Prius Prime vs Rav4 Hybrid

Speaking as a parent who's Son did College and has been out of the house for a little over a year now...get the RAV4 HV. It tows, has more interior room, is AWD and gets great mpg. You likely will keep neither for 35 years, but a very reliable 10-15 years is doable. By then, your life and needs will be nothing like they are now.

 

The prices are very close, though the purchaser may be able to get a federal tax rebate with the Prime, making it cheaper. You'll spend less on gas with the Prime. Some colleges have cheap or free electric charging. There's more room to carry stuff with the Rav4 and it has AWD.

It all depends on your needs.

 

I think the Prime.

 

It’s not about whether you or an ADAS device can do something better. It’s about:
* Reducing stress, and
* Increasing the number of fractional 9s in what might be called your “driving safety percentage.”

In our Prime, my commute is considerably less nerve-racking with DRCC and PCS.

In terms of “adding fractional 9s,” I have not had an accident in 42 years of driving. So, by some calculation, maybe my “driving safety percentage” is something like 99.999%.

However, the Prime has occasionally prevented me from departing my lane, has prevented me from bumping into things in the garage, and may even have prevented me from bumping into somebody once (although I’d have chocked that one up to the bad design of the infotainment system if it had happened). So, it probably raises my percentage to 99.9995% Tesla Autopilot could perhaps raise it to 99.99995%.

Many people do not have a 42-year no-accident record, though. Autopilot can bring them from 99.99%, say, to 99.9995%. Huge value there.

 

The stress reduction was quite easy. I disabled all the “aids” that can be disabled, returning control of the car to me.

 

What happens when large cities mandate autonomous vehicles in 10 years?
Take public transportation or change vehicles?

 

Now that's funny.

 

I recommend the RAV4. There will be times when you will need to haul something that will not fit in the Prime but will easily fit the RAV4. For those occasions I have a 2002 4Runner that I bought used with 160K miles on it. I don't care about the gas mileage as I drive it no more than 100-150 miles a month.

 

Cars manufactured in recent years have a lot of electronic devices. They are expensive to repair and would be hard to find parts after 15-20 years.

 

1. I don’t think this will happen.

2. If it does, I won’t go to those cities by car, or at all.

 

I can't believe you guys are replying to this troll.

 

This story is more than 35 years old, but a friend told me about someone she went to college with (in the late '70's) who paid $50 for an old beater to get around in and he did nothing but put gas in it for a couple years and upon graduation, sold it... for $100!

 

About 15 years ago, my brother in his early 20’s bought an old ‘70s Lincoln (Mark IV, I believe), just for kicks. $800, and it was older than him, but he still lived at home and had no responsibilities. It still ran, drank gas like it was water (in Quebec, with very high gas prices!), but would drive it around just for “looks”, LOL. Put nothing into it while he owned it but gas (though LOTS of it, lol, but only drove it maybe 1000km while he had it), then sold it back to the guy he bought it from 2 years later for the same price. Apparently the guy sold it because he couldn’t afford gas for it, but the wanted it back...

He did something similar after that with a late 80s Jeep YJ, where he drove it for a couple years, then sold it for only $500 less than he bought it for. Basically, almost a free car.

If you are into driving old cars and willing to accept some (lots) of risk, you can drive for cheap.

 

you really haven't given us any parameters except cost and your parents desires.

if that's all there is, prime is cheaper, and rav4 will keep mom and dad happy. your decision

 

If your argument of keeping a car for 35 years is depreciation savings, please consider getting a slightly used car. Most depreciation happens early in a cars life. But since this is a gift get the new hybrid Rav 4. The primes 25 mile ev range will not be worth charging unless your parking spot has an outlet. I have the prime as my small car, but want to replace our larger car with Rav 4 hybrid.

 

My son bought a 1985 VW Golf diesel from my Dad for $500, with lots of miles on it. Did some home body work on a dent, put on some alloys from a junkyard on for $90, drove it for two years in high school. When he went to sell it (asked $1,500), two buyers were interested and he ended up getting $2,100 for it.

 

The Prime is fine for that. I've driven mine from Silicon Valley to Nebraska, Nebraska to DC, then up to Canada, etc. Excellent mileage on the road. Not a bad road car, and with the slippery shape it will get significantly better mileage than the RAV 4. Also, plenty of cargo space for two people with camping gear and normal travel luggage.