4th generation coming 2015!

The base msrp is ~ 45k. I may change my residency to Colorado, so between the state credit and any federal tax liability I can drum up, that might drop the price before tax to 32k USD. Still expensive, but not outrageous for a good car with the i3 specs. I have never been in a BMW let alone driven one, so I'll take other people's word for it that the car is pleasant.

I'm reading on the internet though that the check engine light is on for almost everybody in these *new cars*. That is a show stopper for me; it just shouts that BMW does not share my expectation of quality from the get go, let alone for the next 10 to 15 years. Toyota may be somewhat boring but I value dependability and a company I can trust a great deal.

 

It is dependable indeed , the exact main reason I'm looking for an excuse "not" to vere away.

I've never owned a better engineered car... Though some wannabe competition looks enticing, I just can't go with American made as much as I hate to say it..
Yes they all are good to 100, maybe 150k, but when you get over 200k and your car still drives seemingly as good and reliable as it did when new.. That's separates the men from the boys gentleman! Most drivers can expect 300+k without major issues.

One thing can say.. However daring they go with the gen4, you can bet you won't have to beta tested by us, it will work as expected!
Unless Toyota is not the Toyota they've always been.


This reliability does have the price of slower delivery.

But know I probably sound manic depressive... It's only because I KNOW and have total faith Toyota can blow away the competition if they will just do it.. And it frustrates me when they drag their feet.

Toyota has the best engineers in the world IMHO to do what they do with the budget allowed.

I just have higher expectations.

They are crafted in excellence as their foundation whereas much of the completion thinks perception is reality, Toyota delivers the goods inside "internally" where no one can see nor appreciate.. She's more than another pretty face.

They have no greater fan than me... But I'm not gonna let them go to sleep without a fight.

 

maybe bmw will do a good job for once, but if you've ever been under a bmw, you'd not be impressed like you might by sitting in the driver's seat. leaky junk. 2011 bmw lease turn-ins all have oil leaks, check engine lights, and/or badly sludged-up engines, and a bunch of broken fancy expensive trim. most of these cars have less than 60k and they need lots of expensive repairs. meanwhile, my Toyota needs regular oil and filter changes, and that's about it. oil pan is dry as a bone after 203k. I hope my '06 lasts 200k. long before 200k most german junk is falling apart and that's with being in the dealer for repairs every 2 months for it whole life. but I'm biased cause I work on the damn things.

I bet the gen IV will be an impressive car, and with some cool improvements.

 

I just looked at the base spec for the i3: no back-up camera. That is part of an expensive package.
No doubt about it: for now I'll have to enjoy the i3 from a distance. I am just not the type of customer BMW wants LOL

 

bet it will be interesting, just not sure if groundbreaking like I've been expecting

Since you work on them I'll tell you.. I go 35k between oil changes with Amsoil SSO 0W-30 and all is well..
Even after sending test to Blackstone Labs.. (at 25k) But that's another discussion that's already been discussed... Somewhere on here I have my 25k lab results posted.

 

You may get 300k!

My son drives my wife's first 2006 into the ground and it just keeps going. It's over 250k I think, my other is around 215k..

 

Hah, hah, just found this thread ....

Has anyone improved their Prius Seat?

Go ahead Toyota, keep on with the max MPG crusade and throw together some interior in the 4th Gen.

At least include a tilt knob if you're going to make the seat (bottom cushion) tilt a lot while height adjusting ... Toyota.

 

Another interesting article
Gas 2 | Bridging the gap between green heads and gear heads.

 

What a crappy article, but at least a link to a much better source article is included.

Cliff note:

• Some 15-20% of owners have had partial or complete battery replacement
• The group (N ~ 220) show average capacity loss of ~ 1.5% every 10k miles. Eyeballing the data suggests that 10-20% are double the average.
• Four owners are around 90k miles, most way less

 

The really fun fact is the degradation curve of Lithium batteries shows the capacity loss being the most severe in the first 18-24 months. So the overall rate may get better over time.

 

I just had my 2010 serviced (97,000 miles) and asked about testing the HV battery since the warranty expires very soon. In the end, I was unwilling to pay the cost for the test.

That said, I am unable to detect any deterioration in the HV battery (although logically, there may be some). My overall mileage has not changed (I have documented every fill-up since it was new). Performance, while not measured, seems unchanged. I have been unable to detect any change in the SOC when parked, waiting for my wife and listening to the radio. I cannot point to a single detectable issue that would suggest the battery is degrading.

 

Toyota's hydrogen fascination seems to be in part resulting in the Prius delay. I want to punish them (in the way only a lowly customer can of course) for seeking to make CA taxpayers help build out that network (for a fuel that will still require fossil fuel depletion), but there is not an affordable EV on the market with enough range to entice me until 2017 at the earliest. I'm also tired of being subject to the whim of the various members of the oil cartel, the world market, rampant speculation, and boneheaded politicians and their initiatives (whether foreign or domestic) that keep driving up the price of transportation. Of course the EV cost tends to be front-loaded versus that of an ICE or hybrid. It's definitely the case of being stuck between a rock and a hard place.

 

Gen4 Prius, Gen2 PiP, and the upcoming FCEV are all hybrids. The underlying technology is HSD. The ability to blend and split power into the most efficient path, resulting in synergy between two fuels.

 

Two factors. One, your chemistry is different and the battery degrades over time differently over time than a lithium battery.
Two, I am sure Toyota treats the battery very kindly, not stressing it. Thus leading to longer life.

 

I spent some time monitoring my 10 year old G2 battery with the torque app and did not find a weak module. I'm pleasantly surprised since the car has been up and down a lot of mountains in her lifetime, and before I knew better I would drain the battery while hypermiling.

Your three year old battery is barely out of adolescence.

 

Back to the subject of the thread (sorry!), here's a summary published today by Automotive News on the next generation of all Toyota models:
Toyota delay could have domino effect

 

You should be fine, I think the hardest thing for older batteries is taking off like a bat out of hell all the time... That's what my son did...

But he was back up and running with a junkyard batt they kept charged.
400 for bat + 400 to install.

 

Well, make that 4 year old, but I appreciate your assurance. Here is my question ..... 97,000 trouble free miles with no sign of fatigue or depletion ........ and it is "barely out of adolescence," ........ why would I want to even consider any other battery chemistry?

 

Beats me.

 

It sounds like you need to give Elon Musk some money and start driving that Model S!