Mea Culpa: I've always been wrong about the base model Prius

I remember when I first arrived on the lot to look at Prius, the salesman was trying to up sell me to a higher trim level. When it became clear that I wasn't going to buy, his whole tone changed. Then suddenly the whole sales pitch got centered around the fact that The Prius Two, had all the "Exact Same Hybrid Components" as the higher trim models, and what a great bargain it was....

And really?
I wouldn't deny anyone with the financial resources the choice to pay more...and get more.
But to NOT like a base model?
Seems short sighted, nearly elitist.

Isn't the heart of Prius...the fact that it's a Hybrid? Isn't that always what matters?
Not the nice, sometimes very nice-extra's or upscale techno gadgets?

It was my Pre-Purchase experience at Prius Chat, and numerous threads that led me to "Know" before I bought that I could easily pass on the Toyota Navigation Package (Sorry Toyota)-but I read too many threads of people complaining about it, along with the time, trouble and expense of "updates".

There were a few rain soaked trips from the grocery store to the back hatch where I bemoaned the absence of a full Smart Key system, but even that complaint most often felt trivial. Most of the time I was perfectly happy with the drivers door only set up.

Yeah, I like cloth seats...and I grew up in the 70's and 80's...and remember when you had a pecking order of Vinyl Seats...Cloth Seats..or Leather Seats...so from my aged perspective cloth has always been an improvement over the now non-existent Vinyl. I remember my parents buying a Toyota Corolla station wagon and enjoying the "Luxury" of up scaling from vinyl to LUXURIOUS cloth....so to me? No Softex? No big deal at all.

The bar even from 2013 has been raised. So it's even different today.
But no...I think it's foolish to not at least consider a base model, if it fits your needs. A lot of the "luxuries" can be recreated after market, sometimes with better result and choice.

I'll admit however, I come from a rather "Spartan" family history of buying the most "utilitarian" option in vehicles. Whether it was mostly economic or ingrained psychological choice....my grandfather was quoted as saying "Don't want a lot of fancy things to break" when buying his always stripped down version of whatever car.

He shocked the entire family in 1967 when he arrived home with a brand new Ford Mustang with....gasp....an AM radio.

So I almost,- almost feel guilty about recently buying a Honda Fit EX....
Oh the sunroof is nice, and Prius spoiled me in regards to keyless entry, push button start, and smart key technology.
But as the salesman was showing me all the "perks" of EX vs Base...I head the ghost of my Grandfather saying..."A lot of Fancy Things to Break".

But that's the direction the whole industry is headed.
I'm afraid there are just going to be...more and more fancy-new fangled- things....
So hat's off to the army of simplicity...those willing and wise enough to enjoy base models.

 

Funny, I can remember when all British cars had real leather seats and, after plastics are invented you had to pay extra not to have the old fashioned leather!

Who's laughing now?

 

The 2016 Two does not. That is the only major advantage I see of the 2017. In the meantime, I have enjoyed my 2016 Two for an entire year ... at 1.9% interest.

I really don't see the rise of the all electric car in the near future. Much more efficient hybrids are more likely. The cost of electricity to gasoline is the real roadblock, and the hybrid seems to fit the bill. Especially the plug in style hybrid. Game changers? Advanced batteries, much better solar (on vehicle collection) or a combination. I think we have pretty much optimized the ICE.

Your embarrassment should not be from wanting an upgraded model, but rather from the mere idea of buying a Honda Fit.

 

Yes that's true.
But they don't call it "Vinyl". Usually it's called Soft-Tex..or Nano-Leather...or some other optimistic euphemism meant to convey and improvement over not only just vinyl but natures own leather. It's "Space Buffalo Hide".
My comparison is pretty much the late 60's, 70's vehicles when automakers unabashedly put thick vinyl upholstery in vehicles.
I remember hot summer days, when my brother and I would literally peel ourselves out of the back seat of that 1967 Mustang, because the we had melted into the vinyl.
Nobody worried so much about "Outgassing" back then....but both my brother and I probably suffered severe damage having breathed in whatever the melting vinyl was releasing into the air.

