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Sold my 2012 Prius v Three - Parting thoughts

Discussion in 'Prius v Main Forum' started by PPPrrrius, Jan 7, 2016.

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  1. PPPrrrius

    PPPrrrius Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2012
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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Because of a growing family (and other needs) another vehicle has replaced the Prius v Three. We have two other vehicles with less than stellar fuel economy, and I was very tempted to keep it as a third car/fuel efficient commuter. But it made financial sense to sell.

    Having driven the car for 3.5 years 65k miles, here are my thoughts on the 2012.

    Pros:

    1. Unbeatable fuel economy for a car this size. What attracted me to the v was the rear seating and massive cargo area. Toyota hit a home run in functionality.

    2. Acceleration. Never have driven a hybrid, but the car accelerated with ease in most situations. Overtaking somewhat an issue, but not something I do often.

    3. Comfort. No issues on many 8-10 hour trips and even one 17 hour marathon. Holds the family and cargo well.

    4. Never had to consider reliability. Typical Toyota for me.

    5. Easy self maintenance. Changing the oil, fluids and filters was always pretty straightforward.

    Now on to the cons, which influenced somewhat my decision to sell:

    1. Interior build quality. This was my major gripe. Everything inside the car seemed cheap to me, economy class. I know weight savings are key, but how things fit shouldn't be impacted. The plastic trim on my steering wheel was never tight and constantly creaked (no fix from dealer). There was a depression in the driver door from resting my left arm nearly 6 months in. The dashboard plastic was thin. Rattles abound. The center cargo lid is topped with very cheap fabric that looks really bad after 3.5 years. Just an overall feeling of getting ripped off a bit for a $28,000 car.

    2. Entune/system crashes. Almost 2-3 per week. Obviously will never happen when at the dealer so this is a live with it problem. Also, bluetooth syncing was spotty

    3. Depreciation. Blue book has this vehicle depreciated nearly 50% in 3.5 years which has never been the case for the 4 other toyotas I've owned. I sold mine at 53% what I paid. Pretty surprised, but this may be a function of the low fuel prices.

    4. Fun factor. This is subjective but the car was a total bore to drive. It was sensible transportation, which is a good thing. But I looked forward to driving my wife's mini van, which should say something.

    I'm looking forward to the 2016 prius and the eventual update to the prius v. I am not out of the hybrid market and will consider buying another. But as long as the Prius is essentially an economy build with a very advanced drivetrain, I will probably consider full ICE powered vehicles that operate in the 30-35 MPG range but offer a little more in fun factor and can at least meet the average build quality of the 2012 prius v.
     
    #1 PPPrrrius, Jan 7, 2016
    Bob-blehead, mmmodem and The Electric Me like this.
  2. HybridBull

    HybridBull Junior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Which trim level did you have?
     
    #2 HybridBull, Jan 7, 2016
  3. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Model:
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    It's in the title, a three.
     
    #3 xliderider, Jan 7, 2016
  4. rdgrimes

    rdgrimes Senior Member

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    Prius has never been anything more than basic transportation with a hybrid brain. If you were expecting more then you bought the wrong car. It will never BE more than that due to the dictates of the efficient design. You could look at the Camry Hybrid or one of the Lexus models if you want more. But don't blame Prius because you had unrealistic expectations.
     
    #4 rdgrimes, Jan 7, 2016
  5. PPPrrrius

    PPPrrrius Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Don't get me wrong. My overall opinion of the car is positive. And the expectation was never for it to be a thrill ride. The car was pleasant to drive, and my expectations were met in that department. Just listing that as a reason why I decided to sell and drive an alternate vehicle instead.

    I certainly bought the right car for the time, as (1) I needed a car (2) it had to be fuel efficient as gas was $5/gal at the time and (3) it had to transport a family of 4 with gear. Nothing else at the time met all this criteria. But there are some valid complaints, the main being interior build quality in the long term, which imo should be seriously improved in future iterations. Also, depreciation can be influenced by many factors, but that was also something that will give me caution next time. It depreciated at the rate a low end vehicle would.
     
    #5 PPPrrrius, Jan 7, 2016
  6. wjtracy

    wjtracy Senior Member

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    Thank you for the honest summary...the v is "v"ery tempting
     
    #6 wjtracy, Jan 7, 2016
  7. Drewintoledo

    Drewintoledo Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    I appreciate your feedback. I just bought a 2015 v and don't know the differences between the years but I do know it's the same generation. While I don't notice the cons you stated after only 500 miles, I hope they don't appear. As for the pros--the future sounds promising! I could argue that I bought at the wrong time but I do feel that gas prices will again climb. Either way I do find value from your post. Thank you for posting.
     
    #7 Drewintoledo, Jan 7, 2016
  8. mikefocke

    mikefocke Prius v Three 2012, Avalon 2011

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    Sure sorry you had the experience with the interior you cited. Mine is a 28k '12 v Three. There have been no creeks, groans, odd sounds at all. I did get mine redone on delivery with Toyota's vinyl like fabric Softex as I was worried about how my armrests would wear/stain from my arms and sunscreen.

    I'd list 30 more positives and the same number of negatives (and have here) but you have hit on the major items ... reliability, mileage and utility on the plus side, driving dynamics and noise on the negative. An appliance.
     
