i've got the Prius bug - Gen II vs Gen III pros/cons???

I don't own a Gen 3, but will say that the Gen 3 is a superior car compared to Gen 2. See posts by me, Tideland, evpv at Prius versions | PriusChat re: Gen 2 vs. 3 changes. There were a LOT.​

I guess in the UK, your model year numbering scheme is goofy compared to the US.

 

I am from the UK also and I have a gen 2.

- Is real world MPG any better on the Gen III?

I have no experience of the Gen 3 but you can expect the real world MPG to be no where near the official figure and it fluctuates a lot between the summer/winter. I can achieve as high as 55MPG in the summer but only 45MPG in the winter like now. This is driven on the same road throughout the year.

-How many miles per tank on Gen II in real world?

This depends on your driving style and again the climate however I get at least 400 miles to a tank. I can get as high as 450 during the summer. I don't think any automatic petrol family hatchback can achieve that.

-Is the Gen III worth the extra over the Gen II?

From what I have heard and seen, the Gen 3 is better but only if you can afford a decent example. If I were in your shoes who could only afford a high mileage example, I'd probably opt for the Gen 2 instead. Gen 2 in my opinion is just as reliable, may not look as good but it possibly has better build quality than the 2009 Gen 3. Don't forget these 2009 Gen 3 have the weasel 5 year or 100k warranty opposed to the standard 7 year warranty.

-I could get a low mileage late 2009 Gen II or a high mileage 2009 early Gen III for similar prices - which would you choose?

As above, I would go a gen 2 because of mileage (I am thinking there is a great difference in mileage such as 20k vs 70k). But test drive both and make your own mind up. Someone's cup of tea might not be yours.


Read more: http://priuschat.com/threads/ive-got-the-prius-bug-gen-ii-vs-gen-iii-pros-cons.118473/#ixzz2CwsbLbIL

 

gen III is definately 5-10% better mpg's.
miles per tank on my gen II were around 650.
depends on how much extra. a wee bit larger intrerior, 'flying bridge' not very efficient but some like it. more squeaks than the gen II. cupholders awkward on gen III. rear cupholders in seat fold down instead of center console rear.
i think it's a personal choice. i would probably pick the gen III for the tech updates, but the II is a great vehicle.
all the best with your decision!

 

there is an AUX in inside the armrest, so you can listen to the music in your phone.

 

I have a basic version that doesn't even have that (and no MP3 capability on the CD-player, but I put in an aftermarket radio and amplifier anyway)

 

As he will getting a T-spirit AUX IN should be available.

There may well be one but I didn't find it. However I doubt many will have the time to add phone contacts etc. There should not be many things for you to delete individually.

 

Missed that detail , but at least the OP now knows there are versions without the AUX-in
(And the T-spirit doesn't ring a bell, I think the models had different names in NL, so that's my excuse )

 

Get the Prius III as you get 10% better mileage. 50 mpg (US gallon) is a nice benchmark.

 

When I was looking (December 2011), my 2009 Gen II was about half the price (11k€) of a similar Gen III (>19k€).
No 10% difference in fuelefficiency would ever offset that...

But I guess the difference would now not be that big.

 

I dont really care for the center console in the Gen3. I really like how the Gen2 is laid out. I like my touch screen. In the Gen3, they crammed all of the hybrid information up at the speedometer display by the windshield.

BUT I do like the slight exterior changes on the Gen3.

 

All my experience is with US versions MY2006 (Gen 2) & MY2010 (Gen3).

Is real world MPG any better on the Gen III? The numbers posted in my signature are US gallons. This compares a Gen2 on 15" wheels to a Gen3 on 17" wheels.

How many miles per tank on Gen II in real world? It depends. Does it really matter? You should be able to find a petrol station before you need one unless you plan to cross the Sahara.

Is the Gen III worth the extra over the Gen II? It depends. What are all the bells & whistles worth to YOU? In the Gen3 you have to buy a III-Nav, IV-Nav, or V-Nav to get the backup camera. The camera was standard in the Gen2.

I really like a comfy ride and light steering which the Gen II has, but I heard the ride on the Gen III is the total opposite? I don't notice a difference.

