Question for Prime Owners

I like the Prime. It’s a great car. I work out of my car and drive a little over 22,000 miles a year. Not having a spare tire is not really an issue for me. In my 24 years of driving, I have never had the need to have a spare tire. I never sleep in my car so the uneven floor is not an issue. I will say that the low front bumper seems to catch everything. I have had vehicles throw up objects that hit the front (tire pieces and a hubcap) so much front is looking pretty beat up. Good thing is that most of the front is modular so replacing parts is not bad, just expensive. This is my second Prius and am looking to go full electric very soon.

 

don't forget the 3" raised hatch floor

 

It really depends on your situation. My daily commute is within the roughly 20-30 mi all-electric range of the Prime, so I've been driving it like an EV. The last time I filled the gas tank was April.

As for the raised hatch floor, you can make do some workarounds to get a flat sleeping surface:

 

I sure as heck love our ‘Prime!

I wouldn’t be concerned about the lack of a spare; I personally haven’t had to change a tire on the road for ... 25-30 years, best I can recall.

The raised trunk floor is probably the most unfortunate part, but it’s not a huge concern, all in all.

The most important value to me, other than using almost no gas, is that I’m putting so little wear and tear on the engine, meaning that this car could potentially >300K miles. (I may or may not personally put all 300K onto it myself, but...)

 

I was able to make a plywood board that evened the back for sleeping. It hooks on passenger headrest and raised cargo floor, and stores on cargo floor when both back seats are up.

 

My Prime is vastly superior to my old Gen 3. Handles better, quieter, smoother, much better seats, 1000 miles on 9 gallons, and electric mode feels much more zippy.

I lost some storage but I bought an organizer that works well. The trunk is bigger than it looks.

 

I came from a 4Runner and am surprised how much I can fit in my Prime. Of course you have to work a little more, but I wasn’t concerned about the lifted back. I have a short commute (7 minutes) and the EV range is perfect for me. I don’t sleep in mine. YMMV


iPhone ?

 

What has been most important to me is having the opportunity to drive an EV without the cost and range anxiety of a pure EV; at least compared to what was available in 2017. A couple of years down the road I may trade it for a Tesla, or possibly a RAV4 PHEV.

 

Far and away the best car I've ever owned. Probably the best I've ever driven or ridden in. And at 66 years of age, I've been in plenty of cars. There have been numerous times when I've had to change a tire on the road, so I bought and carry a donut spare fastened to a D-ring I mounted in the cargo area.