Why 'did' you chose 'the' Premium over the Plus?

I also chose the Advanced to get the better (and heated) driver's seat, which my previous Prius lacked, and the Homelink, which my previous Prius had. After 8+ years, I was ready for the technology upgrade and I really appreciate the rear cross traffic alert, the dynamic cruise control, the auto dimming headlights, the remote charging notifications, and more. It depends on your budget, needs, and wants. We tend to keep cars a minimum of 6 years and often longer, so I like to get what I want, because I know I'm going to have it a long time.

I didn't know I "needed" auto dimming headlights, but they sure are nice now that I have them I miss the dynamic cruise control now on those occasions when I have to drive our other car without it. Also, that heated steering wheel is a godsend when the weather is in the teens!

 

DRCC and auto high beam is standard on all levels of Prius, including Prime Plus and Prius Two.

Speaking of DRCC, Toyota has years of experience with it, all the way back to 2009 (Prius 2010 model). Although reports are somewhat sketchy and anecdotal, I get the impression that Toyota DRCC is smoother compared to Ioniq which from what I have heard sounds a bit "choppy". I have heard reports that Ioniq slams on the brakes a lot, which isn't good. Toyota may do that in some cases, but hopefully only when needed, not in routine driving. Remember 20-30 years ago when most cruise controls weren't very good at changing speed, if you held the accel button you got full throttle, hold "coast" and the gas came completely off. Back in those days on most cars if I needed to change speed I would turn off cruise, manually adjust speed, then turn cruise back on. Eventually cruise control got more refined and now you can easily make speed adjustments using the cruise control. My point is that I am starting to get the impression that there are different levels of refinement with DRCC among brands, as well as different ways that they work in stop and go traffic. Hopefully this type of information will start being included in online reviews for comparison, just like they compare handling, acceleration, etc.

 

I have had a Premium for about 2 months. Previous vehicle was a 2011 Prius Three not III because only 2010 prius used uppercase Roman Numerals for model designation. We like the Softex compared to the cloth in the Three. I like the 11.6 screen because I am a tech geek. The auto on/off lights are nice also. I think that the feature that we enjoy the most is the 3 door lock/unlock feature. It is so handy to be able to lock and unlock on the hatch door as well as the driver and passenger doors. At first I was disappointed about the lack of Homelink but I keep my remote in the overhead glasses compartment and it works nicely.

 

I have the Plus. I really wanted the cloth seats over the Softex. I would like the JBL audio and the blind spot detection and the auto parallel parking though.





Merged, please use multi quote

Do you know that on the Plus, if you hold the driver's door handle for 3 seconds, all the doors and hatch unlock and if you push the unlock button twice on the key fob, all doors and hatch unlock?

 

But once you're spoiled with three door smart key it's hard to get unspoiled!

 

Why does whenever someone posts a Prius trim level it adds "not III because only 2010 prius used uppercase Roman Numerals for model designation." etc.?

 

I don't know if it's sort of a running gag or not, but it is based on a somewhat bizarre part of Prius history. In 2009 when the 2010 Prius Gen 3 was introduced, Toyota decided that the trim levels for the new model would be designated by uppercase Roman numerals. So you had Prius II through Prius V (Prius I, which would have been priced $1,000 less than Prius II had been planned for release later in 2009 but it never materialized.)

Then in 2010 Toyota introduced the 2011 Prius wagon and decided to name it Prius v (lowercase italic) with the v standing for versatile. To avoid the obvious confusion of having both a Prius V and a Prius v, starting in model year 2011 the naming of the trim levels for the regular Prius was changed to Prius Two through Prius Five. So only the 2010 Prius had Roman numerals.

Although there was never a Prius V and Prius v in the same model year, that didn't stop people from getting confused (or winding up in the wrong PriusChat forum) so many of them started adding a clarifier to their model description to make it clear what model they owned.

As to why owners of other trim levels add this explanation to their model description I don't really know. Maybe just to stand in solidarity with the beleaguered Prius V and Prius v owners?

 

the only thing worse than entune is toyota's model naming system.

 

Nav has fallen pretty far behind the likes of Google and Apple too, but I'm not complaining because it is pretty much free.

 

The NAV on my Gen 2 is best described as quaint. No Etune for the Gen II. Yes, it's an acquired taste, cannot compare to Google or TomTom, but its reliable, works flawlessly and does get you to your destination. I updated the NAV DVDs back in 2014 at an eye watering cost of £144 I believe.

Nowadays, I use a small Samsung S5 with Google Maps running, plonked neatly into the front cup holder. Perfect fit. I get a running narrative of the road conditions all the way home, plus visual warnings of traffic congestion and how long it'll take to crawl through them - and very realistic continuously updated estimates of the ETA to my destination. I wistfully wish my Gen 2 NAV could do all that!


iPhone ?

 

I bought the Plus, thinking that it would be better bang for the buck in terms of rebates, refunds, and credits. Honestly, I regret skipping the upgrade. In my case, I also have a PIP Advanced, and I got used to all the bells and whistles. In particular the power pleather seats and auto locks. I also miss the HUD, but I think I'd prefer the Premium.

 

I was planning to keep my gen 3 Prius until it falls apart, but when I saw current Toyota cash-back deal on Prime, and with consideration of potential saving on tax credit, I am seriously thinking to switch the cars. I am going to test drive Prime they have in stock this weekend. They only have Premium and Advanced in their stock currently, but said they are getting Plus in stock soon. Being minimalist, I think what I want is a Plus trim. However, the price difference in their stock of Premium and Plus is only $1057. Plus comes with a special color with added cost of $395 and ridiculously pricy $248 floor mat.

 

I'm with you on color and floor mats rip;
get a "free color", and you should be able to negotiate a more reasonable price for mats. I like the Advanced because of the remote access to car via phone, rear traffic & rear pedestrian alerts, dimming mirror with switches for garage door, and a bunch of other toys.
After my California rebate, Federal Tax credit, Toyota $1000 rebate, the car was REALLY cheap. But it's all relative; it's cheaper not to buy anything, but my 2012 PIP with 103,000 miles was going to need about $3000 worth of routine maintenance, so my decision was pretty easy!!

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Advanced would be a very expensive toys for my basic commuting on rural roads where there is no cars or pedestrians in my rear view mirror. Dealer is pressing me to come to take a test ride this weekend because TOYOTA's $3125 rebate is ending at the end of this month, which I think will continue again.

 

Do people think that the North-East incentives will continue as-is, or get bigger? Where I am now, Toyota is offering $3,500 off... was $2,500 off a month ago!

 

I bought my first Prius 2.5 years ago, so I was not in the market for new car purchase. That was until I saw TOYOTA's big push for the huge rebate. Coupled with Fed tax credit, it maybe a chance to upgrade my Gen3 to PIH and never pay for gas for my daily commuting. I have read the Thread for All Confirmed Prices. | Page 23 | PriusChat and found Toyota rebate on Prime has been steadly increaseing in NE. The current offer ends at 7/31, but I suspect it will continue at the same level until they sell out, and 2018 model start to ship. Ideally, I would like to wait till the end of this year or early next year to do the switch, but big rebate being offered for new model would be a wishful thinking.

 

Yeah... to get a good deal on the Prime, you would have to get the 2017 model, possibly between now and when the 2018 starts shipping (Dec?) ... from the rumours on here so far, the 2018 model will offer no changes, but will be higher priced (<$1000 higher) and so the best deals will be on the remaining stock of 2017s... the $3,500 rebate in the NE of USA will probably continue into August and September, but most likely you will not see a lot of new stock arrive... but then you'll be buying a year-old car effectively; pros+cons...