I’ve been a big fan for a long time and think I finally need some help for real owners. I’ve decided my next car will be a Prius, and that a 6’6 driver like me isn’t gonna fit in the 5th Gen sadly. Are there notable differences in reliability Prius and PP in the 2020-22 years? I would only charge at home with L1 and my daily commute is about 18mi each way. a Im aware of all the specs but not the real world comparisons.
I bought a used 2021 Prime Limited with 41k miles from my sister-in-law so I knew the full history. Have driven 5k since then (about 625 miles a month). Love the car. Keep in mind that the EV range is 25 miles at best and that it will take you up to 6 hours to fully charge the battery with the 120v level 1 that comes with the car. I purchased a level 2 (240v) charger and a full charge is now 90 minutes. I charge almost every day and sometime more than once. I have used only 24 gallons of gas in those 5k miles driven. . . I'm only 5'3 so I can't address fitting in but the interior feels roomy to me.
A Prime seems to fit very well with your daily use and ability to recharge. I enjoy the electric only drive, even on the highway. You probably would use from 0 to 1 quart of gas per day. The Prime has a heat pump and works well in my milder climate, but with some pretty rare frosts. Used, a Prime with fog lights is easy to identify from the front as the limited model. It has the all the way around parking sensors, bsm, hud, etc.
We bought a 2022 Prius XLE Nightshade edition new in February of 2022 and love it. I’m 5’ 11” and I can’t put the seat all the way back and still drive it. Plus, even with a big winter hat on I don’t scrape the roof. So plenty of room for your height. I actually wish we could have found a Prime and would go that route. The 21 and 22 haven’t had any serious issues (just make sure to read the Owner’s Manual). They do take the 0W-16 oil as the only one to meet the 6B requirement.
So, my wife and I opted for the 2016 Prius Four Touring. The price was a crucial factor, and the fact that it came from a Toyota dealer was important to us. As it ages, it requires specific maintenance intervals, and I no longer trust independent workshops. The battery cost is much more reasonable compared to the Prime model. We would have had to charge it at home very often with the Plug-In version for it to be worthwhile. The Prius 4 EHV maintains its value well, even after 8 years (2024), it still holds significant value in Germany. It seems to be the last of its kind (considering there are only PHEVs now). Our car had 45k km / 28k miles and was purchased just this week. I will now add some insulation to the doors and tires. We plan to drive approximately 40k km / 25k miles per year. When it comes to tires, we are looking at fuel consumption test results.
