Newbie questions/concerns

Welcome!

Well I can't speak for the 2010 since I have only admired- never driven one.
I did purchase a certified used 07 Prius a month or so ago, so perhaps I can help with some of the gen II questions.

1. The gen 3 vs. gen 2 subject seems to sort of boil down to personal preference. Most people seem to agree that the Gen 3 (2010) does improve on some key areas in handling and features..but some people prefer the dash look and general feel of the gen II. I can't really have much of an opinion here. I personally prefer the way the 2010s look, and supposedly they handle better. However my experience with my base 07 has been nothing but smooth after getting used to it (that is, there is a little learning curve to get the best fuel economy from the Prius).

2. I haven't had any problems with visibility. The back window took me about a day to fully adjust to, but, actually I've found the big windows a blessing. I may suggest getting a blind spot mirror for the side mirrors as I plan to...but every car has a blind spot.

3. It is a rather roomy interior (coming from a '98 corolla). Lots of headroom, and it seems very comfy for being a relatively' compact' vehicle. 2010s may be a bit different, someone else will have to comment on that.

4. On the freeways here, it's often 70+...whether the speed limit says it or not hehe. So far I've been averaging about 43 mpg which isn't as good as some, but, if that's on the low end of what a prius can do I won't complain. I typically go around 360-400 miles before I fill up which costs me about 20 bucks at gas 2.60 or so a gallon. You won't hear me complaining . It depends on how many hills and what not is in your commute. I also tend to carry some cargo with me.

5. Haven't experienced snow yet...I'll let you know the next time we have a major blizzard in Texas .

6. As far as I know, the 12 volt battery will need replaced every 3-5 years or so...pretty normal. I assume you're referring to the traction battery. They're warrantied up until 100,000 miles/7 or 8 years I believe.. whereabouts.. and if you look on the 100,000 and 200,000 mile club posts on the forums- you won't find too many people who have had to replace them. Unless you go beyond 175k miles, I wouldn't be too concerned with it. But, of course, take that with a grain of salt. Stuff happens with any equipment, car or otherwise. If it does go out, there are salvage yards and etc that can probably provide means to replace the battery cheaper.

The standard maintenance applies as with any vehicle.. if you take care of it, there's a much higher chance it will take care of you. The thing that separates the Prius from 'normal' cars is it is basically a set of computers as well as a car. However unlikely that anything major will go wrong, if something major does go wrong, don't expect any local neighborhood wrench monkey to know what the heck is going on. Therein lies the only downside for me.

Going into buying a Prius, I was only looking at '07 and up. I was lucky enough to get one that was previously leased, looked new, and only had 32k miles on it. I got it for under 16,000 USD and so far I'm thrilled.

 

I have both an 07 and 10 (Gen 2 and Gen 3). The Gen 3 is a "bigger car". It is larger inside and drives like a slightly larger car. The Gen 2 feels nimbler.

Both suffer from poor visibility when backing up. Now my 07 has a back-up camera that shows up on the instrument display. This really helps backing up. First image I ever saw was my dog standing behind my car. To get a backup camera on the 10 you had to purchase the full navigation package, which I did not do. So now with the 10 I just crane my neck and check mirrors and go very slowly when backing out of stalls.

Both are okay on snow. Tires make the difference, after the OEM tires wear out get a good pair rated for snow traction by Consumer Reports (I got the Hankook recommended by them for the 07 this winter). I live in Minnesota, we get plenty of snow practice. Nothing will have grip on ice. Large snow banks are to be avoided due to the low clearance.

Never have put three in the back seat. Probably better in the 10 vs 07 (wider car).

I keep with traffic speeds. Around here that is only 65. I get about 46 mpg over the course of a year with the 07 and getting about 50 with the 10. I live fairly close to work, take occasional longer trips. No heavy traffic and maybe 50% of my miles at 45 mph. Worse in the winter than in the summer.

Monitoring this site I would say the battery's are well constructed and last a long time. On occasion you will read of some failure of the battery but it seems rare. The way the battery is used (never allowed to get discharged and never allowed to be over charged) operates the battery in the sweat spot, such that the wear and tear is minimal. So our experiences with consumer batteries or laptop batteries seem to not be relevant to the Prius battery system.

If I were buying a used Prius I would look for an owner who is trading up to another Prius. These people love their Prii and probably took great care.

I am not sure I would pay the premium for the navigation system. I looked into this for my 07. The consensus was that the software was less useful than an Tom Tom or Garmin. Also you can move your external GPS from one car to another or to you next car. And now these days you can get a cell phone with GPS applications, so I hear these external GPS units are seeing a sales decline.

Hope that helps.

 

Build a car & get up to 3 dealer quotes at www.aaa.com. The higher option packages on a 2006-2009 (Gen2) make those cars competetive with the 2010 (Gen3).

The Gen2 will have a backup camera & 3 door SKS. On a 2010 you'll have to buy the NAV & go top of the line for these. My Toyota Nav lady & Garmin Nav lady are about equally retarded. I haven't put 3 people in the back of my 2006 or 2010. Take all the stuff you want to haul to the dealer & pack the car. I find the bar for the cover is a bit low. If it sat an inch or so higher it would be much better. My 2006 had higher FE than my 2010 has now. As long as you are comfortable in the car you should be happy with either one.

Just make sure you get 2 fobs & the retractable cover.

 

Welcome to the world of Prius ownership....sounds like you got a great deal and hopefully you will enjoy driving your Prius as much as the rest of us do.

 

:welcome:russg,as your new purchase only has 42k there's not really much to do but just to keep to service intervals,some suggest to change the transaxle fluid at 60k,something dealers never mention,
If you do a search on "what services you need" and "Preventative Maintenance", these should help.

 

Congrats! But, if it has not been already, have it inspected by a Prius technician. Even more so than with most modern cars there can be significant problems that are not immediately obvious.