Hey guys, Since there's financing deals on the 2010 and the potential to even find a low mileage 2010 used versus buying a 2011, can anyone explain to me what's different between the two years of any importance. My understanding is the interiors are the same, but I'm more curious to know if there's any technology differences between the two that would make me steer more towards the newer model, for instance. Thanks for the help, Chris
Best wishes researching Prius. You can go to Edmunds.com (new car pricing) and do a model year comparison between the 2010 and 2011 Prius. Happy Motoring, Tom
no tech differences, but i think they cut a lot of corners on the 10 that had to be fixed and hopefully are improved on the 11.
Doubtful, those improvements don't usually come until mid model refreshments. 2010 is the same as 2011. Those updates and fixes have already been made in MY10. The USB port, safety connect, brake update were already done when I got mine in July 2010. The only update that could happen is the addition of EnTune.
i would hope that they improved some of the interior materials and possibly construction design that were inferior to the gen II. perhaps the late model 10's were already improved?
Though admittedly I'm prejudiced (maybe more hopeful) because I've got an '11, I can't imagine that the only thing that changed was that during a workday sometimes in early December, a clerk from the Japanese front office walked into the Prius factory, goes over to the end of the assembly line, plops down a giant stack of 2011 window stickers, and tells the window sticker stickey guy: 'When you run out of 2010 stickers, start putting these on will ya?'
Well no, of course that's not what happened... He also had a stack of 'two' 'three' 'four' and 'five' badges and inner driver's door sticky things with '2011' on them and told the guy to put those on the appropriate cars as well! All very complicated, you see. :~P
Toyota in the UK have been claiming some build quality improvements in the 2011 MY, to address the oft-reported dash rattles of the 2010.
Let me tell you, dash rattles and squeaks won't be fixed. They never are. It's a Toyota. I agree with bisco on this one. The 2010 model had a lot of quality issues with the interior. Some things were worse than the Gen II. The 2011 should be improved in a subtle way. I'm not talking about features or even aesthetics. These will likely be changes that you won't see. Maybe a few extra bolts here and there, or a different plastic material used here or there.
Thanks...leaning towards 2011, because of the used ones I'm seeing, there's not much price difference. Chris
i have been thinking gen III for a while and if i pull the trigger instead of waiting for a phev, i probably will go with an 11 if they prove to be better quality than 10. even for a few extra thousand. then again, i doubt the 10's will be around too much longer.
Check the sticky thread for a thorough discussion of this issue: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-main-forum/82748-my11-prius.html
(lol) You may be pretty close to the truth with that. I know in the American auto industry some years the only change from one year to another was the VIN's 10th digit which is the model year.
same here. wouldn't it be strange if people started buying the elevens and left the tens on the lot? i suppose the discounts will keep getting deeper as the cars get older. still, i'm not thrilled with buying a prius with one year old batteries off the lot. doesn't really seem 'new'.
No Toyota is going to sit on a dealer's lot for a year. Ask the dealer for a copy of the Certificate of Origin to get an idea of the build date.
When I bought back in August of 2010, i got the same story from a couple dealers in that they over-ordered expecting gas to go up over the summer, and it really didn't. I went to three dealers that had over 15 prii on the lot each, which used to be unheard of around here.
