Prius or Corolla?

We bought a Prius because it has more interior space than a Corolla. For a test we compared putting a medium sized dog crate in the back seat of my 208 Corolla vs. putting it in my son's 2015 Prius v. The Prius v has more cargo space than the Prius but the back seat space is similar.
For me, I doubt the fuel savings over a Corolla would pay for the difference. We kept and still drive the 2008 Corolla at times. I think the most major repair was the difficult replacement of the serpentine belt. The Prius has no belts.

 

corolla. all the best!

 

we have found the prius to be great in Minnesota winters- that never, ever seem to end. In fact, we are due for more snow today. Gross! Good luck with your purchase.

 

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don't get me wrong, this is my third prius, but i drive them from 0-50 or 60,000 miles.
a corolla isn't likely to cost much more than prius in repairs and maintenance.
you hit the pro's and con's in your o/p, my big thing with high mile prius is the small potential for huge repairs, and lack of qualified hybrid mechanics other than the dealer.
if you're okay with that and your other points, go for the prius.
all the best!

 

For older cars, I think the Corolla could handle poor maintenance practices better than the Prius. That is just my opinion though.

 

1) If the 12v system is working, it can be put into neutral. Foot off the brake, hit the power button twice (on but hybrid system disabled), then shift to N and hold for 2 seconds. Car will now roll freely if the parking brake is off. I assume this isn't a hybrid specific thing but applies to any modern car with pushbutton ignition and an electronic parking mechanism.

2) For snow and dirt roads it's in the same league as a Civic or Corolla, which is to say much better than a rear drive muscle car, and not as good as a 4x4 pickup. What will limit you is ground clearance, and the difference between 4" and 5" is relatively insignificant when you're talking about a foot of snow or a dirt road in mud season.

3) Probably better visibility in the Prius. That vertical window below the spoiler would be sheet metal on a sedan. It provides great visibility for backing up. The spoiler does block some of the view, but it's actually nice because it's right at the headlight level of a lot of cars which greatly cuts down on glare.

 

1) can drain the 12 volt battery. It is not recharged from the traction battery in that mode.

 

Yep, you certainly don't want to flat tow it behind your RV for 1000 miles this way. Point is, you don't need the HV battery or ICE to push it out of a parking spot or garage if it can't move under its own power.

And when towing most cars, you don't want the drive wheels turning in neutral for a long time because the transmission pump is probably driven by the engine, not the driveshaft.

 

Some people might leave a car in neutral with wheel blocks though. That would not work well for a Prius

 

I wonder if you pulled the cable off the 12V battery while it was in neutral, if it would stay that way? After all, it wouldn't have power to engage park, unless it was spring loaded or something.

"Why is Tom pushing his Prius down the street with the battery cable hanging out?" "Oh, he's trying to prove a point online"

 

Also, cars like my wife's Escape need the old fashioned key turned to the ACC position to be put in neutral, and you can't take the key out unless it's in park. That will run the battery down too.

 

No. the parking pawl solenoid would not have power.

Trying to push it like that would be a real drag.

 

If it were a new car Prius without a doubt, should be good for150 to 200K trouble free miles, used is another matter as there is a possibility of expensive repairs for the hybrid system.
The thing to remember that the Prius has a 10 year 150k mile warranty on the hybrid system (Carb states), so if you can find a low mileage 14 or 15 Prius for 12k you might want to take a shot, if not find a Corolla.

 

I just had the very same dilemma a month ago, deciding between a Corolla (latest gen) and Prius (gen 3).

1. RELIABILITY - my gen 2 Prius had 267k miles before the batteries died and I sold it. Cost of ownership was about 6 cents a mile. The only maintenance beside regular oil changes was brakes and bearings at 220k miles. Ymmv of course, but it's worth saying. Corolla is a fine car, but I read somewhere that the latest gen shared the same chassis/body ? with the previous gen so it wasn't really much of an upgrade vs previous gen.

2. RESALE - Long term resell, I put on about 25k miles a year, significantly more than you, but after researching the used market for several months, I clearly noticed the Prius's maintained their resale value better than Corollas, I was seeing 6 year old 80k mile Prius's go for similar prices as 3 year old 40k miles corolla's so to me that says something. I picked up my 2012 Prius III with leather heated seats with 98k miles in great condition, clean title for $8k in May, 2018. I think if I put on another 75k miles or so before I sell it and maintained it in good condition clean title, I figuring I could get about $5k for it, so monthly ownership cost would be under $85 a month or 4 cents a mile, so it seems like a wiser purchase decision than a Corolla.

4. ROOM - Prius has more room usable room than Corolla after driving both in my opinion. I'm a big guy and the Prius offers a lot of headroom and shoulder room and a higher driving height for better visibility. The hatchback trunk is also bigger than it looks, I could easily pack for a week's camping trip for 2 in the trunk with a full size dog taking up the back seats (coolers, chairs, tents, cooking bins, etc.)

5. SNOW - Living in WI, I didn't have a single issue with my gen 2 prius in winter as long as it had decent all-season tires. I thought the Viva 3 tires wore the best and maintained traction for the longest out of the 5 sets of tires I went through

6. ECONOMY - I'm avg 44.6 with a/c on almost full-time, mostly highway (65-75mph). Corolla would be several deviations lower than those numbers.

All of these factors ultimately helped my choose a Prius and I'm very happy and don't regret my decision whatsoever.

Don't get me wrong, in my opinion the Corolla is better looking and and after test driving it, I liked the drive experience better vs the Prius. But for me, being 34 in grad school part time and working full time, the factors above outweighed the good looks and more fun driving, at least for this stage in my life.

 

I’ve owned both. 2005 Corolla that I drove for 12 years and 100k+ miles, a family member bought it and it’s still going strong at 200k miles with minimal maintenance in its lifetime. I bought a 2015 Prius new and I can tell you the handling of both cars is about the same in the snow (KC area, so we get some snow) and the passenger areas feel comparable. The cargo area is bigger in the Prius due to the hatchback, but with the seats down in a Corolla you can fit a disassembled crib. Camping in the Prius with the car running to use a/c is an interesting/unique experience, gas is a bit cheaper filling the Prius than the Corolla, and you have a cargo cover to hide things in the cargo area, making it more trunk like. Personally, I feel like the Prius has more blind spots but you get used to them. I really like my Prius and I really liked my Corolla (it was a manual transmission).