2021 Prius XLE vs 2021 Prius Limited

Get the April, 2020 edition of Consumer Reports and read thoroughly for their tips on negotiating. They have a car buying assistance service you can access for a fee. Check with your credit union if they have one. They know the real value of cars, or can look it up, to determine how much it's reasonable to finance.

Finally, why would you want to trade a Prius that is barely broken in, at 31,000 miles? They only start to pay for themselves when they hit about 100,000. Admittedly, "because I can" is a fair answer!

My wife and I have bought three used Priuses, and one new one. My 2009 was new... bought in 2008 for $31,000. My wife's nearly identical 2009 was used, bought for $15,200 in 2012 with 49,000 miles. We gave both to our twins. Mine was totaled in the front yard of my son's friend by a drunk in an F-150 at 4:45 AM of the morning after his 21st birthday — great present, right? His twin is still driving the one we bought used. It drives like the day we bought it, despite over 180,000 miles. My wife bought a 2015 Prius v wagon with 49,000 miles. Other than the sucky electronics, it's flawless. The same day, I bought a 2010 that had had ALL the recalls done on it at 53,000. It's great, except for the satellite radio antenna amp which I could care less about. My son replaced my 2009 with a 2010 exactly like mine, but with 168,000 miles. It runs and drives just like mine.

These have been the most trouble-FREE cars we ever owned. My sister-in-law also drives a 2010, and my mother-in-law drives a 2015 Prius v wagon. They just keep going and going and cost very little to maintain and insure.

 

I studied the differences between Limited and XLE also, trying to decide if the additional safety gear would be useful to me and whether it was worth an additional $3000. If all goes well, later today I will become the owner of a sea glass pearl 2021 Prius Limited. My first new car purchase since 1995. I do mainly highway driving, so the Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist, HUD, Dynamic Radar Cruise Control, and the fancy headlighting were my main selling points. I really would have liked to have a FLIR system for the occasional deer in the headlights. I can't wait to jump feet first in the owners manual for this amazing piece of machinery.

 

On my 2016 Prius 4, I had Blind Spot Monitoring, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, and when I upgraded to the 2020 Prius Prime Limited, I knew for sure I wanted those 2 features. In my case I became accustomed to those protective features, and didn't want to be without. Backing out or lane changing once into unseen traffic could be costly.

 

I think that with my fall 2017 Prius 2, which was indeed my last "new purchase" since 1995', and my used Gen 2 (2008) which I traded on the 2017, was my last hopefully, unless the 21' safety system has a significant upgrade. I don't drive much highway, but I find the existing features useful. The one thing the engineers left out on the BSM was a optional audible alarm because in daylight the side mirror light is not exactly sufficient. For anything over and above like actually avoiding or attempting to avoid a deer that might jump out in front of you would require one of Mr. Musk's Teslas, and I'm afraid that MY ship that I could expect is somewhere near the Titanic's final resting place...

 

The Limited has the large infotainment screen, JBL stereo and dynamic navigation. The only way to get navigation in the XLE is to use Apple car play or Android auto. I was ready to buy the XLE with the sunroof and Technical package when I realized that factory navigation was not available, so I got the Limited with the sunroof. To me navigation is very important and so is a good stereo system. If the JBL stereo is not necessary to you and you don’t mind using Apple car play for navigation, by all means get the XLE. Cheers.

 

Have you had any issues with your multi-information display 11.6 inch monitor? Mine has rebooted a couple times. Not sure what caused the first, but the second I was rapidly scrolling to get to an FM frequency and may have pressed the INFO button right next to the tuning button.

The nav is rather nice although I rarely have need of it. The JBL audio system is quite good given its factory origin. Unfortunately the multi-information display on this vehicle is not compatible with Android Auto. I'm holding out for a future update though, which I will keep hoping for. I'm certainly not an Apple fan boy, although I do use an iPod for music and podcasts.

 

I messed up! The Limited is only Apple car play compatible, no Android auto yet . I just got my Limited yesterday so I haven’t had a chance to do much with it. It was easy to pair my iPhone 11. I also set my home address and used the navigation from El Monte to Anaheim. The safety features are awesome. The radar cruise control is great. I also tried the SAT radio. Pretty good sound. The 11.6” display is overwhelming. I’d like to enlarge the music panel as it’s too little. No problems though. What color is your Prius? Mine is sea glass pearl. I love that color.

 

If the Limited has 17" tires and the modified suspension (my 2018 had these), and the XLE has smaller tires and
normal" suspension, make sure you've driven both, side-by-side.

The 17s have better (quicker) handling, but there's a penalty paid in road noise and harsh ride. In the DFW region, it was downright harsh.

The 15s ride is much quieter, and smoother.

 

I find that the BSM and rear traffic detection is really valuable to me. I have a bad vertebrae in my neck so there is limited motion. Then I developed a bulging disk in my lower spine, so I have to be real cautious about turning to look when backing. Between the rearview mirror, the backup camera showing on the large display and the cross traffic alerts I've not had any problems with backing up.

Dan

 

Mine is the same color, sea glass pearl, as in my avatar. I just rolled over 1000 miles today on the way to work. Tires are all broke in. Nice and quiet, although I usually drive on Goodyear Assurance Comfortreds. Don't know much about the Toyo brand and can't even find an expected mileage for these tires online. Someone commented on a website somewhere that they got almost 90K miles on them with a 2019 Prius. I am stoked so far with the features of this vehicle.

 

My 2017 Prius three touring came with the original Yokohama tires on 17” stock rims which make my Prius a road noise and hash ride. As soon I changed to Goodyear Assurances Comfortread tires, no more road noise and smooth ride. Also, less body roll and better handling at highway speed with this tire size 215/50R17.

 

Biggest difference for me was the screen. I wanted some knobs for the radio and climate control, so I went with the XLE with Advance Tech Package (which added HUD and Adaptive Front Lighting System for $800). That felt intuitively safer for me than to have to use the screen for some basic radio and climate functions. I also had gotten very use to Apple CarPlay since I had installed an aftermarket radio in my 2011 Prius for navigation. Best of both world IMHO, all the same safety features, plus buttons for radio and AC. I guess the only downside is you have to plug in your phone for navigation and the radio isn’t as kicking.