Is the 3-door SKS only available with Pkg IV?

After driving the Prius for the last two months, the one comment my wife had was, "Gee, it's sure nice not having to fish for keys to open the door." 53 MPG on the tank, fuel efficiency up the wazoo, and that's what counts! Well, I like that feature as well. I also appreciate the rear camera, although in the dead of winter using it is like looking at clouds from 30,000 feet.

Like the OP, I wondered which package had the enhanced SKS. I printed out every conceivable option from the configurator on ebrochures, and still had to go back to the Toyota site to find out it's Package IV (the ebrochures only list 3-door SKS as footnote 10 but that footnote number doesn't appear anywhere in the brochure's product description). Add Nav to get the camera back.

I'd love to be a 2 Prius family, but at $28,500 it may have to wait another few years!

Jim

 

I think it will be relatively expensive to add an aftermarket back-up camera, mainly because there's no longer a screen in the 2010 Prius unless you get the Navigation/Back-up Camera combo package. And I think it'll cost a lot to change the 1-door SKS to 3-door SKS for obvious reasons.

As to that $575 difference between package #1 and package #2, be aware that that was only for the 2008-2009 Prius; and that it is difficult to do apples to apples cost comparisons of the back-up camera and 3-door SKS because Toyota changed the standard equipment and option package configurations in 2006, 2007 and 2008. But yes, beginning with 2006, the back-up camera and 3-door SKS were always available in a relatively low option package number -- either option package #1 or #2.

 

If the wiring is in place (in all models) for the 3-Door SKS....and that's a big "if", it would be relatively easy to pick up 2 additional smartkey antennae and pop them in the passenger door & hatch area. It would not be surprising to me to learn that the wiring is in place....many manufacturers do that sort of thing for simplifying assembly...wire's cheap & retro-fitting is labor-intensive.

I plan to get a Package 3 and add on the 3-Door SKS & Homelink rearview mirror (the only things I want from the Package 4, but not nearly worth the $2800 for the package jump). Just not sure I will be able to.....I was able to add Homelink mirror at the dealer on my '06.

 

If the wiring is there, here is an antenna selling on ebay...

TOYOTA PRIUS 2004-2008 REAR ANTENNA SMART KEY LIFTGATE:eBay Motors (item 160257806767 end time May-30-09 07:28:20 PDT)

Don't know if an older model antenna will work, but for $82 it may be worth trying..

 

Yes and NO.

Yes the 3 door is only available on the 10 Prius IV and V but NO that's the one of the reasons why the 10 Prius II and III are lower in MSRP by $1500 than the 09's!!!!

Think about it.

 

I think that they are positioning a MCE addition of the backup camera in the rear view mirror a la the Tacoma. By not offering it at launch they have additional options that can be added to the 2013 model.

 

I believe that I can see Toyota's logic here because your wife's comment about not having to fish for keys in her bag still holds perfectly true....if she is the driver.

With 1-door SKS there is no need for fishing around - for the driver. The driver walks up, touches the handle, gets in and goes. If more people are going to be entering the vehicle then there's always the toggle on the door which is how most people open the other doors anyway.

The one minor inconvenience I see is that one can't simply walk up to the hatch and open it with only one door SKS. This may require unlocking the hatch from the driver's door toggle switch. I've got all my golf gear in the hatch all the time and it would be a very minor detour to open the driver's door first then the hatch.

It may also be possible to open all 5 doors from the driver's door SKS as many do right now.

 

Since I'm a Prius newbie here I'm going to ask the stupid question. Since the SKS only works on the Driver side door on II+III how does the Hatch/Trunk open? Do I have to use the key?