2016 Prius - let's hear from buyers

Got my Prius 4 yesterday! I didn't expect it to come quite so quickly — so I was given a nice surprise call yesterday. I put about 60 miles on it already, and the fuel meter hasn't even budged. The MPG reading is easily hitting 55-56 so far (granted, this is the absolute first gallon of gas, so it's not a really good metric.)

I went ahead and opted for the 4 w/o the ATP, as I mentioned earlier. One showed up in Pensacola, but I had no interest in driving out there for features I wasn't sure I'd use. So I used those extra savings (plus talking the dealer to a 1%+ on invoice, getting a third more for my trade in at CarMax, too) to get the extended bumper-to-bumper warranty for 75k/8yrs. Probably won't need it, but it gives some good piece of mind.

So far I'm VERY happy, but I'm coming from a much smaller car (Scion xB 2004) so I don't have a lot of parking confidence with it yet. But I feel like I'm getting there quickly enough. I actually find it easier to back into a spot than pull in right now. I'm sure that'll change with time.

 

congrats! pics please! all the best!

 

Of course! See thumbnail.



Anyone had any luck figuring out a bike-rack situation? My local dealer doesn't have the luggage racks yet, and those seem to be a permanent installation (or are they? Anyone have them?) Anyone have thoughts?

 

she's gorgeous.....

 

congrats! Blue was my other choice if somehow I couldn't get red.

 

I bought a Four Touring with the Convenience Package today. I love it! I love the spaceship look, live the way it rides, love that it can get up and go and still get 50mpg. Yeah, I drove it 50 miles home and, in normal mode, without worrying about anything, driving how I wanted, I got 51 mpg. So freaking amazing going from an SUV to this. My wife has a 2013 Persona edition and I can tell the difference in the ride and the power. This is a great car!




iPhone ?

 

So sweet Glenn! I got the same version except with black interior. A wonderful car. Enjoy!

 

While this isn't surprising with a lot of cars, I imagine a lot of Prius owners drive the car b/c they want something different. Any Civic or Corolla will give you more bells and whistles for much less cost, MPG aside of course. A couple years ago I said the same thing to my father-in-law who then bought a new Gen 3 Prius. But he bought it for the technological advancement of being able to get almost 60mpg while driving from St. Louis to Chicago for family visits. He knew very well his breakeven point compared to gas prices was a long way off. And while I've driven his Gen 3 Prius (sorry folks, but IMO it drives like a slug), it's the Gen4 that is really the only car on the market that has my eye right now. This could all change of course when I decide to take my first test drive, but from the Youtube videos I've seen, pretty much all of the drive reviews have been very positive.

 

I think you'll like it, I had a friend who had a Gen 2? (I can't tell the difference but guessing based on age) who had the funniest stories about driving her car and I almost dreaded the test drive, thinking I would hate it. I think you'll enjoy it though

 

^^^^^ BTW - my 'slug' comment isn't meant to be disrespectful to the forum. I imagine most would agree that driving any Prius generation when first coming from a traditional gas engine vehicle involves its own bit of a learning curve (or maybe the better word is appreciative-curve). Right now we own a 2014 Highlander Limited (freaking awesome but will get expensive once pump prices go back to normal), a leased 2015 Camry SE (nice, but...eh)., and my fun car is a '92 Miata (only 21k miles, the car gets better treatment than I give myself). The Camry lease is up in April, 2017, so I'm hoping by then the price-gouging will have calmed a bit on the Gen4. I'm also hoping by then that someone will have written the install instructions for the OEM LED fog lights

 

Heh, yeah. My wife and I both drove Scions (xA and xB respectively). Having that in common + a long talk about Darkwing Duck is how we started dating. My car was the older one, so we shed a tearful goodbye to the xB last week... and then the new car showed up two days later.

 

Updating here with confirmation of the above observations, and the status of my own purchase attempt.

When last I shared with y'all, we had reached a deal with our local dealership on the purchase of an Arizona-bound Gen4 Prius Three/ATP in red/beige. Said local dealer provided the vehicle information with the agreed upon price, along with an explanation that the AZ dealer's car would be swapped for one in our local dealer's incoming allocation, easy-peasy. We should have the identified vehicle in 2-4 weeks.

After about three weeks with no word, we leave a voicemail with our salesman asking for an update. In reply, we get a rambling voicemail that boils down to "Good news, your vehicle shows it is in A status, just about to be built!"

Huh?

We call back (voicemail again), the gist of our message being "What happened to the car you said you already had? We've got people waiting on our old car who've been told roughly when to expect it, and now that's shot all to hell because you are only now letting us know you DON'T have our car, and it isn't even on the way because in fact it STILL HASN'T BEEN BUILT, so you need to call back and explain why we shouldn't come in and pick up our deposit check."

