Which model....III or IV

For what it's worth, my own regret at ordering a III with leather rather than a IV was the discovery that keyless entry applied only to the driver's door rather than three doors as in the previous generation Prius. I miss it still!

 

but to save 1800, you can double click the remote like any other car to let her in before she gets to the door.

 

Lol the dealer never mentioned that this feature was limited depending on the model. I naturally assumed it was available all around.

Heck I was even told lumbar support was on all models of the Prius. I really wish it was available on the III. I'm not a fan of the leather in the Prius compared to what I'm used to in Cadillacs and in the Lexus.

All I want is the keyless entry on all applicable doors and lumbar support on the III with solar :/

 

Ummmmm, get the V?

I'm assuming that when you said you test drove the V and loved it that you meant the handling. I wanted the leather seats because I felt they would hold up better over the lifetime of the car relative to the fabric. ( I plan on driving this Prius until it no longer works, 10+ years). I felt I would wear a hole in the fabric center arm rest in no time. I HATED the sandpaper feel of the steering wheel and LOVED the feel of the leather wrapped wheel. I've a very "tactile" person and my hands will always be on that wheel (without driving gloves), so it was important to me.

If you can afford the V, get it. I'm still a bit torn about getting a IV vs a V. I got the IV for practical reasons (less expensive tire replacement, softer ride (I drive 60 min each way on my commute) and better MPG's), but I really do like the look of the V wheels and the LED headlights.

If you haven't already, take a III on a test drive and then the IV. But DEFINITELY take the III out and see if you like the interior feel.

 

Yeah i have LED and 17 inchs wheel, but here in Canada even with leather seat at an 1800 option you dont get leather wrapper wheel.....only on the tech package

I will have to live with that!

 

That'd definitely be true with the older Lexus models, but I was disappointed to find that much of the high quality hard back plastic that previously lined the bottom and rear of seat buckets has been replaced with cheaper feeling vinyl in the 2010 Lexus RX and IS. You'll even find vinyl on the back of the headrests in the current models vs. 100% leather in the older models.

 

I went with the 4 for the lumbar support. I thouht the seats in the 3 were uncomfortable. Test them both, thourouhly, ande see how your back feels.
Good luck!
~T

 

I went with the III, but will probably add the Clazzio Leather covers. At $500 for the covers, it's way cheaper than the $1300 the dealer wanted to add leather.

On the keyless entry... My III only has the touch open/lock on the driver's door, but, I understand that can be programed by the dealer to open all doors when you touch the driver's door.

My question is: Can I leave the touch function as is, i.e. touching the driver's door only unlocks the driver's door, but have the key fob programmed to open all doors with only one click of the button? If this is an option, I could use the key fob when my wife is with me and use the touch on the driver's door when alone. I've found that the two click on the key fob doesn't always open all the doors, and if it's raining that causes a delay, and I hear about it!