XLE AWD-e VS Limited Prime

Right now I have a 2020 Corolla XLE but unfortunately I seem to have gotten a dud and it has been in the shop for almost 2 months since I got it back in June. I really like Toyota and I'm sure I just got unlucky.

There is no way that I'm going to keep that Corolla but despite the problems I still really like Toyota so now I'm thinking about replacing it with a Prius.

I was originally seriously considering a Prius but ended up going with the Corolla because of it's more modern tech (Apple CarPlay, Saftey Sense 2.0, etc.) but now that the 2020s have CarPlay and after driving the Corolla for a while I can tell you that Safety Sense 2.0 is pretty gimmicky. The Prius is now looking like the best choice.

My main hangup however is that I can't decide between the AWD-e and the Prime. Right now I'm leaning towards the AWD-e for a few reasons. First is that it looks like there are VERY few Primes in the entire South East Toyota region there are only 2 available in Atlanta right now and they are both XLEs There are a bunch in Tennessee and a few in Florida but I really don't want to drive hundreds of miles to buy a car. AWD-es on the other hand are much easier to come by. The second reason I am leaning toward the AWD-e is I actually really like having AWD. I like being able to take the car crappy on dirt roads or on road trips to colder places and having AWD makes that a lot easier. I don't like however that you can't get the Limited trim in AWD as I would really like to have the big screen, built in navigation, and upgraded audio.

For those of you with Priuses do you think the AWD-e is worth giving up the Limited features? And also is it worth giving up AWD for the Prime assuming I can even find one?

 

Ideally I would like to get the Prime but like I said they seem to be very hard to come by. If I can find a Prime I will almost certanily go with it.

I technically don't need AWD or snow tires as I live in Atlanta and we get snow maybe once a year but it is something nice to have and if I'm not going to get a Prime I figured I might as well get the AWD version if the the Limited features aren't anything special.

EDIT: Oh and as far as the downgrade from TSS 2.0 to TSS P it seems like the only missing features are Lane Trace (which is nice), Road Sign Assist (which is pointless), and additional pedestrian/bicyclist detection (which isn't really something I would miss since it's something you don't really see in day to day use.)

 

I would be able to make excellent use of the plug in features. I drive almost exactly 25 miles a day on average so I would almost never need to use gas at all.

As far as the problems with the Corolla go it's a pretty long story. It started back in March. I originally wanted to get the Corolla XLE sedan since it is the only Corolla trim available with SoftTex but the dealerships in my area didn't have any in stock yet. They did however have XSE hatchbacks which have partial leather/partial cloth seating.

They were reluctant to negotiate on the price of the XLE sedan but since they had the XSE hatchback on the lot they had no problem negotiating and they agreed to throw in an aftermarket leather installation which I agreed to do.

Long story short they were unable to install the leather correctly and ended up breaking the front drivers seat. Because of the problems with the leather seat installation the dealership agreed to trade me 1:1 for the XLE sedan I originally wanted. This was in June by this point and unfortunately there were still no XLE sedans in my state.

The dealership was able to locate one in Florida and they agreed to get it for me however for some reason they decided to drive it 400 miles from Florida to Atlanta instead of shipping it and it got a few small rock chips and scratches on the trip.

In addition to the road damage the front bumper was loose and misaligned and the dealership installed tint was poorly done. I noticed these problems before I agreed to the trade and ordinarily I would never have taken it but I was concerned that I would be stuck with the broken hatchback with the messed up seats so I took the XLE home.

I had paid for a number of accessories on the hatchback and the dealership agreed to install the same accessories on the new car so I brought it back a week after I picked it up to have the accessories installed and the dealer installed tint removed. Also I learned in that week that the dealership had installed an aftermarket Kahu GPS system that I was not made aware of before signing for the sedan. They also agreed to remove the GPS system.

After driving the car for a few days I realized that the front drivers seat softex cover had come loose and that most of the accessories were improperly installed. I took the car back to the dealership and they agreed to remove the accessories and give me a refund at this point they also fixed the drivers seat.

