I am planning to buy the new 2023 Prime, but can't decide between the SE and XSE. AS I see it, the main differences are 1. Drivers seat- Th XSE offer a premium drivers seat- non-porous softex, heated, programmable, 2 savable profiles with lumbar support. The SE offers breathable fabric, but manual adjusting. 2. The tire size- The XSE offers very stylish 19" wheels that reduce mileage by about 5 mpg. The 17" wheels look bad, but give better mileage. Nicer wheels could be bought in an aftermarket. The XSE also gives you the traffic jam assist feature, but I think it requires a paid subscription after the free trial expires. I think the Premium is a waste of money. The $600 solar roof option will only add about 2 miles more to the daily range or feed the AC. Does anyone have any other thoughts? Which trim do you prefer? Which seats do you prefer? Would you go for the SE for the better mileage, or the XSE for the premium drivers seat and wheels, or the Premium?
Apparently all models have Traffic Jam Assist, but it's tied to a the $15-$25/month paid subscription to "Drive Connect". The XSE trial is for 1 year according to https://www.toyota.com/priusprime/features/mpg_other_price/1235/1237/1239 . It's disappointing to see this tech locked behind paywalls.
I wouldn’t worry about the traffic jam assist. If you search “steering wheel booster” apparently someone has made this thing which you can attach to one side of the steering wheel to make the car believe your hand is on the wheel. Then you can simply use the adaptive cruise control in a traffic jam.
i woud go for the se because i don't want 19" wheels. but if you really want the fancy drivers seat, $3,250. isn't too bad for whatever else you get
I've ordered the premium trim, because this will be my "forever" car (>10 years). I'm aware it will depreciate more than the mid or base trims. No trim level is a perfect configuration. In my mind, of the differences among the trim levels, the wheels are the most straightforward to "fix". A salesperson at a tire shop told me the original 19" wheels with tires should be worth ~C$1500 on the resale market.
It's funny how the goal posts shift: a few months ago 17" wheels were the frivolous, heavy, expensive, mpg-robbing option.
