Just bought a used 2009 Prius that I think is Gen 3 (1.8, different styling to the 1.5) but the forums here group Gen 3 by 2010 onwards. Do I have a gen 3? Also, I'm not sure if the stereo has bluetooth, I don't have any steering wheel controls for BT so I guess I don't?
welcome to priuschat! you have a gen II if it is a 2009 us car. if it is 1.8 litre, then it is 2010 gen III. exterior and interior styling are completely different. google some images and you'll know for sure. all the best!
Where do you live? Different place had different models. Also the 2010 (gen 3) came on the market in mid 2009.
And in the US they sold "2010" versions in 2009 whereas elsewhere they sold 2009 versions in 2009 meaning the GenIII came out in 2009 and was sold as a 2009 outside of the US.
I'm in Europe, the interior, exterior etc is all Gen 3 but it's a late 2009 car (meaning it was originally purchased in late 2009 and so is registered as a 2009 car) . So...i think i have a gen 3, although it's a 2009 car. Which is where it gets confusing.
Cool, I'll add my location. Regarding bluetooth, I imagine I'd have noticed something to indicate I had it in the stereo.
Americans seem to call the latest model as next years. So a new model released in April 2014 would be a 2015 Prius. Don't ask why as i don't think they know. The European gen3 Prius was sold from about June 2009. Have a look on this link which explains the differences between models. Whilst on here, you might want to refer to your car as a gen3 which avoids any confusion. Toyota Prius - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia If you're from the UK or Ireland you might even see some of the really early RHD NWH10 Prius models which were only sold new in Japan and are really one up from a test mule.
Not sure how much European models varied, but I think some US Prii of that vintage had no Bluetooth, some had it for phone only, and some had Bluetooth audio streaming. Here's the brochure for early US Gen III. I'm guessing though if you see no hint of Bluetooth on the steering wheel or stereo, yours probably doesn't have it.
In the US, no Gen 2 Prius had Bluetooth A2DP music streaming. That didn't come until Gen 3 (US model year 2010+), as an option. Gen 2 and earlier Gen 3s had Bluetooth phone support (for making and receiving calls), as an option.
The UK gen3 Prius t3 doesn't get Bluetooth, though I believe the higher spec t4 and t-spirit DO. There will be controls on the steering wheel if you do I believe.
Typically model year cycles for the next model year begin around end of August or beginning of September, NOT April. I picked up my 04 Nissan 350Z in early September 03. Mine was the first 04 the salesman had "delivered". I'd put down a deposit on an 04 as I wasn't satisfied w/the selection left on the market of 03s in the summer of 03. There are sometimes exceptions w/early arrivals or late arrivals. Examples: 2010 Prius was early and hit US showrooms around May 09. 2012 Priuses didn't start hitting showrooms until around January or Feb 2012. 2013 Leafs (built in Smryna, TN) didn't hit showroom until early 2013 (I believe Feb or later). I physically was at 2013 LEAF: Bay Area Reveal - SF BayLEAFs to see a not-for-sale yet Leaf that came out of Smryna. BTW, I hate the wikipedia entry. I almost never go there anymore because somebody decided to use designations that Toyota's never used to refer to Prius, AFAIK. It's NHW10, NHW11, NHW20, ZVW30, etc., not that XW crap. I don't have the time not motivation to change it nor, change all the supporting pages and fight those who change it back, etc.. If anyone knows the folks who did that, please get them to fix it. Nowhere in their Prius will it say XW... We've posted pics of the stickers/stamps showing the correct designations at Prius Labels - Prius Wiki.
In other words get next years car TODAY. When all it means is you're buying this years car this year and they try to make it sound special.
Very strange way to sell a car. What happens if say Toyota introduced a face lifted Gen III in Nov this year, will that be a 2014, 2015 or 2016 model. Very confusing.......
It would be highly unlikely it would be a 2014. It would most likely be a 2015. As for 2016, not that likely. See Why the 38-mpg 2014 Mazda6 is on dealer lots, but you can't drive it - Autoblog. BTW, 2014 Leafs didn't seem to start showing up at dealers until January 2014 (My Nissan Leaf Forum • View topic - Official 2014 LEAF Brochure (car now at dealers!) has a sticker). If it'd followed a regular cycle, they would've started showing up in late August 2013 or early September 2013.
