Thinking Of Prius Gen3

[Olga]

Hi

Sorry for duplicating a topic (the other topic deals with Gen2), but I am thinking (very seriously) of buying a Prius Gen 3 in the very near future

I was thinking if you guys could give me any advice what to look for and what to avoid.

I more or less know what I want:

- T-Spirit

- darker colour (not white/silver), could be red

- hopefully less than 100K

- dark seats (rather than cream) - not bothered about leather

- not bothered about solar panels

Is there anything I should know of? Any advice about anything much appreciated.

For example: from reading forums/guides I noticed that a lot of oils/fluids etc might have to be changed at 100K, so if I buy a car at 98K, it will be very soon after purchase. I might save myself £500 but then spend it all on servicing - no point.

Warranty? Is it until 100K or 60K, I seem to find contradicting info. Is the warranty transferred to new owner?

What about map upgrades? I read somewhere that's not so easy.

In my car if I listen to any music, it is MP3 from an SD card. I know Prius does not have it, so can I record that on a CD/hard drive?

Is the park assist really useful in normal driving life? (you know, you press the button and it parks itself :) )

Anything else?

My budget is around £10K, the nearer 9K the better.

I do about 6-7K miles a year, majority in town and traffic. Currently own a Mazda6 almost fully loaded and absolutely love it :)

I already know I will miss the RVM (lane change control), auto headlights, power folding mirrors, easily updated maps and the lovely shape but the Prius's 70mpg will somehow sweeten the blow :)

Thank you in advance for any info.

Olga

[wass]

I dont have a gen 3, however the earlier versions of the gen 3 only had a 3 year warranty instead of the 5 year warranty which is currently available.Some owners of the earlier gen 3 vehicles are feeling a bit concerned because the perception is that the trade won't be offering such good trade in deals. I have looked at the second hand sales values and dont really see a massive drop in the sale prices of early gen 3s and so it would seem that maybe there are just some traders exploiting the warranty issue a bit... human nature.

I believe that map upgrades are easy. Just take your car to an authorised dealer, pay a disproportunately large amount of money and upgrade the standard maps with new ones which are only 18 months out of date instead of 4 years out of date. New cars with sat nav come with maps which are already out of date by as much as 18 months. Even though my prius has a sat nav, I prefer to use my updated garmin since I can move it from car to car and my passenger can update our route while we are on the move.

My gen 2 has park assist and I find that the self parking is of no use at all however the reversing camera is very good so long as the lense is kept clean.

The prius 70 mpg will only be available on very steady journeys involving high ambient temperatures, light traffic conditions, uncrowded roads, ie the most ideal driving conditions imaginable. Google "fuelly" the american website in order to see the real word average fuel consumptions for various models of vehicles including the prius. You can change the figures from american MPG to english MPG at the touch of a button. In practice, the prius will return 65mpg if you are very very strict with yourself and about 50-60 if you are an average driver. If you are a total hooligan you can break into the low 40s!

[Olga]

I dont have a gen 3, however the earlier versions of the gen 3 only had a 3 year warranty instead of the 5 year warranty which is currently available.

So you say that if I buy 2009 or 2010 model the warranty may be 3 years but also could be 5 years? Is it then different per individual car? If I am looking at some cars to buy, how do I know? Is there any paperwork?

I believe that map upgrades are easy. Just take your car to an authorised dealer, pay a disproportunately large amount of money and upgrade the standard maps with new ones which are only 18 months out of date instead of 4 years out of date.

LOL :D

Perhaps I didn't phrase it right :-) I meant not easy doing it cheap :-) A DIY job.

New cars with sat nav come with maps which are already out of date by as much as 18 months. Even though my prius has a sat nav, I prefer to use my updated garmin since I can move it from car to car and my passenger can update our route while we are on the move.

Yeah, that seems to be the trend I see when reading about Toyota sat-navs.

Sadly - I hate trailing wires everywhere, hate taking it out of the glove box and connecting it each time, hate forgetting it to take to the car sometimes (if I happen to take it out before), hate small screen, hate reaching far out to the windscreen etc etc :-)

That was precisely why I have fitted an in-console sat-nav in my Mazda and I absolutely love that it is always there when I need it. Although I don't need it often. Before the Mazda I always had standalone sat-navs (Garmin, Navman, etc). I would not go back to them :) I think I would rather have an outdated map then the standalone one. However, I might change my mind after using the Prius's one ;)

My gen 2 has park assist and I find that the self parking is of no use at all however the reversing camera is very good so long as the lense is kept clean.