I'd hope today's Non-Leather options have improved. My hope is that Soft-Tex or whatever any auto manufacturer wants to call their Non-Leather, Non-Cloth option, has come a ways from what I remember in the 70's.
Because....those vinyl seats were pretty bad. Cold in the winter..Melting in the summer, they would deteriorate and split or crack....
Which is why I remember my parent being so happy about finally being able to get and afford.....beautiful cloth seats.

 

Modern vinyl seating materials are far better than old American vinyl.

(I'll still take cloth, thanks. I'll take cloth over leather, too.)

 

I notice the article was from 2013. Should we assume Softex continues to improve until it's almost the same as/better than real leather?

 

I suspect it's the same stuff - I read that my steering wheel is SOFTEX (seats are cloth), and it's better in temperature extremes than my last 2 cars with leather steering wheels.

 

I hear you, but can't say I noticed much improvement over leather with my steering wheel. Here in Cornwall the where is improving now and sunny, but fault shade temperature no higher than 16°C thanks to cool airmass coming from the north or east. Southerlies, or SW wings bring our warmest airmass, although our extremely hot or cold weather is relativity mild (+27C to -6C).

 

OK - different temperature scale here.

A cold day here is colder than about 10C overnight, but it almost always warms up to 18-20 by midday. A hot day can be up to 37-38C (occasionally 40). In a closed up car in summer at 38C outside, a plastic or urethane steering wheel is "untouchable", leather is uncomfortable, but the SOFTEX was noticeably more comfortable - other surfaces in the car (wheel spokes etc) were appreciably hotter to the touch.

 

I don't know about Prius in Australia but in the US they state the material for the steering wheel is supposed to make it more comfortable at temperature extremes. The Softex wheel is only on the higher trim levels. In the UK I know they can get a leather covered steering wheel.

 

Mine isn't the old Urethane, fairly sure it isn't leather - it definitely feels like the SOFTEX of Toyota upholstery.

The Australian Brochure says that all models have "LEATHER ACCENTED 3 SPOKE STEERING WHEEL" - and the luxury i-Tech model has "LEATHER ACCENTED SEATS".

And seeing the seats are actually SOFTEX, the Steering Wheel will be SOFTEX too.

 

That's possible.
So far here in the US, I have not found my lower trim steering wheel get overly hot but I have only had the car since October and summer is not yet in full swing here.

 

Summer finished today (according to Alan). The forecast indicates that I need to put blankets on the bed for tonight.

 

Your weather is upside down too

 

What do you mean :

 

The only reason we're driving a Prius Prime was absence of TSS-P in the 2016 Level 2 ECO in May 2016. @Russell Frost nailed it:

One of the smartest things Toyota has done since the introduction of the Prius was creating TSS, Toyota Safety Sense, making it a package and including in every car. This is one of those sort of ho-hum things that most people, especially most car writers, will sleep through but this is important. Maybe ground breaking. It's a major car company including safety features, good ones, on a car without being compelled to do so via regulation (or acting ahead of regulation). This stuff will saves and decrease property damage. It's a huge plus even if it's not as exciting as cars burning rubber in circles.​

We were offered a Level 3 with a moon roof instead of Level 2 ECO with highest MPG for a price that bracketed a used, 2014 BMW i3-REx. We were going to keep the 2010 another year until the 2014 BMW i3-REx motor mount break forced us to drive it without the "TSS-P"-like features of the BMW i3-REx. I love the irony:

• No TSS-P in 2016 -> used BMW i3-REx
• Extended outage of BMW i3-REx -> 2017 Prius Prime Plus (the base)

Think about it, we were ready to let the 2010 fade into history until I realized the lack of TSS-P made it relatively unsafe. We spent $28.5k (minus the sale price of the 2010 and pending tax credit) which was still a substantial amount of money for someone headed into retirement. Safety sells.

Bob Wilson

 

Most, if not all, modern "cloth" interiors are are various forms of plastic anyway. I'm not sure if any auto maker today offers what would have been considered cloth from years ago when wool was the interior of choice.

 

AFAIK, wool has always been a superior material to cloth. Not only is it breathable, it's warmer in winter, cooler in summer, harder wearing and iirc many other things.

.. but then cost raises it's ugly head!