Which Prius V should I buy?

2014 for sure including better crash test results. I would have Toyota check out your choice prior to signing. I would want to keep it under 200k miles for the expected ownership period. Or else get a signicantly lower mileage car.

 

Only a dealer or a hybrid shop like Luscious Garage in SF gcould give you an educated opinion on the battery condition. Rule of thumb, expect to buy a rebuilt or new battery sometime after 200 k.

 

Personally I do like the Silver color.

 

Check iihs.org and safercar.gov for crash test ratings. Of interest is the small overlap test result which provided a challenge to vehicle manufacturers...

 

Yes. The changes to the crash structure were made for the 2015 model year along with the styling / instrument panel refresh.

I personally would go with that 2014, even though it has more miles, because these batteries tend to degrade more with age than they do miles on the odometer, and because I don't like to purchase the first model year of a car. You'll probably get 9 months to a year out of the rest of the hybrid system warranty in case of problems. You'll want to have the condition of the car checked out at a mechanic before you buy it. If the seller won't play ball, you shouldn't buy it.

As for the other cars? They're perfectly fine. If you had to choose between them I'd get the Matrix because the cargo area is a bit larger and it's covered in tough plastic. EDIT: The Pontiac Vibe is also a good choice, it's a Matrix with a different body.

 

The V has a lot of luggage space , did you know rear seats moves forward to gain more space and tilt 15 degrees

 

If it's an economic decision, listen to your friends and get the Fit, Matrix, or Vibe. If it's about love, then do what your heart tells you, but get the prices down. The Prius v is a weird car to fall in love with. It's not particularly pleasant to drive, and it's hard to work on. Things that are simple in other cars like flashers are not so simple in the highly-integrated v.

In addition to the potential cost of a replace traction battery, there are other high cost repairs on the Prius for things you wouldn't expect like the brake system. The engine also has some well known weaknesses that you can read about on these forums and its working pretty hard as compared to, say, the Camry hybrid which gets similar fuel economy and is far more refined though lacks the cargo space of the v.

I bought a 2014 this year with about 160k miles (about 65k on the traction battery) but I paid less than half of the prices you listed. The tradeoff was my car had seen harsh duty as a cab. I'm hoping to get about 50k on it to make it a worthy purchase. I had hoped to only pay about $2500 for it but there was too much competition at the auction. Not because people wanted them to drive, but because other taxi operators needed them for parts.

If you have "car fever", just try to delay as long as you can. The prices will probably improve during you delay and if the fever passes you might find the other options look more attractive.

 

All Prius have a tight under hood area, to provide more passenger/cargo room. The 1.8 liter engine in the Liftback has had some head gasket issues. Some suspect the EGR system, which is slightly different in the v.

 

The liftback and the v wagon use the 1.8L. The c hatchback uses a 1.5L engine that is of a similar design to that found in the first- and second-gen Prius models, as well as the Yaris.

The reason why the v wagon comes across as "unpleasant" is because it's the 1.8L liftback powertrain in a larger vehicle, so it has to work harder than the liftback to accelerate and maintain speed.