Prius C 2012 owner eyeing the 2023 Prime

Apologies, I wasn't sure if there was any group thread for general discussion of prospective new owners.

Anyway, I'm coming from a 2012 C that has been my first car that I've absolutely loved, but I'm getting acutely aware that expensive repairs could be on the horizon after over a decade and I'm already probably living risky with the wait times for new vehicles.

I'm no real gearhead or anything, but I've loved having an efficient, eco friendly vehicle, and wanted to make sure my next one continued in that direction. I'd initially been looking at the standard 2023 Prius, but with local rebates it sounds like a base level SE Prime can be had for $2k more (and I'm not totally doing it in strictly in service of minimum cost of ownership - I just enjoy the concept of efficient driving).

The world of full EV still sounds kinda intimidating in terms of figuring out charging/planning for range etc, and the Prime feels like a good intermediate step, especially for a city dweller like me (Toronto ON). My condo building has some shared charging stalls that I can make use of, as well I'm hoping to familiarize myself with whatever charging infrastructure exists in the coming years).

But generally are there any huge gotchas I'm fundamentally overlooking in considering a Prime, as an existing hybrid owner who wants to dabble a bit more in EV driving?

Thanks!

 

wow thanks for all the feedback!

i'm definitely not a high mileage driver. i've probably racked up around 150,000 km in total, but i did hear the hybrid battery needing replacement does become more of an issue after a decade of use.

i did test drive the 2023 model the other day and there wasn't anything that jumped out at me as uncomfortable or unpleasant. But I do love the "feel" of the smaller C, its just a shame they discontinued in north america.

ah thats a good thing to note. cursory check seems to suggest even the regular prius isn't shipping with one on most trims? i mostly will be in the city or areas accessible for assistance if i have issues, so here's hoping it'd be a manageable limitation.

Also totally agree on the note about upgrading when maintenance exceeds payments on a new vehicle. That had sorta been my thinking previously, but yeah the incredibly long wait times (and the fact that i just had to do a $1200 car computer replacement) has made me really feel like its best to just start the ball rolling sooner than later.

 

haha totally, my c is has fit into so many tiny parking spots i'll really miss that. i took the new prius for a test drive, and my impression was... "i really like it, i just wish it was a bit smaller." but even corollas are bigger than it by a smidge, so i figure i just have to adapt.

 

Quick follow up question, although its more of a dealership question, maybe. As I mentioned I'm in Toronto ON. Been calling around to dealers in the GTA and getting quoted 12-18 months wait. I got my current vehicle a couple hours north of the city from a dealer my family has gone to for several vehicles. That dealer is claiming a 3+ year wait and that anyone saying any less is lying. I mean it still doesn't provide much advantage for me to put an order in up north, other than them acting like they're the only dealer I can trust.

Does anyone know if there in fact is better allocations for major city centres or if its all the same wait list? Or if there's anyone who is around my area who can speak to actual wait time experiences (probably a more difficult ask since everything seems to be in a perpetual state of flux)

Thanks!

(ps the Prime really has grown on me the more i think about it, this availability question is really my last major hurdle)