Cost of Advanced justified?

All I can say is it was worth it to me! The HUD comes in quite handy, it's the only speedometer I look at and it's cool the nav functions show directions on the HUD. The blind spot monitoring was why I chose the advanced, but there's lots of other goodies I found out after the fact.

 

I know how to parallel park, I know to look both ways before I back up. I don't need to remotely control my vehicle environment or have the extra Entune features. Except for these "sensored" features and the HUD, I felt I was getting all I needed in the Premium. I just couldn't convince myself to spend the extra $'s for the "gadgets". Functionally, the Premium is the the sweet spot, but the extra features may be appealing enough to you to spend the extra money. It was worth it to Bob Comer, but it wouldn't be worth it to me. It really comes down to the personal value that you get with the Advanced.

 

The HUD can display the speed limit also

 

I was in the same spot as you, but the only two things I really wanted were the HUD and fog lights lol. Couldn’t justify the price difference

 

To my wife and I, RCTA and BSM are must have options.

Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

I definitely agree!

 

I have the advanced and also have a 2013 PiP. I drive both and after driving the Prime i get so spoiled with the BSM/RCTA I almost forget when I get in the PiP I actually really need to look around! And I have used the remote app to pre cool the car as well as see if it is charged, etc.

The HUD is nice as well. If I were stretching $ wise I would just get the Premium. Normally I opt for simpler, but $ wasn't an issue and I got a good price on the Advanced so I just for once decided to get the top of the line. As others have said, personal preference and yes, consider possible future potential problems due to more complexity.

 

I was thinking I wanted a Premium but an Advanced was what the dealership was getting in so I jumped on it. So glad I did. It is a great car (except for having to tend the sheep ranch day and night).

 

Yup, click here for my take on the Advanced.

 

Being a minimalist, I actually wanted Plus trim but the dealer did not have Plus in stock and the price on Premium was lower than the quote I got for Plus from distant dealers. I ended up getting Premium, moving up from very basic Gen3 Two Prius. However, after driving PRIME Premium for 9 mon, I honestly want to trade it in for Plus. If I can do it without any additional cost, I would. I hate 11.6 inch touch screen. I hate Softex seats. Two features that set Premium aside from Plus trim. For me, extra $4K on Advanced would have been a total waste of money, but as many are saying, it all depends on your personal value, and how much you like techie and gadgets. Good luck on making your decision.

 

My Plus covers most the "need to haves". It has the exact same engine, battery, etc, and the standard Safety Suite items are, frankly, one of the main reasons I bought the car. The dynamic cruise control is superb!

As for the missing better features, I'm in a good position to compare, as my other Prius is a Gen 3 with auto on/off headlights, 3 door SKS, a power Softex Seat, roller tonneau cover, auto dimming rearview mirror with HomeLink, and JBL audio. My new Plus has none of those things (that the Advanced has), and I miss most of them...but don't need any of therm.

Auto on headlights - I'm happy to trade lack of "auto on" for LED headlights and auto high beams - both are standard on the Plus.

Power Softex seats would be nice, but I find that the Gen 4 seat doesn't need the power adjustments of the Gen 3 because the Gen 4 has a better engineered seat (in my opinion)... and the manual seats save on weight.

JBL audio - the JBL on my Gen 3 sounds a *lot* better than the standard speakers on the Plus. That said, the 8 inch display system on the Plus works and functions well... and I appreciate the standard stack of climate controls on the Plus.

Auto dimming mirror with HomeLink - I don't miss it, but people who use the HomeLink would miss it

Roller tonneau cover - the Advanced has it, not the plus. The flexible cover on the Plus is actually pretty good - it's not as robust as the roller one... but it's easier to store. (The Gen 3 has a nifty roller cover holder under the floor that the Prime lacks)

Other items the Plus lacks:

No lock on charger door or charging plug - I could regret this in the future, but it hasn't been an issue for me to date, but it's a major omission for those who would want to charge outside with the EVSE that comes with the car.

