Torn - Base or Advanced?

After three Prii and two+ years/43,000 miles of the Pip Adv,I am now a strong advocate for the Advanced PiP. Better seats, better electronics, better speakers, just "better". Do it if you can swing it.

On the other hand, with kid(s) in your future have you taken a good look at the V?

 

Are you rich ? Yes, buy what suits your fancy. I suggest Tesla and PV
Not so rich ? Put the money in a college savings.

 

with a 10 mile commute, i would definitely go with the pip. mine is 15 and i do it in all ev, it's fabulous. as to the advanced vs base, there are more differences. i went with the base because i didn't want to pay for all the options i wasn't interested in, but there are a few i would sure like to have. all the best!

 

I had the same question last year and it was simply a case of looking at the differences that mattered to me and which were just extras. I could not justify the extra cost ($7500 at the time) and simply spent a few hundred to replace the mirror.

 

The power 8 way seats are a huge plus, and the softex has turned out to be a pretty good leather substitute and durable, low maintenance material. The better nav screen and not having to plug my cell phone into the USB port are also nice features. If you can afford it, I really like the dynamic radar cruise control and the added safety that comes with the related PCS (pre-collision system).

 

+1 for the advanced!!!! And the tech package...

 

decisions decisions
I couldn't make up my mind either

 

They are making good deals now, so I would go with the advanced pkg.

 

I just got a used 2012 Base and wrestle with the same question for a while. The Advanced is certainly much better equipped: leather seats, power seats, HDD navigation unit, JBL speakers, HUD, LED headlight (think this is an option), active cruise control (think this is also an option), auto headlight, auto-dimming rearview mirror with HomeLink, more Entune app suite apps - PiP experts: if I miss any please don't hesitate to add...

Since my criteria was certainly different then yours (was aiming for used 2012 with less than 20k miles for around 22k), I can only share with you my thought process. I've found several used Advanced PiP going for about 3k - 4k above Based PiP on average (similar mileage in my area, which is New Jersey asking 25k - 30k). I wanted to stay within my 23k budget due to my trade-in and calculated pay back cost on fuel saving, so Advanced was just a touch out of reach, then I started my research here and came up with the following trade-off / upgrade options:

• HDD Navigation and JBL system - Certainly better, but the base do have Navigation and traffic / weather info from Entune apps, I've also found the sound system on the base to be good enough for me, I'm not an audio guru so decent sound on my commute suites me just fine. I was planning on getting a Pioneer head unit with CarPlay just so I can play with it, so a Base PiP with standard audio will make the swap less "painful", if t hat make sense
• HUD - my father has a Lexus RX470 Hybrid with HUD in Hong Kong. I drove it once and found that to be very useful as the road there were narrow, driving on the other side of the road so I was real nervous as I don't want to damage it. The HUD came in really handy. The GPS display on the HUD also makes it really comforting, so I can keep my eyes fully on the road ahead. But, on the Prius here in the US with wider and familiar road, I can go without it. It sure is nice, no argument there
• Auto-dimming rearview mirror with HomeLink - Like it, but I can also buy one from PriusChat Shop for less than 200, so I'm ok without it built-in
• Leather Seats - I prefer leather, easy to clean when my kids spill something, or eat something. Even though I impose a straight no eating / no drinking rule in my car, that never worked out. Then I found some less than 1k leather seat covers or upholster options based on my research here, so I am going that route instead
• Active cruise control - don't really care for it, I've found I can manage better MPG without cruise control to begin with, and I certainly won't be using it 99% of the time as this is mainly my commute car
• Power Seats - four of my previous cars has it, but I guess it's not a deal breaker for me anymore because I don't adjust the seat often enough to worry me. If the power seat has memory positions, however, I might think differently
• LED headlight - another fancy nice upgrade I really want, but consider the DRL is already LED, and I can cost effectively upgrade my standard halogen to HID, I can skip that. Also if I get into an accident my rear-ending someone the cost of replacing the LED may be higher, a lot higher given the bumper has the headlight washer built in as well. Replacement cost aside, it's really a toss up, I really like to have LED headlights, but given I found the other option to be ok to go without, this doesn't seem to be a good enough reason to get an Advanced over Base

Sorry for the long post, and again, I want to stress that my financial criteria was different. Given I was looking to buy used and wanting to minimize my out-of-pocket due to my trade-in value, I ended up going for a Base and am spending about 1k worth in upgrading / customizing it to what I like (HID, leather, auto-dimming mirror with HomeLink, all season mats), I am still spending less than if I went for an Advanced. And still happily driving a car that's giving me 95mpg...

 

Well don't forget the all-important HOV stickers if that's important, available on PiP til approx. early 2015, maybe a little extension.

Myself I am naturally a "Base" kinda guy, but at my age, the PIPA collision avoidance and lane assist starting to sound good, as well as driverless driving, but the latter is N/A (well its available but I'd be an *it).

 

I didn't give the advanced a serious thought when I was in the market because prices were so good for the base model which was hard enough to come by. Nobody in my area had advanced models.

That said, after a year with the car, if I had it to do over again, I would have spent some more effort looking and considering. At $7500 there is no way I would have paid that, but as a lease, I would have paid something extra for it. The big things for me would have been the better seats, the better navigation screen and interface, the LED lights, the dynamic cruise, and the better sound system. As a tech geek all of that stuff would appeal to me, and having ridden in a lot of the nicer trimmed Prius' as taxis in my travels in Norway, it does feel like a considerably nicer car.

 

I'm perhaps confused...
Your info says that you have a '12 Pip-A.

