I love my III, but wish I would have got the IV for the leather seats. The cloth seats get dirty very easily and wrinkle which makes them look like they are worn and dirty. I hate to think about what my seats will look like after a few years of wear.
Only if you think the features are worth your money. The major things would be leather-trimmed interior with heated front seats and power driver's lumbar support as well as 3-dr SKS (as opposed to just the driver's door). The other items are auto-dimming mirror w/ Homelink, water-repellent front door glass, plasmacluster ionizer filter and front footwell lighting.
The 4 for sure. You won't regret it. In the winter you can keep the heat off and turn the heated seats on!
V. It's the rarest. I'm looking forward to having all of the V.'s features in the PHEV version. C'mon Toyota ... don't you dare disappoint me now. .
when we went to the dealer, we were dead set on a two or three and ended up with a four. it's hard to make decisions on paper. You need to see and sit on them for your self. it was a No brainer for us, the only metallic blue on the lot was a Four. and a light gray/birch leather looked so good on it. try to get a Navi as well. i couldn't care less for the solar panels.
If a car doesn't have cooled / ventilated leather seats, I'll opt for cloth instead. That's why I restricted my search to Twos and Threes. That said, the perforated leather in the Prius would probably be a bit cooler than the solid leather I had in my Outback. Another issue I have with some leather seats is that only the center portion is leather while the side bolsters, both bottom and back, are vinyl for durability. With narrow seats and a, um, somewhat wide body, those hot bolsters are pushed up against you. This was another complaint I had with the Outback.
I'll add my 2 cent... I wanted a IV, but just couldn't justify the added $2K+ they wanted for the IV. I bought a III w/Nav and added Clazzio Leather Seat Covers ($390), seat heaters ($99), and the AutoDim HomeLink Mirror ($55). I had the dealership program my door locks so all doors and the hatch unlock when I touch the driver's door (free), and I put rain-x on the windows ($2.99)! I also added DRLs ($39), Fog Lights ($149), a rear bumper protector ($59) and lower door accents ($99). So I'm probably still $1K ahead of the game, and to the casual observer, there's really no way to tell I have a III and not a IV without running the VIN! Yea, all that took time, but it made it mine!
It just depends on what you want. I choose the IV since wanted the leather and wanted a leather wrapped steering wheel. Also, the leather that comes from the factory actually has more leather content than the aftermarket kits.
I went with the 2 simply because I'm one of those animal rights hippies and don't do leather. Although I have to say, the cloth seats aren't that great. I heard for 2012 it will be a synthetic type leather/suede in the upper models.
SofTex is synthetic leather and there's no suede. It's quite a nice material actually. wow. Just when you think they couldn't cut corners any more. I'm used to having the bolsters in leather (all of our Toyotas that had leather included the bolsters as well as my smart fortwo). Only the sides and seatbacks were vinyl (although there was more synthetic leather in the Camry than straight out vinyl like it is on the Prius). What I don't understand is how come they have the leather piece in the rear seat go all the way to the floor for the outboard passengers and not cut it off at the edge like they usually do? Then they could spend the money and make the top of the front seatbacks synthetic so it doesn't look so cheap and shiny.
Is softex in all the 2012s or only the upper? Hoping I won't regret buying my 2011 and not waiting. I love it- but the seats leave something to be desired.
I like the cloth seats as opposed to the leather. The auto dimming mirror would be nice. I miss that. The other stuff I could live without. But when I do it over again I will get the V for all the toys. But then you can't get the V with the solar package. I love my solar package. Makes the car look totally different.
I opted for the III instead of the IV mainly due to the fact that I really think it's safer to have only one door open when you approach the car. A leather wrapped steering wheel would be nice, but I don't really like leather seats just because I tend to throw things around and if I scratched my seats I'd be sad I definitely recommend the solar package though. I love how it looks!
No, just the Four and Five. Cloth is still standard. You can always buy the Canadian model Our Tech Pack has the SR and AT but you lose the LED headlights, LKA, the 17" alloys and fogs. The driver's door unlocks by default even with 3-dr SKS. Global unlock happens if you press the UNLOCK button twice on your key fob or touch the passenger side handle or open the rear hatch.
The PVC side panels on the Clazzio seat covers are hard to distinguish from the leather inserts in the center, and they aren't as hot as I expected them to be. Clazzio makes a set of all PVC covers that are perferated in the center just like the leather covers, they are available through TRDSparks.com (where I got mine), and I don't believe any animals were injured in the making of those covers! May be an option for you instead of the cloth...
The cloth seats in my 2004 look like new after 7 years. I don't know if they're still using the same cloth. I like the cloth in my Prius much more than the leather in my Tesla. (I didn't have a choice in the Tesla. I'd have chosen cloth if it had been available when I ordered.) On my 2004, touching the inside of the driver's side door handle opens only that door. Touching the passenger side door handle opens all doors. This is the default but is programmable. I cannot comment on any of the other points raised, other than to agree with those who've said you need to test drive both versions to decide between them.
We specifically looked for and bought our IV w/o Nav. Would have liked the solar roof but was not available w/o it. We like all the upgrades from a III and in my opinion the leather seats in the Prius and our 09 RAV4 tend to be firmer than the cloth seats.
Wow for $269 that seems like a really good deal. Are they more comfortable- it says it has memory foam- does it make a difference on long rides? Easy to install and doesn't slip off?