No Entune notification of charge status, or initiating AC pre-conditioning from anywhere - very nice to have, but I compensate by using a timer on my smartphone ("OK Google or Hey Siri, set a timer for two hours and ten minutes"). I can live without the sheep in the Entune app (debatable whether I can sleep without sheep )

Rear cross traffic alert/ blind spot monitoring - that's undeniably a superior safety feature to have. That said, the side view mirrors in the Prime, even without blind spot monitoring, are more hexagonal shaped than most mirrors, and do a great job of minimizing blind spots.

11" nav/controls - it would certainly help while navigating in a new area... but functionally, predictive drive is the only feature that is missing from the smaller screen. Things like setting the charging timer work just fine via the dashboard without the 11" screen.

 

Advanced does have the under floor holder for the roller tonneau cover.


Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.

 

One thing that sold me on the advanced, in addition to the safety features, is the heated steering wheel. That makes a lot of difference and allows cutting back on cabin heating and allow to use less battery power for cabin heat.

The apps and the large display are from 2010, and not worth it, save for the remote climate control and being able to check on charge status.

 

I agree--for me, the Advanced is well worth the extra money...

True--but I'm human and sometimes I make mistakes. I love having the gadgets as backup....but you are correct, it's a personal thing....

 

The Prime was Mrs Bear's idea and she knew that I was going to go through withdrawal trauma after driving a ultra-equipped Cadillac for the previous few years. So, she immediately took me to see the Prime in the Advanced trim. And I was almost immediately sold.

If you want to see how well-equipped the Advance is, please read my earlier PriusChat post here: https://priuschat.com/posts/2710108/

There's one error in my comparison list: the Prime has only heated, not cooled, front seats. Sorry.

Otherwise, virtually all of the creature comfort and driving safety features are there.

By the way, I have to say that when I acquired the Cadillac, my feeling was that the "heads-up display" was a gimmick. After living with it for a bit, I realized that this is a very cool and useful feature. GPS navigation instructions pop up within one's field of view -- giving you info on decision points coming up ahead. You may still need to consult the GPS screen or listen to the voice (if you like), but most of the time, the H.U.D. info will keep you on course with minimal stress.

 

Yes, for me it was. I truly like the HUD. Couldn't care less about the entune apps EXCEPT for remote start. I used to work in the financial district in NYC and had to walk a few blocks to get to the garage where I had my monthly spot. It was great being able to turn on the AC (hot and cold) when I left my building and have the car livable by the time I got there.

cross traffic can come in very handy especially if you wind up parked between two large pickups that you have no possibility of seeing past when our backing up. either you have rear cross traffic alert or you back up very slowly and pray that the other driver is paying attention (or doesn't want to purposefully hit you... there are plenty of people looking for a payday).

heated steering wheel is nice to have. wouldn't pay 4K for it, but it was nice to have it included.

and while all those sonar sensors are nice to have, they do have a tendency in really heavy rain or slushy snow to fault. it's a real pita since the car keeps wanting to tell you it's faulted and constantly pops up an error message in the MFD. you're only recourse is to navigate to the settings and disable the system.


PS: Interestingly enough, I once had the front radome get occluded enough to fault out the DRCC. However this ALSO caused the lane departure alert system to go into fault also. When I went to turn it on it explicitly told me to clean the radar. I wouldn't think they would be so closely linked, especially with the rather poor performance of the LDA, but there you go.


all in all, I was happy I got the advanced. My neighbor like my car and bough the premium. He was sorry he didn't spring for the advanced. It's not much more a month when all said an done (if you're financing). For me, the cost of a few Big Macs was worth the added enjoyment I get from the additional features. YMMV

 

Manual seats also give you a little bit of extra out-of-sight storage space underneath the seats. Which is helpful for current generation Prius which lacks the handy small storage compartments of previous versions

I haven't bought a Big Mac in quite a while, I didn't realize the price had gone up that much!