Hello to all, I am about to acquire a 2018 Toyota Prius in Tijuana, Mexico (I live in Ensenada, Baja California). My question is if a Prius bought in the mexican market will be equally built as those aimed for more developed countries? I ask this because at some point I was considering to buy a VW Polo (which is a model that is not sold in the US but is sold in Europe) but I discovered that the one sold in Mexico was imported from India (still the same car a priori) and that it did not have the same safety characteristics as the one sold in Europe. For example, the latin american version does not perform as well during crash tests and on some forums, people imply that its structural quality is lower. My concern is not about equipment, because clearly, the mexican Prius is way less equipped than the american version (it does not have the Star Safety System and other details); my concern is about mechanical structure and overall structural and material quality. Does anyone know if it will still be the same car (only less equipped)?
We don't know for sure. The Mexican-spec Prius is slightly higher off the ground than the US-spec Prius (5.1" vs. 4.8" ground clearance).
You may first want to see if you can even import a foreign spec vehicle and get it registered before you spend the money. I personally know 2 people who have tried to buy vehicles which were in Mexico. One was a pickup, the other some Chevy car. Neither were available to be "imported" into the United States and could never be registered or obtain license plates. This is nothing new however. When I lived in Germany, the VW I owned there could not be brought into the United States because of safety standards.
Since the Prius is available in the US, you're going to have a heck of a time importing it unless you're a diplomat. Also the problem is that it may not meet US safety specifications. HOWEVER, these are commonly not better, just different. Nowadays a European spec'd car is better than most US spec'd cars for safety and crash data. But it still doesn't meet the requirements. Just like it won't meet the headlight-throw/beam-angle requirments, or the bumper height/shape/deformation requirements, side/tail light markings, license plate frame areas, etc. I'd abandon the idea now if you want to legally import a non USDM Prius into the US. It will be waaaaaaaaaay too expensive for any amount of savings you will get. Now if you are trying to import something that doesn't exist or are willing to live with gray markets, that's a whole different topic that the Skyline forums can fill you in on.
OP didn't say he was going to import the car. Just wants to know basically if it's any good, I think. I don't know specifically about the Prius, but I remember reading a couple years ago that the low end Nissan cars built for Latin America were not nearly as crash-worthy as the U.S. and Canadian cars. Here's one example I found just now: Nissan to stop making Mexican Tsuru amid safety criticism | Reuters
You guys know Baja California is one of Mexico's states, right? I think he just wants an MX-market car for use in MX. I don't know if Toyota builds the Prius in different ways for different markets. What I have noticed in my travels is that cars sold in multiple markets tend to lose their one-shot safety features in the less developed markets. In other words, the metal is the same but you'll have fewer or no airbags or seatbelt tensioners. They are left out to keep the repair costs lower.
As far as I know, all fourth-generation Prius cars, regardless of the destination market, are made in Japan at Toyota Motor Corporation’s Tsusumi and Takaoka plants. There are necessarily product differences, to meet local emissions and safety regulations and to reflect market preferences, but the assembly techniques and quality should be similar. Indeed, the New Car Features book, available by subscription to techinfo.toyota.com, says the model code for Prius cars sold in Mexico (ZVW50L-AHXEBA) is the same as for the Prius One and Prius Two sold in the U.S., though there are of course differences in equipment. The active safety features that Toyota in the U.S. describes as the Star Safety System, i.e., Enhanced Vehicle Stability Control, Traction Control, Anti-Lock Brakes, Electronic Brake Distribution, and Brake Assist, are all listed individually on the product data sheet (PDF) for Prius cars sold in Mexico. Toyota Safety Sense (TSS-P) features that would require the forward camera and radar system, such as Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection and Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, are apparently not included, however. The data sheet says that both the Base and Premium grades sold in Mexico use the Ni-MH hybrid battery. The Li-Ion battery available on the higher grades of Prius cars sold in the U.S. doesn’t seem to be offered in Mexico.
That is some very useful and reassuring piece of information! Thank you very much. I suppose that, as far as mechanical structure behavior goes during a crash, the car would behave in a similar way to that of a standard american version. This seems odd, I just checked the american Toyota website and it states that the ground clearance for a Prius (in the US) is of 5.1" (same as in Mexico). (I cannot add a link because I have not yet met the minimum requirements). It is indeed my mistake, I am purchasing it. Exactly This is sadly true, the only cars that seem to be equally equipped as in Europe that I know of are Mercedes and BMWs. Large SUVs from most companies also seem to be equally equipped as those sold in the US. Other than that, most car versions sold here are those specifically aimed at developing countries. This is also interesting, I must have read the data sheet far too quickly to notice.
hahahahahaha Nope, I did not know that. Just seen the "California" and assumed. I'm still sitting here laughing at myself.
My thoughts exactly! I like your style Prius Camper! I am having a blast camping in my Prius! So much fun! Has anyone else had good luck with turning off smart key button under the dash at the first sign of a weak capacitor on the combo meter and then unhooking the 12v and hooking it back up the next day to get it to come back on? I did some reading and learned that alot of people feel that the smart key feature has alot to do with these combo meters failing. So I turned mine off, unhooked my battery over night, and hooked it back up over 7k miles ago. No issues since! Is it possible that this is true or am I really just running on borrowed time with my combo meter capacitor being weak? Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
