Just wondering what folks here think about the differences between the Prime XLE and the Limited. I realize there's about a $4000 difference in price but wondering if the extra cost for ICS, IPA (not the beer), blind spot monitor, and rear cross traffic alert are worth the extra money. In 2014 I bought the Prius 4 and paid a premium for the fancy-pants moon roof and solar powered air system among other things and realized I could have save a few grand without them. Curious as to whether the Limited's extra "safety" features are worth the money. My current 2014 Prius has 45,000 miles on it, so I don't drive much, but would really like some of the newer safety features, and it seems like the XLE has most of them. Would appreciate others' thoughts. Thanks!
You will probably find both sides of opinions on the features offered on different trims and costs. You can check older threads on Advanced vs Premium to gauge what others think. Premium vs Advanced | PriusChat I had 2017 Premium. I was never interested in any of the safety and convenience features Advanced model offered at the price difference then. I was going with the base Plus trim then, but I ended up with Premium because the local dealer did not have Plus and they offered me the price better than the quote I had on Plus model from a different dealer. However, after driving two years, it became apparent, I really did not like Softex seat material and 11.6-inch large dispaly, two main features that distinguish the base Plus (now LE) and other two trims. I ended up trading in my 2017 Premium to 2020 LE almost at no cost. I could not be happier with the exchange. One caveat is that for pre-2019 PRIME, only Advanced trim offered Safety Connect and Remote App to control charging and climate control from the smartphone, but for 2020 trims, all three now offers Safety Connect and none of the trims have Remote functionality, making the Limited trim not so attractive as before.
Thanks for the link to the thread, and thanks for you perspective. I'm leaning towards more safety features only because I'm older, and the reality is reaction time isn't as sharp. I'm figuring every little bit helps. However, after my experience with the Prius 4 I don't want to over pay for stuff that ends up being superfluous.
Cross traffic, BSM, and HUD would have really been nice. But it just wasn't worth the extra four grand to me. It sounds like it might be worth it to you. And next time I buy a car, it might be worth it to me. But maybe by then it'll be standard equipment.
The thing about BSM, cross traffic, etc. is that Toyota even publishes a light "disclaimer" stating that in the end the driver is the one that should pay attention and not depend 100% on some of these features. I have HUD in my current Prius and the only think I found it useful was I could see where the turns were when using GPS, the rest of it wasn't that useful to me.
I had the same debate and ended up going with the Limited. My reasoning was, if the safety features prevent a single wreck during the many years I plan to keep the vehicle, they have paid for themselves. However, now that I have owned the vehicle for about a month, the convenience factor is well worth it too. The heads up display is great, particularly when navigating, and I am obsessed with watching my electric range estimator and the acceleration meter thing. Not having to take my eyes off the road to look to the center display gauges for that info really does keep me safer I think. Blind spot monitoring is also really helpful because otherwise you take your eyes off the road in front of you to turn and check your blind spot... doing so almost got me in a bad wreck in my older vehicle when traffic in front of me came to a sudden stop because of a city bus. The RCTA works great too, I am amazed at how far ahead it is able to warn me when I am backing out of my garage and the oncoming car is still way down the street. It is also super helpful when backing out in parking lots. I have not really used all the parking assist features yet, but the sensors make it possible to get my car perfectly placed in my jam-packed garage where it barely fits. So overall, I am happy I splurged for the Limited.
Of course Toyota's lawyers write a disclaimer. That is expected in these times. I enjoy the BSM as it sees cars that I cannot see with the side view mirror. The rear cross traffic alert has saved me a few times when backing out of the Costco parking lot with a large SUV on either side of me. It inspires confidence and my next new car will have it. I use the HUD every time I drive mainly because I have an instant readout of the remaining EV mileage. I am pleased that I bought the Advanced model.
Based upon our 2017 “Advanced” (roughly the equivalent of the “Limited,” I find the ICS and HUD alone to really be worth it! I personally have not found Sirius XM to be worth $22/month ($5 maybe). I think I’ve heard that the 2020 Limited does not have remote climate? I find that quite useful here in the Texas heat.
Just as a baseball pitcher backs up the 1st or 3rd baseman on infield plays, the BSM and cross traffic equipment back up the driver of a car. It's a sad sign of the times that anyone is dumb enough to use them instead of their own eyes.
