2018 Prius Four (new) vs 2019 Prius XLE AWD

Since you live in Mass. I would say the 2019 for AWD during the snowy months.

 

The ground clearance is going to stop these cars, not FWD only--especially with good snows--but the Four has one big issue I'd go out of my way to avoid, and this is as a Prime owner today:

The stupid touch screen.

I would go for the 2019 just to avoid it and have a shot at replacing the head unit with something more useful.

Good luck with whatever you decide. You'll win either way.

 

I found the touch screen not as useful as an older system with real buttons - but it's not that bad, I've not thrown anything at it in 3yrs of ownership.

 

how often have you had traction trouble with the fwd prime?

 

me too, i think i'd go with the prius 4. all the best!

 

If you can wait, I read here that 2020 PRIME for North America (Canada for sure but presumably for US also?) is getting 5th seats. No improvement for the cargo space, but you may still be able to get the crazy deal you probably got on your PRIME. Will be less of loss trading in 2 years old PRIME for non-tax credit earning HV Prius.

 

My 18 Prius interior is black. I love it. Now, if I can just knock out ALL the white accents someday.... anyone got a steering wheel I can swap out?

Re: FWD Prius traction problems, none yet, but also because this car hasn't seen a Buffalo winter yet--got it at the tail end. It'll have snows come the next one. But, I suspect at least a few days out of the year it will stay parked with the low ground clearance.

 

Have you actually tried placing 5 people (that's what I'm assuming you are needing the 5th seat for) in regular Prius (AWD or not)? The rear seats in PRIUS is not that roomy to begin with. Having the middle seat available may not give you enough room you need for 5 people. If you really need 5 normal size people seat, I think there are some other choices of cars out there that would have similar if not better mpg as regular PRIUS. Have you considered Honda Clarity or Hyundai Ioniq for example as plug-in options? If you like Toyota, Camry Hybrid maybe another option.

 

too soon to know, but probably close enough i would think. hunday's are pretty popular.

 

Yeah, hatchback is too useful to pass up. I was looking for a second car in our household. I priced a Clarity with Boston dealers. It was very affordable after taking the discount and tax credit. The price in MA would be close to 22-24K for the base model ($35K MSRP). But it is a sedan. On the end that was a deal breaker for me too. As for the Hyundai. I really do not have first hand experience with it, but my gut feeling would be everything being equal, Toyota will likely to retain better value. To confirm, I just checked 2018 PRIME Premium and 2018 Ioniq Plug-in Limited value comparison on KBB. Those two cars were around $30K MSRP when new in 2018. With everything else being the same, KBB does show ~$2K lower average trade-in value for Ioniq Limited. So it does prove my gut feeling.

 

I've had 5 in the car - regularly 4 children plus me, but have had 3 adults in the back, and they had more room than many other hatchbacks (Mazda 3 or Corolla). For a long distance, the Camry Hybrid might be a larger option, but sadly only SEDAN these days, no hatch or wagon any more.

 

Well, @Gail2017 said she needs 5 seaters for a "ride share for extra income". I think she means using the car for Urber which requires 5 seaters. I just don't know buying a new 5 seater Prius for that potential extra income is financially sound or not? Especially considering that she is planning to trade-in her PRIME Advanced purchased less than two years ago.

 

If you never had AWD before you probably would not miss it. Once people get AWD they usually don't want to go back to just front wheel drive.

Never buy a car you don't want, trust me you will regret it. Ask me how I know?

 

Haha! Truth right there! ^^^

I miss my AWD and it's not even winter.

 

On the Honda clarity, I read in their forum that it has some power loss issues, spare parts are slow to arrive, and that Honda may discontinue it soon.