Buying an up-optioned car is a marvelous way to buy yesterday's technology at tomorrow's prices....and the Pip is hardly a base car to begin with.
If I had kid 1.0 inbound, I believe that I'd wait for the budget to stabilize post-natal and begin a college fund as---excellently suggested above.

Besides, I'm reading where the Advanced models are getting a little harder to find, and we're getting ready to launch Prius 4.0 sometime in the next 1-3 years.
That means that the thwacking that your car's resale value is already going to take will be accelerated when the 20?? Pips come out and everybody is drooling over the them.

Lots of reasons to wait.
If you just can't stand it any more and you HAVE to smell that new Prius smell?
The plebeian (non-Pip) G3 is just as crash worthy, a helluva lot cheaper and you'll be financially more agile when the new PipA comes out.

Then again....
If you have money to burn?

Buy what you want.
SoCal needs the tax revenue!

Good luck with the car and the kid.

 

CA could also use the substantial CO2 reduction, especially in the LA area.
So the advanced would be the best choice in CA imo hehe

 

I don't like to pay too much for car... I never pay close to $30k for a car all my life. My 14 PIP is close to $30K otd. But with the federal and state incentives plus the fuel cost I am going to save, I went for it.

Personally I wouldn't pay more $ for the advance model, I don't care for leather seat and other features on the advance model. Base has everything that I wanted. Don't get me wrong, advance is really nice but prices way too much...

Buy what you like... Love what you drive...

 

I bought my PiP back in June, and I considered the base vs advance for a long time. (well a couple days at least) My wife tried to talk me into buying the Advance with Tech, simply because I was coming from a European vehicle, and she was afraid that I would be disappointed with the Prius because it wasn't as luxurious. I ended up buying the Base, just because many of the Advance features were not interesting to me, and I know that it would all be money down the drain when I go to resell the car. (Advance may get $1k-1.5k premium over Base in a few years, based on what I've seen of the 2012's for sale) Here are my final responses to the additional features of the Advance:

• DRCC - Really not very useful to me. I'm either driving on surface streets, in heavy traffic, or in the right lane at 60-62mph with everyone passing me.
  
• PCS - Billed as a safety feature, but seems kind of gimmicky to me. Would be nice to have, I guess...
  
• HUD - Fancy, would be kind of nice, but doesn't really provide sufficient information... I'll still be glancing down at my fuel consumption, average mpg, nav, etc etc.
  
• SafetyConnect (3-year subscription included) - Err... AAA... after Toyota roadside runs out?
• Larger screen with split-screen capability - I like this, but any interface like this from the manufacturer either is already or within a year will be old tech, that can be surpassed by something I can find on eBay for a couple hundred bucks.
• Two additional speakers with GreenEdge technology - I listen to AM talk radio. Enough said.
  
• XM Data services (traffic, weather, fuel prices, sports, and stocks) (3-year subscription included) - I get this info through my tethered phone. No thanks on the XM.
  
• Entune Plug-in Hybrid Applications: Charge Management, Remote Air Conditioning System, Charging Station Map, Vehicle Finder, and Eco Dashboard. - Would be kind of nice(mostly the vehicle finder and eco dashboard), but I'm not in the habit of paying thousands of dollars just for a few apps.
  
• Auto-dimming mirror with HomeLink - Bought a used one from a Nissan for $35 on eBay and installed myself in less than an hour.
  
• SofTex seats with 8-way power driver's seat - Bought a set of Katzkin LEATHER covers on eBay for $550, installed myself. (not for everyone, I know...) I'm the only driver of the car, so I put the seat in place and haven't moved it once in over a month of ownership. Leather seats is a must-have for me.
  
• LED headlights + fog lights - I'd really like this, but instead I bought a pair of spare headlights for $100, disassembled and painted the housings. I actually like my lights better than any factory option. For fog lights, I found a used lower grill for $100 and bought the complete lights and installation kit for a Yaris from an Amazon seller for $45 shipped.
  
• HDD (as opposed to standard definition) Navigation which is updateable over-the-air with an active Entune subscription - My phone (like most) is about 10x better for navigation than any built-in nav I've ever seen. No thanks.

End of the day - I bought a base and added the features I really wanted. Total investment above base PiP purchase: $730. Even if I have to eat that full amount when I go to resell(doubtful), I will be thousands ahead.

 

Already got the extension on HOV stickers until Jan 1, 2019. The OP lives in Ventura County and has a 10 mile commute, so the stickers may not be of any use to him. We don't have any HOV lanes in Ventura County at this time.

 

sI looked at the package difference in pricing, and came to the conclusion in order to upgrade to the Advanced, I might as well upgrade to the Advanced with Tech Package (no reason not to with the price difference being only $2610). However, it didn't seem like the options were worth $7525, so I bought the Base. In order to have more seriously considered the Advanced with Tech Package, I would have been in the price range of other PHEVs, and would have given the Fusion Energi and Volt a more serious look as well.

I personally prefer the cloth seats over the Softex as I live in a warmer climate area, and this is one of the few cars that offers heated seats that happen to be cloth instead of leather which is a nice plus in a base trim. Plus the fact that I don't need to pay for Sirius XM Data in order to get Traffic and other messages on my head unit was a nice plus as well.

 

The Safety Connect is not just road service, which you probably already have (like AAA). It includes the automatic reporting of your situation and location in case of an accident (air bag deploying is the trigger, I think). The location information from 911 calls on cell phones can be hit-or-miss depending on whether the 911 dispatch center is equipped to receive the GPS information reported by the phone, and you may not be in any condition to make a phone call.

How much, if anything, this is worth to you is entirely subjective.

 

Thanks for the clarification. This might be valuable if you frequently travel alone, off the beaten path.