    #8 mikefocke, Jan 7, 2016
    Drewintoledo likes this.
  9. Drewintoledo

    Drewintoledo Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    Mike, I love #7 on your Pro's! That was the dealmaker for my Prius!
     
    #9 Drewintoledo, Jan 7, 2016
  10. FroggyTaco

    FroggyTaco Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius
    Model:
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    Would you mind sharing what replaced it?
     
    #10 FroggyTaco, Jan 7, 2016
  11. PPPrrrius

    PPPrrrius Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    We bought a Honda Odyssey.
     
    #11 PPPrrrius, Jan 7, 2016
  12. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    straight forward and honest writeup. i think you pretty much nailed it. thank you pppr, and all the best in the future.(y)
     
    #12 bisco, Jan 7, 2016
  13. E. Dennis

    E. Dennis Junior Member

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    Ditto.
    My '14 has developed zero problems. Just turned 11800 on the ODO.
    Is it perfect?...no.
    It certainly is a fine auto, though. Easy maintenance, smooth ride, lots of passenger and cargo capacity.
     
    #13 E. Dennis, Jan 7, 2016
  14. stanny101

    stanny101 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 10, 2005
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    Location:
    La Mesa, Calif
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    I have a 2012 v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon) with 50k. It is the 5 Package without ATC. It's been trouble-free.
    Biggest mistake I made was replacing the stock Toyos at 37k with the best Michelin Premier A/S at over $1000 a set. Mileage dropped, ride is terrible and one rear tire must have been made poorly as it has 40 lbs of lead balance weights.
    Stick with an LRR tire but Michelin's best is not the best by far.

    As far as disappointments go, the main fault and I can't figure this one out on the Trim Five model, is the crappy audio system. I don't use any internet channels or the satellite radio, and the phone integration is good, but the audio quality is poor. The biggest problem is the front/rear balance. What balance? It's like a primitive fader control.
    You need to add a 3 channel amp for the rears and a subwoofer. Then re-evaluate the stock speakers.
    I can't believe you can buy a top end v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon) without the bloated and expensive ATC package and get a crappy stereo.

    The other beef is the small and undetailed and practically useless GPS system. The screen is too small. Very few streets are shown.
    I guess I got spoiled by my 2003 Infiniti FX45 so you could get a better GPS 13 years ago.
    I'm in real estate so I still carry around a Thomas Brothers map book and leave the GPs alone.

    My 2005 Prius Trim 5 has a superior GPS and a JBL audio system. So is Toyota going backwards?

    Stan in San Diego
     
    #14 stanny101, Jan 8, 2016
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    Model:
    Touring
    Just curious, on the v do you just change the filter element, have a permanent filter housing, like the regular Prius?
     
    #15 Mendel Leisk, Jan 8, 2016
  16. PPPrrrius

    PPPrrrius Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 20, 2012
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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    The oil filter is the the element. It is replaced with the gasket. The housing is part of the block with a rigid plastic filter that's removed with a filter-socket adapter.
     
    #16 PPPrrrius, Jan 8, 2016
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  17. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    I don't know if I agree with all your reasoning BUT...I gave you a like because of this single line....

    That was pretty funny, and probably is why Toyota is moving towards improving "Driving feedback and Dynamics" in the New Gen 4 Prius.

    Toyota seems to want to address many of the issues you are bringing up.
     
    #17 The Electric Me, Jan 8, 2016
  18. mmmodem

    mmmodem Senior Taste Tester

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    Vehicle:
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    Model:
    Plug-in Base
    I agree with your interior assessment. It's pretty low rent for $20k, let alone $28k. That's why the Prius I buy are the lower trim levels. It stings less.

    If you were to compare a $130k Tesla S with an equivalent Mercedes S class, you will also see a sharp contrast in luxury or lack of in a Model S. That's the price you pay for the advanced power train and technology.
     
    #18 mmmodem, Jan 8, 2016
  19. PPPrrrius

    PPPrrrius Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Three
    True on all accounts, and concessions have to be made to sell the car at a price point.

    Honestly I had my suspicions about the interior quality when I was buying, but I put some faith in Toyota. Thought it would be lightweight but more durable. Years later it's all scratched up, seem fragile with way too many creaks and rattle.

    Looking at the interiors of the current Toyota Corollas and Honda civics kind of support my case. These are cheap fuel efficient cars, but the interior quality seems much better IMO.
     
    #19 PPPrrrius, Jan 8, 2016
    mmmodem likes this.
  20. TomNat

    TomNat Junior Member

    Joined:
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    Location:
    Colorado Springs, CO
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Five
    We have a 2015 Prius v Five blizzard pearl with black softek interior, and do not feel that the interior is or looks cheap. Our driver 8 way power seat is the most comfortable seat I have ever driven for long 400-600 mile days; once seat is adjusted no need to readjust, and no stiffness after stopping & getting up at age 72. I could drive the whole day with the Prius v; with past cars I would have to trade-off with my wife.

    So maybe Toyota has improved the Prius v interior quality from 2012 to 2015, at least on the model five, but we will see if it wears well & if rattles appear.
     
    #20 TomNat, Jan 9, 2016
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