The salesman finally calls back when we're actually in and the following conversation takes place (paraphrased, since I can't write as badly as "Jay" speaks even if I try):

Jay: Sorry, I knew you still had your old car and had the impression you weren't in any great hurry. We weren't able to secure the vehicle we had agreed on so I immediately put in an order for one to be added to our next allocation built to your specifications.

Vike: So why didn't you call me as soon as you knew that, which I assume had to be be, like, the NEXT DAY at the latest, right? And for Pete's sake, if it hasn't been built yet, how long are we talking about here? What's trans-Pacific transit time these days?

Jay: Well, again, I didn't realize there was really a time element here, so that's my bad. Don't worry about the shipping time, though. The car's coming from Mexico, not Japan, and it's a lot quicker to ship overland.

Vike: Okay. To be clear, I want regular status updates going forward. When's it built, when's it shipped, when's it expected? Are we on the same page?

Jay: Absolutely. I'll keep you up to date from now on.

END

Now, the problem I have with the above is that I've never heard of the Prius being built in Mexico, but I let that go for the conversation because who knows? I get on the internet and find no evidence of such a thing, and get the same feedback when I post the question here (see the "Building the Prius in Mexico?" thread in this forum).

Fine. I call Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. and ask what's up. They reply that manufacturing locations for specific models is considered proprietary information, so they can't answer my question. Once I'm done yelling about how that could be when the factories aren't in any way a secret and they've got a dealer suspected of bald-faced lying to one of their customers and why don't they give a crap, they give me a case number and tell me someone will call me back.

This apparently gets back to the dealer right quick, who calls with abject apologies and confirmation that no, there are no Priuses coming from Mexico and our salesman is no longer handling this deal, seeing as he'd taken a deposit on a car he hadn't secured and then failed to tell us that when he found out. If we still want to go through with the transaction we'll be working directly with the sales manager, and they'll email updated information with the new vehicle's VIN, estimated arrival at the dealership 3/21, but if that's too late they totally understand if we want the deposit refunded. For now, we're going to stay on board, but want to go back over the deal with a fine-toothed comb and verify we have all required signatures to commit the dealership to deliver what they're claiming the deal is NOW. They have exhausted their entire stock of goodwill; the least little things goes wrong at this point and we're gone. This is supposedly understood.

We get the email. It's got extra crap slathered all over it - applique set, side moldings, bumper protection kit, etc., etc. Yeah, we're not buying that car if it's a dollar more than the originally agreed price.

Watch this space for further shenanigans. At this point, we're getting very close to the level of hassle I'd have expected from buying the car out of state, as some friends had suggested up front. And yeah, I'd appreciate it if we could skip the whole "That's why I always call eight different fleet managers and when I find the right guy we walk out back for cigars and whiskey and settle things like men" speech. I care more about getting "exactly what I want" than "the closest thing I can find at the best price," and I really don't feel like spending time with these creatures. While all that's going to cost me, I already factored in that cost and agreed on a deal. These scum just couldn't walk a straight line if their lives depended on it.

 

Vike, sorry to hear that.

Just one thought-- have you seen one of these cars with the body side molding? It may be perfect for a great many people, but it's not everyone's cup of tea.

 

Beside the point. I didn't order it, I'm not paying for it. This stuff's free or they're getting me another car.

To be clear, there's more than enough money in the original deal to cover dealer's cost on all that stuff even it's already done at the factory, though I thought the protection package, wheel locks, etc. were all dealer installed.

 

Damn Vike, that sucks man.

I would think that it's in thier best interest to just give you at no charge the add ons that you didn't even order at this point to save face...

 

Got to give you credit you have a lot more patience than I would.

 

Wow that is pretty crappy and yes, they should totally offer you a car that meets your needs with 'extras' if they have it and if you are ok with the extras.

 

I have a Rhino Rack (Australian mfg) that fits on my Gen 3. I contacted them and they assured me it will fit on my Gen 4. I haven't tried it yet, but if it fits, its a nice rack- easy install, well made, less expensive than Thule or Yakima both of which I had on my Camry and neither have held up well- paint fading, plastic fade, rusting, dried rubber feet. I should say, I removed both racks half the year (late fall winter early spring) and still had those issues after about two years. Thule is especially overrated IMO- especially for the cost.

I also have a hitch receiver on my Gen 3 and that works well with rear racks and they don't touch the car body at all- only under frame in rear. As an alternative to these more typical racks, you may want to look into SeaSucker- suction cup bike racks. Depending on how many bikes or what else you may want to carry, this is an interesting option. I have not tried these, but for light weight and easy removal/install they are compelling.

Good luck.

 

If it turns out you don't like the look of the body side moldings, can they be removed without damaging the car?

If so, then price is the only issue. If not, my recommendation stands.

You might love them, be indifferent, or hate them. I am probably a minority, but rejected a car immediately because of the moldings. Just a thought since you are dealing with so much at once.