Why did you buy your Prime?

I'm coming out of a Ford Fusion Energi, fully loaded.
I decided to stray because I basically have no trunk. That's was #1. Then I saw the Tesla sized screen and I quickly became very interested. I'm all about the technology. I don't use my middle seat much so that didn't matter. The Moonstone interior was the final straw.
I'm getting the Advanced so I don't lose any features I'm already accustomed to, like a climate controlled app. My Fusion, in my mind, is far better looking but I will quickly get used to the look of the Prime. Especially that Blue Magnestism!

 

I had a 2015 Prius Five (not V - but Prius Hatchback 5 Level). I really liked the functionality and practicality of the vehicle. Like has been mentioned earlier, there is an element of marketing and personality associated with a Prius. I think that those that drive these cars are being responsible - but we are also indirectly making a statement about ideals.

I was interested in the Prime when it was introduced. I was drawn to the the extended range in EV mode. My commute is just under 20 miles, and I have EV charging at work. Therefore, for my work commute and can go to and from without burning any dinosaurs. I did look at other EVs, but for now the Prime was the best fit. It is practical for me, looks great, makes the statement I want to make. I am also impressed with Toyota's reliability; I have toured the assembly plant in Aichi Prefecture, Japan twice.

High marks - and no complaints yet.

 

Nice looking vehicle.

 

My wife and I took a leap of faith when we bought 2013 LEAF for our daily commuting needs (about 37.5 miles round trip per day, a great car for its purpose with 8.2 cents per kwh EV rate) when gas was about $4/gal. We replaced our second car Prius Plugin with Prime in late Nov 2016 because of Prime's EV range (EPA 25, but 30-32 actual in our daily driving), Fed tax credit, CA rebate and SJ Valley Air Pollution Control District's rebate (totaling $8,000), and CA HOV lane decals for occasional driving to Sacramento/Bay Area. We also feel better about spending more of our money on cars than on gas/oil however small the actual difference may be.

Besides the rationale, my wife simply loves Prime's comfort. I love the game of hypermiling. With Prime, you can be a super-hypermiler without much efforts or skills!

 

I had a 2005 Prius. Great car, no problems. I mostly work from home, so in 12 years it only had 106,000 miles. But I wanted my next car to be close to zero carbon emissions with the reliability I've gotten used to. I test drove the Volt and the Prime, liked both, but liked the Prime more.

 

i have to disagree with the o/p. older prius models brought in many more new buyers than prime.
but prime is doing nicely so far for a phev.

 

Well.. being former diesel addict I had never considered 'something' like Prius to buy. But guess what: I decided to test drive some plug-ins and purely by accident had a chance to drive Prime after BMW i-3, C-Max Energi and Volt .. and bought Prime very same day.
Quietness, comfort, EV driving responsiveness and range were the deciding factors for me.
Till now I don't miss my BMW 328xd SW for my daily commutes and in city errands.
Yet to see how it goes on 1k+ miles @ 80+mph long road trips I use to take in winter....

 

winter in houston?

 

Nope. Just winter road/ski trips to TAOS, Colorado and sometimes Utah & sometimes Tahoe area make me get out on the road
if you know what I mean...

 

After six months, no regrets.

• The Prime has turned out to be an awesome road warrior, especially the radar cruise control, and not too shabby around town for any three stop trip.
• The BMW i3-REx is great within its operating range, as many stops as I want, and can do long trips with frequent fuel stops.

I could be happy with either one and they each backup the other. Each drive, a Sophie's choice.

Bob Wilson

 

FWIW, I find that Prius Prime quietness could be better, although pretty much only on one dimension: Road noise.

Granted that might be helped by quieter tires than ours' Ecopia Plus. More accurately, it's not tire noise, but road surface noise, which as I mentioned elsewhere, they play like a phonograph needle! Superb "fuel" economy, though.

On a smooth road surface though, our P.Prime is indeed quite quiet!


iPhone ? Pro

 

I see the Prius Prime (Prius Plug-in here in Europe) as a leap forward in respect of the Prius Gen 3 which I have owned for 7 years, because it is a real BEV, at least for city driving and short commutes, but may become a normal hybrid when needed for longer trips,

Many times with Gen 3 I've seen the car burning fuel just to warm-up the catalyzer after a few minutes stop. Even though I knew that the warm up was necessary to avoid pollution, the waste of fuel displeased me. I also love the idea of charging the traction battery just leaving the vehicle exposed to the sun, thanks to the solar roof, and the capability to warm the cabin during the cold season without burning fuel, thanks to the heat pump.

Of course there are a few shortcomings which are very irritating on a vehicle with a price list over 42000 Euro... like, for instance, the absence of HUD and of rear air vents, the dark fabric upholstery, the manual seats adjustment. Also, the lack of the fifth seat is annoying, even though I understand the technical reasons which brought the manufacturer to limit the available seating positions.

Anyway, I do hope that driving the Prius Plug-in will bring back to me the exhilarating sensaction of sitting in a spaceship, driving the future, which I had when for the first time I drove the Gen II Prius in 2004, and sorrowly I did not have anymore, when later I had the Gen 3 (which was a good car, though... my elder brother to whom I have given it is very happy).

Apropos of the dark fabric upholstery, I will do what I did with my Gen 3 Prius: next time I visit the States I will buy a set of Clazzio leather seat cover, strictly light grey.