I drove the car for a month or so after that but in that time a number of other issues came up. First the front bumper came loose again, then the softex on the drivers seat also came loose again, next I noticed a large number of rattles develop as well as several loose and damaged interior panels, finally I realized that rear defrost lines were messed up presumably from the tint removal. All of these issues were minor so I decided to wait till the 6 month service to have them dealt with.

But then it started having problems starting. I would put my foot on the break, press the start button, the engine would try to turn over but then fail to start and the dashboard lit up with warning lights. This happened 5 or 6 times in a two week period so I decided to take it in early and have the other issues fixed at the same time.

This was more than a month ago and as of today the car is currently still at the dealership. I talked to them earlier this week and they have so far been unable to figure out or replicate the starter problem and apparently Toyota considers the loose bumper to be normal. I checked about 20 or 30 2020 Corollas on the lot with the service manager and about half have loose front bumpers. In my opinion the correct term is probably acceptable not normal. And as for the rear window it is still on backorder although the service manager did expect for it to be in stock today so if I'm lucky I might get the car back this week albeit still with a bunch of issues.

In addition to the various factory defects and dealership mistakes the Corolla itself has a number of quality issues which I guess is unsurprising for such a cheap car but still some of the problems are ridiculous. The first and most annoying quality problem is that even the base stereo let alone the upgraded stereo rattles the inside of the car like crazy. If you play any song with even a little bass it sounds like the car is going to fall apart (minor exaggeration). Also another example of the cheapness of the interior is the plastic bezels on the steering wheel. The plastic is so soft you can permanently scratch it with your fingernails.

Overall the despite their incompetence the dealership has been very good about all the problems. They haven't argued with me at all and they have been very helpful so I would really like to give them another chance to get it right. I'm pretty sure the car does officially qualify as a lemon at this point but if the dealership is willing to work with me on trading for another car I would rather go that route. If they won't be willing to work with me then I will be forced to file a lemon claim. Either way there is no way that I'm going to keep that Corolla.

 

Yeah. I've been reading a lot on these forums and it looks like the Prius has a lot of various issues. It makes me think that Toyota's quality control isn't nearly at the level it used to be at.

Both my first and second cars were Toyota products. I had a 1996 4Runner and a 1999 Lexus GS and both of them had far better fit and finish than the Corolla. I also had 2 BMWs a 2013 3 Series and a 2016 X1 and again both of those had far better fit and finish although the 3 Series did have a lot of rattles. The X1 was perfect as far as fit and finish but it needed a new engine at only 3000 miles thus the reason for going back to Toyota.

I know that the Corolla is a cheap car and I could get over the rattles and other minor cosmetic issues but the starter problem is very concerning since the only real reason to get a Corolla is for the reliability.

I've been researching plenty of other brands and it seems like most cars these days aren't particularly well built in the lower price points.

 

Yeah high repair costs make me nervous. I was just looking at the parts cost for the 11” screen for example and it’s over $6000 retail. Honestly though it seems like all cars are more expensive these days even the Corolla has ridiculously high parts costs for the 12th gen.

 

Yeah I’m strongly leaning towards the Prime. Really the only issue will be finding one. I already talked to my dealership and they are looking for one.

The main reason my second choice is the AWD is because I like to fully load my cars. For example my Corolla has all the options and it’s msrp was around $27000 before taxes. People ask why not get a Camry for that price and the reason is that in order to get everything that’s in my Corolla in the Camry you would have to spend around $33000 and it still wouldn’t be fully loaded. A loaded Camry is almost $40000. The reason I like to fully load my cars is because if I don’t I always feel like I’m missing out on something for as long as I own the car. The AWD Prius has more tech and features than my Corolla already and since it isn’t available in the Limited trim it allows me to get a fully loaded car for a slight discount over the Limited.

 

Yeah that reverse lights thing is weird. I wonder why they didn't make all the lights in the car LED if only for the energy savings.

 

I wonder what their excuse was for the regular Prius.

 

I'm honestly surprised they didn't just do one design instead of two. The prime looks so much nicer than the regular.