I'm considering buying a used 2009 Prius Hybrid 1.5P H5 ECVT (with 59k on the clock), however am wondering whether the fact that we only use a car 1-2x per week to run around town will be an issue. (Town in Wellington, New Zealand - very hilly.) Also, how much difference is there between the 2009 and 2010 models? Are both of the same generation? Is it worth me waiting a year until the 2010 models are available as used cars? Any advice?
I can't speak to the model year numbering in New Zeland but the 3rd gens (2010+) in the US have a 1.8 L engine and a LOT of differences from the 2nd gen (04-09 model years). See posts by me, evpv and Tideland at Prius versions | PriusChat. I'm confused by your statement "Is it worth me waiting a year until the 2010 models are available as used cars?" Here were can find 2011 Priuses used and I'm sure used 2012s exist even though they just became available at the beginning of this year.
Hey, thanks for referring me to your previous posts - very helpful. Re my statement about waiting - there are very few used Priuses available here through the dealers, so my question was more about waiting until some used 2010 models become available.
I agree that the 2010 is worth the wait, but the '09 is still a very fine car. We have the same problem here in Aussie with lack of used Priuses. They are not as popular as in the US. Also don't forget that NZ has only about 3 million people.
My 2 cents: buy the last model year of gen 2 Prius (US model year 2009) and skip the first model year of gen 3 (US model year 2010). The reason is that the former has almost all bugs flushed out and fixed, while the latter introduces many new features and inevitably some more new bugs.
I have an 09 gen 2 and every time I overtake a gen 3 I look at it and think; if only. Having said that I ave never driven a gen 3.
This may be a silly question, but I'll ask it anyway... In terms of generations, how does the 2012 Prius C relate the the second and third generation models (2009 Prius Hybrid 1.5P H5 and 2010 Prius Hybrid 1.8)? I have noticed that the 2012 Prius C's with only 3000 km on the clock are of a similar price over here (NZ) to the used 2010 Prius hybrids, and am wondering why the 2012 C's are cheap OR the 2010 models are holding their value. Any thoughts gratefully received.
The 2012 Prius c is the first of its generation. In the US, 04-09 Prius was 2nd gen (aka NHW20) and 2010+ liftbacks were 3rd gen (aka ZVW30). 01-03 models were first gen (NHW11) and were sedans, not hatchbacks. The US never got the NHW10. It was JDM only but some have ended up in countries were they drive on the left side of the road. http://john1701a.com/prius/images/Prius-Generations.png covers the Prius when there was only a single family member. Original = NHW10, Classic = NHW11, Iconic = NHW20 and 2010 = ZVW30. 2012 Prius c is starts at a much cheaper price than the 2012 Prius liftback. See The Toyota Prius c models and prices vs The 3rd Generation Toyota Prius Hybrid models and prices. Toyota Vehicles : Toyota Announces Prices for 2010 Prius / Toyota shows the initial price of the 2010 Prius in the US. It's gone up several times since then and they were some equipment changes to the trim levels w/the 2012 model year.