 

I currently drive a 2016 GMC Canyon. Never thought I'd be one to get rid of a vehicle so soon, but I'm VERY disappointed with the engine and transmission computer. I've taken it to the shop 3 times to complain about "lugging" which is what my dad calls is happening. Basically the truck doesn't downshift correctly. GMC claims its a fuel efficiency feature. I hate it. It feels unsafe when you overcome it and my dad says it would be wearing down the engine more quickly than it should be. So anyway...unhappy with my current vehicle. Had a Pontiac Vibe before the truck, but it was up there in age and I wanted something new.

Thought of going fully electric with the Leaf, made right down the road from me, but don't want to have distance anxiety. So, I started looking at hybrids. I was talking with one of my employees, a prius owner, and he mentioned that he had just read about the Prime in a magazine. Started researching and pulled the trigger, ordering it around May 28 or so. It should arrive anytime in the next 2 weeks.

So, why the change from a gas guzzling truck to a hybrid? Consider it my passive aggressive protest against Trump and Tillerson.

 

I have always been interested in cars, but not the Prius. I currently subscribe to five car magazines. In 2009 I was working under my 1963 Thunderbird convertible with rust from the exhaust falling into my eyes. I decided then and there that even if I finished restoring the car, I wouldn't be happy driving such a big car. Sold it on Craigslist and bought a new Miata with 6-speed and power retracting top. Really enjoyed the car til this year when a couple of times got into bumper to bumper traffic near Seattle for about ten miles. I was also having some medical issues caused by exposure to Agent Orange while serving in Vietnam. So I decided to look for a car that my wife could also drive (she doesn't do stick shift), had a little more room, and had all the new safety features. Learned about the Prime, checked with my local dealer and found that they would not be selling them in Washington. Looked further, and found one for sale about 60 miles from my home. Checked it out and found it was just what I wanted. Traded in the Miata and drove it home. Couldn't be happier.

 

ackkkk!!!!! you're gonna get us tossed into fhopol!!!

 

We had a 2008 Prius as it qualified for the "carpool lane" plate back then which was limited to 10,000 plates. It was due for replacement and the new list of cars that we could transfer our plate to was limited to plug-in hybrids only. We never had a single problem with the 2008 Prius but keep cars about 8 years and felt it was time to replace it. In January 2016 when we discovered that the Prius Plug-in was not currently made, we test drove a Ford Fusion Plug-in. It felt and drove like a big heavy ford with a battery slapped in the trunk as an afterthought. We have had only had Toyotas or Lexus so I just couldn't bring myself to purchase the Ford nor a Volt ( I don't do chevy) . I waited patiently a year to buy this specific car to put my carpool plate on as I wouldn't consider any other plug-in hybrid. Its a great car!

 

During my ownership of my third, generation 3 prius something popped in my head and said go for solar panels on the house and anticipate the next plug in prius. So here i am with an advanced and solar power!

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

Hopefully next year Toyota will release a solar-roof option on the Prius Prime ;-) ... granted it will only charge about 5% of the battery in a day in the sun, but with just 25 miles of EV, every little helps!

 

Same here (although a bit "behind" your schedule):

New roof / shingles will be done in late July or early August...
...followed by getting Prime / Premium HOPEFULLY no later than late August or September...
...followed by residential solar being installed late September or October....

 

Why did I buy the Prime? Best of what was available for my personal needs.

After a BAD experience with Honda hybrids (Civic), didn't want another Honda hybrid, and didn't want to go back to a non-hybrid car.

Considered the Prime, the Priuses, the Volt and the Bolt.

Volt: liked the added EV range, but most of my drives are long enough where gas would come on, and hated the bad 42mpg in gas mode (compared to 54 for Prime). Also, more than anything honestly, hated the super-high "dead pedal" for the left foot. Pretty uncomfortable. Plus, Chevy's reliability hasn't been as good as Toyota. Were the deadpedal "normal" and the MPG range as good as the Prime, I might have gone with the Volt.

Bolt: what I wanted in my heart, but driver's seat terribly uncomfortable -- noticed it right away, and internet is full of other people with the same complaint. I don't want to have to drive with a cushion from Pep Boys on a $40k car. Also, at my electric prices, I can charge occasionally (with the Prime) and still get the lowest rate (16c/kwh) but if the car was pure electric, chances are it would move my electric bill into the next tier (24c/kwh) -- a lot more. Plus, I only have one car (not two). There was a lot I actually liked about the Bolt, but the drivers seat was uncomfortable and wasn't sure I should take the plunge (as an only car that I tend to keep for 12-15 years) to all electric yet. But it was close. Fix the seats and the Bolt is nice.

Prius C: too small for me, and seat not very adjustable. Also, after all the rebates on the Prime, was about the same price. Quickly decided against this one.

Normal Prius: really dislike the back-end styling (not enough to disqualify, but for me personally, don't like it). Nothing really wrong with the car, except the Prime gives you way more for your money, lets one enjoy a bit of EV (without having to rely on it so much so that I stay in the same cheaper electricity tier), and it's actually way cheaper than the normal Prius for people who qualify for the available rebates.

I live in California, so on top of whatever Toyota gives you back (for either the Prime or the regular Prius), I get $6,450 back in rebates ($4,500 from federal -- yes, I have the tax exposure, $1,500 from Calif that just came, and $450 from my local electric company). So right there, my Prime Plus trim was a few thousand $ cheaper than the Prius, for getting a lot more. Why get the regular Prius when the Prime gives you so much more, and is so much less if one qualifies for the rebates?

I have my complaints about the car (the annoying console in the middle of the back seat so one can't lie something large and flat down on the back seat, the small cargo space) but there's a lot to like about the car.

Love driving in EV before the range depletes, and then am amazed by the MPG in HV mode.
Absolutely happy with it.