Prius/Camry quandary

I had the same "dilemma" years ago when I purchased Pearl. I went for the best mileage (Prius). Easy choice.

 

$5,000 buys a LOT of gas for the 4Runner.

 

Keep in mind that the included spare tire is only somewhat useful on long trips as it has limited range and speed. It basically allows you to get to the nearest town where you will possibly have to buy a replacement tire to continue the trip, depending on the damage. Donut spares also affect handling and braking, which is one reason why they recommend not going more than about 50mph. What some people do instead is purchase a used full-size wheel and have an inexpensive full size tire installed on it, same size and speed rating as the other tires, which can be purchased on-sale at your leisure. Which they then carry in the back on trips. Needs to be tied down for safety, and of course it uses up some of the cargo space. But for one or two people and limited luggage that can work. For a family of four and dog maybe not. For in town, the spare is left at home, with the assumption that if you have a flat in town you will have a way to get the spare brought to wherever your car is (spouse, Uber, etc).

However some have pointed out that if you go this route you will want to replace the spare tire every five years or so as they will degrade even if not used. Or another option is to purchase a fifth OEM wheel and tire, and put it in rotation with the others. This ensures even treadwear, and also avoids the spare getting old, and other than the cost of the wheel, your tire costs shouldn't be that much more since you should get approx. 20% more treadlife since each tire will only be running four-fifths of the miles.

People are also reporting good results with plug-type patch kits, which are quick and easy to use. Although they won't work in all situations, they are far better than the goop stuff that car makers provide.

This might solve itself anyway as I can't imagine even low-end Camry's not having BSM/RTCA for very long.

 

I fail to envision anywhere in SoCal where having a spare is needed. How often do you blow out tires???

 

iirc, you can remove the foam in the pack 4 and add a spare.

as far as choosing between the two cars, we have prius for local and hycam for long distance. it is the best of both worlds. ditch the 4 runner eventually?

 

Who says they stay in Southern California? The Toyotas have enough range to leave the state unlike a Leaf, for instance.

 

There are a few wrecked prius's already, perhaps you could go that route and get a spare tire and foam from a wrecked prius as well.

 

FWIW I believe a manual seat is a quicker adjustment, even perhaps easier, than an electric seat to facilitate different drivers.

Home link on drivers mirror versus garage door remote transmitter placed in the door side pocket...lots of storage spaces to place the remote in a Prius.

BSM = Body side molding? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. May limit some (some) types door dings
RTCA = ? Radar cruise control? I am not a fan and prefer to control my car.

Not sure why a Prius 4 could not be updated to carry a spare...other co-members may have the insight.

Camry is a nice car, maybe even better, maybe even more horsepower than a Prius.
Prius is a nice car, maybe more economical than a Camry, plus there seems to be more enthusiasts of a Prius....so a fun factor.
Do insurance rates make a material difference.
Does resale value at 5 years make a difference.

That's my two sense to help with a decision.

Good luck.

 

BSM =Blind Spot Monitor
RCTA = Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (OP had a typo which I didn't notice and copy pasted it into my message also)

You prefer to control your car so I guess you don't use regular cruise control either?

 

You should wait for Toyota's 0/0 offer. 0 Down and 0 APR will beat those finance offers. In the meantime you can do your research and take test drives to see which you would like most.

 

I am CURSED with attracting nails/screws/bolts into every single company car I have been issued; at least once per vehicle, if not twice. Consequently, I have become a master flat tire changer and actually carry a click torque wrench. I am probably one of the few people who actually like TPMS: alerted me of a low tire situation, allowing me to quickly and safely pull over and check, before causing irreparable tire damage.

14min has been my fastest change time:

remove contents of trunk to access spare and scissor jack,
loosen lug nuts on flat/flattening tire,
raise flat tire,
remove lug nuts,
remove wheel,
put doughnut tire on,
replace lug nuts and tighten to specified torque,
lower doughnut wheel,
put flat tire, scissor jack, lug wrench, and torque wrench away
close trunk,
drive away​

 

OP, have you considered the Ford Fusion Hybrid? If you have absolutely ruled it out, then disregard this post.

If you are open to it, you too may be impressed with the Ford Fusion Hybrid. I was impressed that this was a Ford; they have come a long way. The fit and finish pales, compared to German, Japanese, and Korean cars, but the vehicle none the less is still good. The upside w/ a Fusion Hybrid, is Ford licensed the hybrid technology from Toyota; at least in their early Hybrid models, don't know if Ford is still licensing Toyota Hybrid technology.

 

Thats what I did with mine. Discount Tire was able to find me a spare from a Yaris (or Corolla i think) and it bolts right up.

 

Ford licensed *some* of Toyota’s Hybrid technology not the whole system.

 

You can also get all those safety features and spare in the later 2017 Trim Two Prius for less money than the Trim Three.

Disclaimer: I have an earlier 2017 that does not have BSM and RCTA.

 

Get the Prius! Take off the oem tires and put on Michelin defenders, don’t worry about a flat.