How useful is three-door SKS vs. one-door?

I have 3 door SKS on my Camry and 1 door SKS on the Prius 3. It's something we miss on the Prius, but it really isn't that big of a deal.

Plus, you can program the car to unlock all doors and hatch with the driver's door SKS. So you can either do a double press on the fob unlock button, or walk around to the driver's door to unlock all doors.

 

My Prius has the 1 door and it's set up to unlock all doors at the touch. While I wish I had it on all doors, it's not that bad to tap the driver door handle with hands full or using the fob.

 

I will advice on the lower mileage car even with fewer features . With a hybrid car , you have to think about replacing the expensive hv battery any time beyond 150000 miles.

 

We have one of each (1-door vs. 3-door SKS), and the biggest thing for us is bringing stuff to the hatch and not being able to simply lift up on the release and unlock. We have to dig out the fob instead. We don't have the driver's door set to unlock all, so we have to open the driver's door, then touch the unlock if we want to go that route. So, for us, I'd say it's a big deal to only have 1-door...

 

That sounds reasonable.

Before I had SKS I didn't see much benefit. Having had 3 door SKS I would be very reluctant to change to a car without 3 door SKS and I think it would take take substantial other benefits to overcome this reluctance.

 

There is more value in the back up cam.


iPhone ?

 

It's hard to respond without knowing how different the mileage is on the two cars. Priuses can run relatively trouble free for incredible distances and in general condition is a far more important factor than mileage. That of course does not mean that you should not prefer one with 20,000 miles over one with 120,000 miles.

Age appears to be a far more significant factor than mileage in the life of the traction battery. In fact it appears that lack of use may be of more concern than overuse. The warranty on the battery will depend on where you are and where the car was originally bought but 2013's will be covered for some time and likely a considerable number of miles to come.



Merged.

I agree. Sight lines are so poor in the Prius and most recent model cars that I would not be without a back up Camera. I would also place a significant priority on one that displayed on a dash mounted screen rather than a tiny image in the rear view mirror (which is how retrofits are usually done)

 

To me, that looks like a small differences in the car. If there weren't any other issues, I would go for the one that had all the features I wanted. Good luck on the purchase!

 

That for sure I've got ting so use to it on all the stuff I drive I can't believe I didn't hit more stuff backing up.

 

It's a convenience feature. Very useful though especially when you are carrying something large and all you have to do is to push the button to open the hatch instead of fumbling for your key and unlock the car. I had an opportunity to test drive a Lincoln MKC a while ago and to open the lift gate, all you have to do is swing your foot underneath the car and the lift gate opens. It's very cool.

 

Even if you were to install aftermarket XM and backup cam for the same cost, they won't work/look as well as oem. Also, not only you get the benefits of using these features while owning the car, you will get some money back when selling.

 

I have a 3 and the biggest reason was for the 3 Door smart key system. I have changed the stereo and navigation to something that was cheaper and more functional than the factory unit. Also, some on here have added the SKS to the passenger door and rear hatch.

 

i've always had the 3 door and would be disappointed to lose it. but if you've never had it, it's probably not a big deal. the only issue is, there is no button for the rear hatch inside the car.

 

Opening the trunk with a touch is very useful, but having the backup cam is a must IMO. Once you get used to the fish eye angle, it's extremely useful for parking and such. I never used to park backwards with my other cars, now it's the only way I do my parking.

 

How is this done? Would love to program my wife's car to do this.

 

Should be in your user manual. With car in Ready, hold down the lock and the unlock button on your key fob IIRC. The car will beep and it toggles between driver's door only and unlock all doors and hatch settings.