Decision to Make

I own a 2015 Prius with close to 120,000 miles on it. It's been a good, reliable car and I've averaged about 50 mpg over the life of the car. I decided that 2022 would be the year to trade it in and get a new one. As a younger man, I used to beat cars into the ground and would be unhappy if I did not get close to 200,000 miles on a car. But I am leery to take that approach with a hybrid because of the potential high cost if I have to replace the battery. Besides, as I get older, the safety features that are now standard on the new cars are very attractive to me.

I visited a Toyota dealer in January. As all of you know, no one has any inventory of new cars these days, so I paid a deposit on a 2022 Prius-XLE. I wanted the advanced tech package and I wanted a blue car. A few days later they initiated the "allocation" process and have been giving me weekly updates. I told them I wanted to take delivery in April. I do not want it sooner as I will be driving into a large city for a few days at the end of March and would rather not take a brand new car. But I do want it in time to break it in and take it on a long trip in June.

I was informed a few days ago that there was a problem getting a car in my desired timeframe that matches my specs. Today the dealer told me that they could get me a 2022 Prius-XLE AWD. The car is already made and is sitting at a port. It was destined for another dealership but my dealership was able to get the car redirected for me if I want it. The car is scheduled to arrive at my dealership in mid-March and they will hold it for me until the beginning of April if I want it. The car is not blue - it is sea-glass pearl, which does not thrill me but I can live with it.

The AWD car will cost me an extra $1000 and the estimated mpg will be less by 3, so I would pay more for fuel over the life of the car. Being retired now, I do not have to drive to work in the snow any more, so the AWD, while not worthless, is of minimal benefit to me.

So when I get to see the car in a few weeks, I can a) accept the car and they will hold it for me until next month, b) refuse the car, keep my deposit in place and hold out for Toyota to make the exact car I want, or c) get my deposit back, walk away, and consider other hybrids. They are offering me $10,500 for my existing Prius for a trade, which I think is a good offer given some minor body damage. I am inclined to accept the AWD Prius so I can immediately take advantage of all the newer safety features, so I will have a new car for my trip in June, and so I can take advantage of their good trade offer. However, I will have to pay more for the car and it will cost me more to operate it than a Prius without AWD.

I should also mention that I like the hatchback design of the Prius, which is not available in say, the Honda hybrid models.

Any opinions, especially about the AWD question?

 

Thanks for all the replies. The salesman told me today that another car may be coming into the picture - a blue one (yay) which will be available in May (acceptable) but he does not know yet whether it is an AWD. He tells me that 90% of the Priuses being made are AWD because they have been received so well. He did confirm that the AWD has a smaller gas tank - he will check into the exact number. He will also check into the spare tire issue and also any compromises on the interior quality. So far the only thing we can ascertain is that the FWD has an 8-way power adjustable driver's seat while the AWD has a 6-way adjustable driver's seat (non-power). The FWD has 17" wheels and the AWD has 15" wheels (which I would prefer - cheaper tires, and probably helps with mpg). Also, the FWD has a lithium ion traction battery while the AWD has a sealed nickel-metal hydride traction battery (I don't know whether to care or not).

I had an amazing phone call with my insurance agent. I wanted to find out if there was a difference in insurance cost between the two models (there isn't) and how much my insurance would go up when I trade my 2015 for a 2022. It turns out my premium will DECREASE by about $100/year when I get the 2022. We surmise it is because of the improved safety features in all new cars compared to what the 2015 has.

I performed a calculation on what I would pay extra for fuel with the AWD. If I drive 15,000 miles per year and get 49 mpg average instead of 52, I would have to buy an additional 18 gallons of fuel per year. Even at $4/gal, that is only $72 /year. That has to be balanced against likely higher maintenance costs in the near term with the 2015 (I will need new tires much sooner for one thing - $$$).

The lack of a spare tire bothers me a little, although my 2015 does not have one and it's never been a problem for me. When did the Prius start coming with a spare tire? Maybe I can buy one and just keep it in the back. The smaller gas tank would be a pain if it is too much smaller. The higher cruising range is one of the main pluses with a Prius vs. other cars I've owned.

Still, the 2022 has some wonderful features that I am eager to take advantage of ASAP. I'll keep chewing on it.

 

Here is a good news update. The blue Prius coming available in May turns out to be an XLE - no AWD! I have decided to put my name on that car. The car was made the last week in Feb. and is on its way from Japan to the U.S. It is due at my dealer on May 10. I would have preferred April but I can live with May. I just want to get used to the car before we take it on a long trip in mid-June. My gamble is that the car will indeed arrive when it is supposed to or not too much later. The only bad thing is that the car I am now getting does not have the advanced technology package. I hear the head-up display is nice, and the adaptive front lighting system sounds worth having. I will accept that compromise.

The car has the premium convenience package which includes a moonroof. I would not ask for that but I guess it will be nice to have. One interesting thing I found out is that the standard XLE without AWD comes with 17" wheels but if you get the convenience package, you get 15" wheels. The salesman thinks that is to help with mpg, since the moonroof adds weight and hurts the aerodynamic characteristics of the car slightly.

I am looking into purchasing a donut spare tire since the car will not come with one. The car will come with a "fix-it kit". Any opinions of how well these kits work?