manufacturers. All depends on what you want.

 

A new 2015 Gen 3 model 2 or 3 for under 20K is honestly an amazing deal especially with TCO calculated. Unless you can find a good deal used private party with ultra low miles & save on the registration & tax costs.

 

One thing to consider is fit of child seats. We currently have 3 grandkid seats across in our Gen2 2006 with one rear facer. I know there are a million child seat threads, some say v may ironically be a little less room. Part of it depends on front seat position, the Gen2 may have the most space of all, but that's partially because the Gen2 front seats do not go back very far (Gen2 design flaw one person said).

 

I have a rear facing car seat in my 2012 Prius. It's an infant seat and it works ok, although I'm only 5'8". If I were driving our littlest one around in it a lot of probably put it behind the front seat. The bag seat is pretty roomy. My wife and I have taken the baby and our 2 or 4 year old without a problem. I think 3 would be tight. I fit a fairly large stroller in the back without an issue, although it is definitely a tighter fit than our Honda Odyssey.

My personal opinion is that my 2012 would be just fine if we only had one kid. For three kids (or even two), I am definitely glad we have the van.

 

For me, the Prius' main value is gas mileage, but you have to account for the difference in added cost to justify it.

Corolla and Camry get good MPGs if you don't opt for a big engine trim level.