Which one: Gen 4 vs Volt vs C-Max?

Qdog · Aug 13, 2023

BuckleSpring said: ↑

I'm helping my father shop for a replacement for his daily commuter, and have been debating on what to get, and it's come down to essentially 3 options:

2015-2016 C-Max

2014-2015 Volt

2016 Prius

The CMax is a bit of a wild card: we've never driven one, only ever seen maybe one or two, and there aren't any for sale within 150 miles to look at or test drive. Benefits over the Prius being more space(?), more power, higher seating position, and better amenities from what I've read. Don't really know much about their reliability, but they haven't held their value well and we can easily find 2015-2016 SEL's for ~10k with under 115k miles. Anyone here that has owned both a Gen 4 and a C-Max care to comment?

The Gen 4 Prius is... a Prius; We've owned 3 Gen 2's that have been absolutely flawless besides some battery maintenance, they eat up miles and abuse and keep coming back for more with no complaints. Downside of this option being that for his price range, they're going to be high mileage, but on the other hand I have absolute faith in their reliability (minus the exhaust heat exchanger issue), especially since they're not old enough for any battery issues yet I would hope/assume. And even when/if it does break, there's plenty out there to get parts from. Only real downside besides mileage would be the power, his commute involves a ~1250ft elevation climb at 70+ mph for about 10 minutes, might be hard on the car to do that every day.

The Volt is an interesting proposition. We set up his garage for 240V years ago, and could easily install a 50+ amp EVSE and have it mounted at the front of the driveway. His daily commute is ~80 miles round trip, meaning even though there isn't charging at his place of work yet, he would still be able to drive at least half the trip on EV power, and use about a gallon coming back (until they install some EVSE's at his place of work, which I assume they will at some point because it's a Federal building). Downside of this being that it's lower w/ a lower roofline (he's getting older and his knees aren't as good any more), only 4 seats, less cargo room, and honestly having a much larger battery that can degrade and give issues over time and cost more to replace, although I don't know anyone with a Volt and haven't done much research into degradation on the late Gen 1's.
Click to expand...

I have owned a 2016 C-max Plug in - Wife owns Gen 2 2009 Prius - 2005 Corolla - 1991 Mazda 3/Protege

I WILL NEVER BUY A FORD AGAIN! -

too many issues to list here, but a Toyota being repaired /Quality issues cannot compare to Ford... just one thing after another.
To fix anything at a Stealership, the Ford Dealer plays the "Chase the Code" until all codes are "fixed" , never really finding the cause of what is wrong.

C-max totaled 1 month ago.. now looking to replace, and with insurance only paying 75% of what it would cost to buy similar..

douglasjre · Aug 15, 2023

Qdog said: ↑

I have owned a 2016 C-max Plug in - Wife owns Gen 2 2009 Prius - 2005 Corolla - 1991 Mazda 3/Protege

I WILL NEVER BUY A FORD AGAIN! -

too many issues to list here, but a Toyota being repaired /Quality issues cannot compare to Ford... just one thing after another.
To fix anything at a Stealership, the Ford Dealer plays the "Chase the Code" until all codes are "fixed" , never really finding the cause of what is wrong.

C-max totaled 1 month ago.. now looking to replace, and with insurance only paying 75% of what it would cost to buy similar..
Click to expand...

What they charge for wheel bearing replacement?

babiker712 · Aug 15, 2023

Happy Volt owner here, that gets my vote. Best car I've ever owned as long as you get used to the blind spots

Which one: Gen 4 vs Volt vs C-Max?

Which one would you buy?

2015-2016 C-Max

2014-2015 Volt

2016 Prius w/ higher mileage

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douglasjre Senior Member

babiker712 New Member

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Which one: Gen 4 vs Volt vs C-Max?

Which one would you buy?

2015-2016 C-Max

2014-2015 Volt

2016 Prius w/ higher mileage

Qdog Junior Member

douglasjre Senior Member

babiker712 New Member