Without any details the low mileage Gen2 sounds better than the high mileage Gen3.

Both cars should last a lot longer than 5 years.

 

This is where personal bias comes in. I have a UK 2009 early gen3. I've had it since new and for the first 65k miles it was run as a taxi. Since then I have gained employment elsewhere and use it to commute 30 miles each way (60 miles a day), where I return 60 mpg. In the summer I expect it to get much more as the engine won't have to run as often to provide heat to the heater. I'd also get more mpg's if it didn't take me 30 minutes to travel 1 mile leaving the city on an evening!

In the past I have been vocal about the gen3 not being quite as hard wearing as the gen2 (which was over engineered), but since doing a steady commute, compared to hard taxi work, the car seems more than happy.

Early gen3's in the UK are very cheap to buy and almost as cheap as the older gen2's because Toyota decided to reduce their warranty from 100,000 miles to 60,000 miles for the period Jun 2009-July 2010. Gen3's from July 2010 get the full 100,000 mile warranty again and thus demand much higher used prices. As such, bargains can be had - and you can also look to add an official Toyota extended warranty for reasonable cost.

On balance I still think the gen3 is a nice, smooth and economical ride and if the correct (and expensive) 0w20 oil has been used, will return low 60's to mid 70's mpg on a steady flat road. You also get the HUD headup display and a larger boot.

Any other questions?


ps UK gallons are larger than US gallons (4.5 litres to 3.7 litres) so if you see 40 mpg US quoted, it is about 49 mpg UK.

 

Hi Bronze84,
From personal experience I can only say the following:

• I bought 2 GenII's for the price of one GenIII some 2 year ago.
• This week I drove 750 miles (1200km) on one tank with my GenII on the open road. Remember it is summer here. I have in the past driven more than 750 miles on one tank in town with my GenII. Details here.
• If you look at TrueDelta you can see for yourself why / why not to choose one model over the other when looking at reliability, fuel consumption, repairs needed as well as lemon odds.
• The last of the GenII's like the 2009 model that my wife drives had all / most of the teething problems sorted out. No recalls like the waterpump recall I had with my 2007 model
• Some early GenIII's may have some teething problems that may still need sorting out. Thinking about the accelerator and window switch recalls.
• The GenII drives very different to the GenIII and personally (read subjective opinion) I prefer the comfortable drive from the GenII.
• The standard 8 year / 200 000 km service plan on the GenII models makes financial sense to me when compared to the 5 year / 90 000 km service plan on the GenIII. The standard 3 year warranty can be extended to 8 years on both generations.
• The model that we have compares to the T-Spirit from the UK and has everything that I need in a car and then some more. The leather interior is just the cherry on top.

I think you are doing the right thing to find out as much as possible and then make an informed decision. Do take both for a test drive or multiple test drives if you can. Whichever one you choose in the end, I am sure you will not be sorry either way. Enjoy and let us know when you have taken the step.

 

When I was looking for my first Prius here,(witch I bought yesterday ) I was also looking at the differences between the gen 2 and 3 and I also preferred the way the gen 2s were set up with the touch screen in the middle with the energy monitor, and consumption panel, along with other functions, and the speedometer in front of me, and if I'm not mistaken on the Gen 3 the speedometer and info bar was all in the center of the vehicle instead of in the center of the driver.. with no large display for energy monitor/consumption graph and stuff.. so yea the gen 3 may get slightly more gas mileage but over all I don't think that it's worth the extra if I prefer the way the Gen 2s were set up... Also on a side note, my friend suggested if going with a gen 2 look for years 2006-2009 because that was after a revision that improved on some features, what exactly the revision entailed I don't fully recall. anyway good Luck !

 

Many liked the Gen2 feel and console. One question concerns type of driving, short trips? Believe Gen3 warms up faster than Gen2 so Gen3 hits that 50 MPG mark faster. In Gen2 you will notice lower MPG the first 5-10 minutes. If all your trips are real short then you could be in Gen3 advantage.

 

I don't see any warm up advantage. In the Gen2 it is more work to get a higher average and the fluctuation is greater. In the Gen3 it is easier to get that same number and it is more consistent.

Figure 25mpg for the 1st 5 minutes & 50mpg for the 2nd 5.