'20 Prius Prime - Buy now or wait?

For the OP, an opposing viewpoint on the usefulness of RCC. I am not a fan. It is not graceful at all, tends to overreact and cause sudden changes in speed (either slowing or accelerating). I can drive much more smoothly than that feature can. As a result, after giving RCC an honest tryout, it stays off. I don't consider it a safety feature, more a poorly implemented attempt at a driver aid.

You got rear ended because the driver behind you was not alert. The driver (not the car) is responsible for safe operation of the car. As "features" get added, drivers get lazier and find other things to do in the car rather than drive the car.

 

We came to the same conclusion. This works out if you get a good deal on the new car and you drive a good amount. Now with the $4500 incentive and the $3500 toyota one, it was a very easy decision. Our plug in Prius we purchased for 23K out the door with 15K miles. She used it for 5 years. Depreciation I would say is about 12K (has 101K miles now). $150 in unplanned expenses - wheel bearing.

Out the door the Prime was 28K. It should depreciated similarly and give us great service for the same price while saving some bucks on fuel even though its not much going from a PIP to a Prime, but it could be $500 yearly. This could be an under 2500/year vehicle.

I have a huge spreadsheet I made years ago. I will try to find it and see how all my jalopies have done. By far the worst was a 1995 Mercedes 300D. I swore it was going to work out awesome. Paid 10K, put prob 6 into it. Diesel prices went up and it only got about 28mpg and not the 35 when it was new. Sold it for 4K miles. I think I owned it for 4 years.

 

I have personally done three certified used cars in 10 years and have spent close to 15 k each. One corolla, one Prius, and one camry. By far the best was the camry

 

I agree with you that it was a careless's driver but if the PCS was there, it could have prevented as well as a last resort.

The latest TSS Toyota Safety Sense is better than the one that I have with my 2018 Prime but that is the part, you need to keep changing to get the latest and greatest updated technology since no retro. It would have been nice if LTA came with my 2018 but it is not there neither for 2020

 

Or his tire pressure was too low.

 

As Prius Sales are down, you just might want to wait... But I don't think that this is "Doom and Gloom" for the Prius Line...

Seeing my first Prius in 2005 up close and personal, I remarked to my Wife that the Hybrid System was going to be a MAJOR Game Changer for the automotive industry, and be the "winner" intermediary technology until the larger switch to electric vehicles happens. And so it was...

I've purchased four of the Prius vehicles since then.

But since then, now you see other makes if cars with hybrid systems, and the same technology can be had in a Camry, etc., spelling not a Death Knell, but more universal adaptation of the technology. And this has now gone to the plug-in hybrids...

It's all an Evolutionary Process.
Materials get lighter. (and stronger.)
New Battery technologies come along. In Amateur Radio (where we constantly experiment with cutting edge portable technologies...(This isn't your Grandfather's Ham Radio!) for example, we are currently embracing LiPo batteries. Wow they are really GREAT!

And it ALL gets better as time goes on.

Always playing in the background is what I like to call "Inherent Noise"... Every Engineer knows that all Systems contain "noise".
This Inherent Noise in the System consists of fluctuation in Markets, Currencies, the price of Oil, and even Political Will (or the lack of it) that determines National Policies. We must also remember that these Scientific Breakthroughs evolve into not just patents, but become important assets of Corporations. And these Corporate Assets also have military applications, so they also become part of Military Industrial Complexes.

Ultimately, we get more choices in the marketplace as these things shake down. So you will only have more (and better) choices as time goes on.

Let's face it, ALL cars have problems!

But With Toyota, you can see in things like Consumer Reports, if they have a "problem area" in some part of a model line (let's just say like a Cooling System, for Example) you can see as the model years progress for that particular line, the ratings for that particular system get BETTER. For Other brands? Not so much.

Toyota, more than any of the others, I think: Gets steady improvements. I think that as long as they take this path, they will stay on top. After all, how can they sell you a 2020 car if it isn't better than a 2015 car?





SM-N920V ?

 

W8LV - Great post.

I bought a new 2010 Prius .... and loved it. (130,000 miles)
In fact, I loved it so much I traded it for a 2015 Avalon Hybrid. Great car in every respect.
My Avalon now has over 100k .... but has revealed no weaknesses.
So the thread question: Buy Now or Later? - my answer is most definitely, buy later.

One look at the G4 Prius .... and that completely killed any and all interest in owning another Prius.
Then the Prime came out, and Toyota (IMHO) corrected many of the design quirks of the Prius..

IF .... the Prime achieved more that 25 miles in EV .... that would be my next automobile.

Come on Toyota .... give us at least 50 miles EV as an extended range Prime.
That is what Tesla did ..... a long range, a medium range and a short range.

I'd willingly pay more for a longer range Prime, give up the 5th seat, and even give up some luggage space.

Surely I'm not the only one?.

 

You are likely not the only one, but the pool of Prime buyers is small and the pool of those who would want the bigger battery option is even smaller. That’s not an option Toyota is likely to offer given the small potential market and the cost to develop and test and manufacture that option.

 

jb in NE - Thank you for your comment.

Perhaps .... if they offered a bigger battery, there would be a larger market.
Speaking only for myself ... I will not spend that much money for only 25 miles EV.
But I would give serious consideration to buy one with 50 or more mile range.

Toyota has so many positive qualities...... build quality, fit and finish, hybrid engineering, service and etc.
But they are not responding to the competition .... most of which offer more EV range.

Just my opinion.

 

You may be right. But I see one battery option only, regardless of the size. I would expect the next generation to have longer EV range. For my driving, about 95% of my in-town miles are EV, so a bigger battery isn't a draw for me. But if it were offered at a competitive price, I'd take it.

 

This thinking is exactly what my "Driving While Charging" thread was about:

Driving While Charging ? | Page 2 | PriusChat


Rob43

 

Somewhere I read that Toyota's market study revealed that 25 miles would satisfy most drivers needs.
Toyota's market study also revealed that the future was hydrogen.

I'm sure for many (okay ... perhaps most) 25 miles is sufficient.
In the west, however, 25 miles will not get me over the hill to the closest town where the shopping is better; or to the closest recreation location .... or to and from the local Toyota dealer.

Either Toyota wants the Prime to be a city run-around vehicle (in that scenario why the need to maximize luggage space)
or a high milage travel vehicle is the design objective ..... in that scenario .... why spend the extra money for a plug-in?

IF the Prius looked like the Prime .... my choice would be too forget the extra cost for 25 miles, and just buy a Prius.

Is is possible that might be why sales are lagging?

jb in NE said " I would expect the next generation to have longer EV range"
I hope I can wait that long.

 

The reason I purchased the Prime is that it is both of these things in one car. Half my driving is around town, half is road trips.

 

For those of us living rather rural.....it is still a bargain cost/mile. It is 30 mi. plus to any decent shopping for us. Nonetheless it is very nice to do a round trip on less than a gal. of gas & $1.25 of electric! None of the EV's would currently really work for us, as we make some longer day trips w/o easily accessible charging. A PHEV is a good compromise & value to many even though the EV range is rather small. Cost at time of purchase was almost same as the standard Prius, so why not get the plug-in version?