I went for the Advanced trim mostly because I wanted the rear view mirror garage door opener function, and was annoyed that it was available only with the highest trim. But I have to back out of my garage onto a busy street with perpendicularly parked cars blocking my view on both sides, so I would never give up the cross traffic monitor now!
I would go with the Limited. The features are worth the extra cost. I had a 2010,2015 Persona and the 2017 is the best by far. IMO
I would imagine ICS is worth the cost of admission alone - 12 sonar sensors around the car and automatic low-speed (<6mph) braking should help in parking lot situations and avoid that costly bumper ding (especially since the corners of the Prime have the indicators and they stick out...) However, the downside of course is that the more stuff you add, the more cost it will be to replace if someone else hits you. And you have to ensure the radar for BSM/RCTA and the sonar sensors are correctly adjusted, otherwise you'll get an annoying error message on the dash that can't be deleted (along with a chime).
Oscar, as Salamander_King says you will find both sides of the opinion here. I looked and debated for quite a while before I decided I would purchase the Advanced model. Mine is a 2018 Advanced, I do not know how they break out the options now for the XLE VS Limited. I like the HUD and the rain sensing wipers in the advanced. Blind spot monitor and cross traffic alert are nice for parking lots when you are boxed in between 2 tall vehicles and there is no hope of seeing what is coming from the side. Here in CA I think minimum speed in parking lots is 30 mph. I use the heated steering wheel. I never thought I would say that, but on cold mornings (I know its California not South Dakota) instead of using the heater I go cheap and have on warm clothes and use the steering wheel heater to keep the fingers warm. I do not really like the large display console. I would rather have the smaller display and buttons for control of the AC/Heater. I have not tried using the automatic parallel parking feature as we don't have many places in town to use it. I am disappointed in the range of the Homelink mirror. I had plans to use this as we have 3 different garage doors and 1 remote gate, but the range on it sucks. The remote dimming rearview mirror is helpful as every vehicle in CA is higher than the Prius, and everyone with older vehicles seems to be using HID bulbs in cars never designed for them. Given a choice I would buy what I have again.
2017. Sorry, Jerry but my eyes cannot see around a corner or through a large vehicle parked next to me. And yes, there really is a blind spot in the lane next to you as you go down the freeway. So if you think I am dumb for using this technology, so be it.
I have the 2017 advanced. The safety features have saved me from an accident twice so far. Still loving my prime.
It’s all about “adding 9s” to the percent-safety of your driving. The vast majority of the time, my Advanced’s safety features see nothing that I don’t also see, but every once in a rare while, they do. Rear cross-traffic monitor is an exception: if I’m parked between two tall cars or SUVs, it sometimes sees things that I can’t possibly see, even with the backup camera. Also, I’m not exactly getting any younger . . My eyes and ears are still doing fine, but they’re not exactly getting any sharper with age, so I for one really appreciate the proverbial “extra pair of eyes” monitoring the situation. They also help me to drive a little more relaxedly and confidently, which if anything improves my driving — makes it just a little bit more calmly objective, and just a little bit less panicky. Plus, it’s all a little less stressful. Now, that being said though, the blind-spot monitors on the outside rear-view mirrors don’t work ideally well: Those LEDs should be about three, maybe even four, times the brightness they currently are, and there needs to be a warning beeper if I’m turning into somebody. As it is, I rarely even notice them unless I explicitly, habitually, and consciously look at them. (This, on my 2017; I don’t know whether anything has improved since then.)
WHAT!!?? Why would you think I think you're dumb for taking advantage of a secondary system. I Never accused you of using it as a primary system. It covers gaps and lapses. As @mr88cet said, "It’s all about “adding 9s” to the percent-safety of your driving." However, if you're relying on the technology 100% and not even bothering to look, then, yeah, that's a dumb thing to do. The technology is the reserve chute, the safety cable on the zip line, or the 2nd clip on the climbing harness. Having both and not using both is taking an unnecessary risk. You've displayed a lot of common sense on this forum and I never thought for a second that you left it at home when you got in the car and can't imagine why you thought I was accusing you of it. Letting equipment see what your eyes can't see is not using it instead of your eyes. It augments your eyes.
Appreciate the responses here to my query. Seems that the extra cost of going up to the fancier model is worth it relative to the safety it can provide. Makes sense that if you only use the feature once and it saves totaling your care, or yourself, it's worth the while. I'll have to reassess my initial thinking and seriously consider going to the Limited.
