Having regrets about this Prius ... might return to dealer

People are free to "get" whatever they want and can afford.
So, I suppose if you really want to upgrade...upgrade, although this quick of a trade in, or change is probably going to cost you.

Honestly, while I respect the consumer freedom of getting what you want, as long as you can afford it, I would say.....

Those aren't things that I would personally consider anywhere near essential.
Personally I like driving, and want to be engaged to the point where I'm the one 100% responsible for keeping me in my lane.
If I ever reach the point of either tactile impairment or aged declined skill where I need a "Lane Assist"? Just take my driving license away from me.

Adaptive Cruise Control? Again....nice. I can see where on a long trip it would be "nice", but again, I don't know if I want that level of drivers engagement taken away from me. I use my "regular" cruise control a lot, and I have no problem doing any necessary adaptions myself.

And finally...rain sensing wipers?
I live in the Northwest, plenty of rain.
Again while I can speculate to as where this would be "nice", I've never had a problem being a rain sensing "driver" and flipping on the wipers has never been a problem.

Seat comfort...that can be huge.
But your other upgrades?

I'd really question cost vs. benefit.

 

Agree completely with Electric Me. All those extra fancy features are just not for me. (I can turn on my windshield wipers myself, thank you very much! ) And one guy already complained that his "rain sensing" wipers immediately went to high speed... when all he needed was intermittent.

And I prefer to not hear all those beeps going off, when a pedestrian walks in front of my car while stopped at a red light (another complaint posted), Or the irritating beeping when I'm behind a car in the drive-thru lane. I thinks lots of people will be deactivating some of those ATP features.

But, truth be told, I was just too cheap to pay $29,700+ for the Three Touring model with the Advanced Technology. (And frankly, I consider all that stuff to just be more distractions.) I told myself I wouldn't spend more than 25K for a good, reliable, economy car. I think I did great with my Three model (with just navigation) at $25,109. Suits me just fine. Very simple driving.

 

Interesting points... I think it all depends on how much of a hit the OP is taking on the trade? I typically drive a lot and late at night on Southern California freeways so the lane departure and assist are very nice. So is the radar cruise control. My old Ford F-150 has 240,000 miles. It doesn't have any of the new technologies, but it does have lane departure. If you take your hand off the wheel for more than 1-2 seconds the truck is departing off the freeway into the sagebrush or into the adjacent lane of traffic. It also has active safety steering, your actively steering it the moment you sit down and turn the ignition. So when I learned about the safety technologies on the Prius I was smitten. I think it was well worth the money in retrospect and if I avoid one accident or ticket as a result then it's worth it.

It does take some of the stress off of driving especially on long runs after 9pm where your driving 200-400 miles. What happens on long 100 plus mile drives you tend to stare at the dotted white lines. I start to get mesmerized and hypnotized and quickly nod off. Nothing scarier then nodding off and falling a sleeping on the freeway doing 65mph+ late at night. The lane assist keeps you from starring at the white lines. It works, it's not a Tesla with auto cruise control but it's quite good.

If I can only keep the Prius haters from tailgating me on the freeway, on ramps and surface streets I would be good. Fortunately there's cell phone technology for that - a call to 911 dispatch to report an (obnoxious) intoxicated driver trying to run me off the road does the trick.

 

I was going to buy a Tesla Model S 85D for $95k so the Prius four touring loaded at a little over $30k out the door seemed like a good deal. I was talking with my friend about Porsche 911s. Most of those cars get optioned out with $80k worth of bullsh&t and the price tag on average is $180k seems very expensive ? But compared to a new Ferrari f433 at $360k it's a bargain. So it just depends on your budget... Nothing wrong with a modestly equipped gen4 Prius.

 

Anybody that even considers a 95K vehicle, is way way way out of my league. I can't even relate to that! But, to each his/her own.

For me, personally, a car is just a "tool", a (hopefully) reliable appliance to get me around town, run errands, etc. I was extremely fortunate, and retired at age 54. Now all my driving is just mostly leisure.

I've never considered a car to be a "status symbol." To put it bluntly, I would never spend $90 Grand on a Tesla... or any vehicle for that matter. Not knocking anyone; I just have much better uses for my hard-earned savings. A fairly inexpensive, little white Prius is just fine for my simple "OG" needs.

(Sorry. Off topic.)

Just cruisin' by....

 

i hear ya.

 

I had my 2015 Prius for 6 months then traded for a 2016 CT200h F-Sport. So much better. You sit IN the car rather than on top of it like in the Prius. Not to mention the ride, handling, quality, noise, etc upgrades. Get what you want the first time! I average 41.1mpg indicated. Took a mileage hit but well worth it. This car sticks like glue in turns. I can imagine if i upgrade tires.

 

I was considering that car as well, but I think Toyota is doing an overhaul on that car for 2017. The new gen 4 Prius is nice, new TNGA unibody platform and engine. The Lexus has the old frame and engine, but much nicer interior, better noise reduction dampening and better suspension. I have an e46 for driving in the canyons and tracks in SoCal, which I never drive, so didn't need a hot rod Prius.

If your only getting 41mpg on the Lexus I would venture to guess you don't have it on Eco mode. Lol. I do like the 2016 Lexus they look great.

 

In Santa Monica and on the Westside the Teslas are all over the place. They drive them around like Priuses. At slightly better than 200 mile range I don't see the value in the car, unless your trying to rid your money for tax purposes.

 

41mpg with the way I drive is a miracle... lol. Power mode usually. The EPA is 43/40 for this car. It wasn't really the "hot rod" of this car that appealed to me, it was more the looks, interior quality and superior crash safety. The handling is icing on the cake. The overhaul for the CT i believe is going to be 2018. AFAIK, the engine is the same code with tweaks to reduce internal friction, but the electric stuff is more different. Either way 43mpg city is still spectacular. And I still don't like the bathtub interior of the Gen 4.. other than that it looks great though.

 

nah, that's just toyota's new motif. for all the crazy styling of gen 4, it's amazing we didn't get the guppie mouth.

 

Well, that's an opinion

I like to update my cell phone whenever it's possible, better battery, better reception, better mini computer.
With a car I want all the newest safety gizmos, if it tracks the lane, great... if it can stop itself before running into something, fantastic....
If it can actually control it's speed, speeding and slowing when in cruise control, basically any time it's going 35 or over, fantastic...
If it tells me when some idiot is very close but not in my line of vision, stupendous.... rain sensing wipers are a safety feature, a great one, and unfortunately, there's no heated steering wheel, another fantastic safety feature, when it's cool or cold you never remove your hands, but hey, another opinion.

 

pilot relief tube would be awsum

 

just guessing, is this for prostate issues?

 

oh ya, to each his own, i guess. i don't need to see the same look on every vehicle. sometimes, a little differentiation is nice.

 

would give me the 700 mile non stop range.

 

i just wear a diaper.

 

Certainly it is ONLY my personal opinion.
But I'll still stick by my first assertion it that none of the things I mentioned would be what I would call essential.
I can understand why all of them could be considered....."nice".

I will say, and admit this.
For years, before I bought my Prius, I read posts about the push button start and the Smart Key System, and I thought it wasn't "essential" or was at best just a "nice" option. Mostly I felt I'd rather have a good old "key".

But in two years now driving with push button start and the SKS system?
I know if I did not have those two luxuries I'd really miss them.

So anyway, I'm not knocking if anyone want's "any" luxury on their vehicle.
It's up to the individual.

The OP seemed to be wanting to illicit opinion. Well, yes, those are mine.
I could and have lived nicely without any of those options.