Yes, I have fitted a camera in my Mazda and absolutely love it. I don't want a car without it any more :)

That's why I have chosen T-Spirit version.

However, all I currently have is the camera, no sensors, and I wanted to know if that parking aid is in any use in normal life, when you are parking on the street and are beeped on and passed by moving traffic. I doubt it.

When you are not switching on the parking aid, does it still have sensors and beeps when near an obstacle?

The prius 70 mpg will only be available on very steady journeys involving high ambient temperatures, light traffic conditions, uncrowded roads, ie the most ideal driving conditions imaginable. Google "fuelly" the american website in order to see the real word average fuel consumptions for various models of vehicles including the prius. You can change the figures from american MPG to english MPG at the touch of a button. In practice, the prius will return 65mpg if you are very very strict with yourself and about 50-60 if you are an average driver. If you are a total hooligan you can break into the low 40s!

Yeah, I gather that I won't have the 70mpg all the time. I am thinking hopefully I can get around 60mpg and that will still be a massive saving for me. Currently I average about 23mpg in my Mazda (most of my journey to work is in trafffic, takes me 1hr 20mins, sometimes 1hr 40mins to do 13 miles), even though they say urban is 25.4mpg. And the reason I am changing the car, even though I absolutely love my Mazda, is that I have some problems with my foot and knee and the clutch pedal is killing me, so I need an automatic. I originally looked just for a straight swap for identical Mazda, just an automatic, but they are very rare in TS2 trim, hence expensive. For a little extra, that would pay off within 12 months or so I can have a Prius.

I can't have a diesel, as I rarely go on any motorways at all (probably once every 6 months) and it is just killing the engine. I had a diesel before the Mazda, so I know. That's why I started looking at the Prius. I have to say I am not keen on the shape of it, although the more I look at them, the more I warm to them, but I absolutely love the inside of it, and that's what matters, doesn't it :)

Thank you very much, wass, for replying!

Olga

[ian rooke]

Hi the warranty on the early gen 3 is 3 years for everything but the Hybrid side and 5 years for the hybrid side both can be extended to 10 years 100000 miles the later gen 3 was 5 years for everything.

[johalareewi]

Gen3 registered before 1 June 2010 only have 3 years / 60,000 mile warranty (5 years / 60,000 miles for Hybrid parts and HV battery). After 1 June 2010, it is 5 years / 100,000 miles on everything (and 8 years for HV battery).

http://www.toyota.co.uk/cgi-bin/toyota/bv/generic_editorial.jsp?navRoot=toyota_1024_root&noLeftMenu=true&fullwidth=TRUE&nodiv=TRUE&edname=YourChoiceTerms&id=YourChoiceTerms&zone=Zone+Offers&sr=Mall

On the plus side, the Toyota extended warranty covers all the hybrid parts and HV Battery and is unlimited mileage.

So an early gen3 with a 2 year extended warranty gives you 5 years cover (and is unlimited miles).

In 2012, the gen3 had a facelift. The facelifted gen3 has a "touch and go" head unit which means you can update the satnav maps yourself. The non "touch and go" satnav is a real PITA to get updated. Facelifted gen3 also has reversing camera as standard.

Your actual mpg will vary but will be way better than your current Mazda. Have a look at fuelly.com

Have you looked at a used hybrid auris? Similar mpg as prius.

[Olga]

Gen3 registered before 1 June 2010 only have 3 years / 60,000 mile warranty (5 years / 60,000 miles for Hybrid parts and HV battery). After 1 June 2010, it is 5 years / 100,000 miles on everything (and 8 years for HV battery).

http://www.toyota.co.uk/cgi-bin/toyota/bv/generic_editorial.jsp?navRoot=toyota_1024_root&noLeftMenu=true&fullwidth=TRUE&nodiv=TRUE&edname=YourChoiceTerms&id=YourChoiceTerms&zone=Zone+Offers&sr=Mall

Ah, thank you for clarifying that.

I don't think I can afford a Prius registered after 1st June 2010, they go much higher than my budget.

On the plus side, the Toyota extended warranty covers all the hybrid parts and HV battery and is unlimited mileage.

So an early gen3 with a 2 year extended warranty gives you 5 years cover (and is unlimited miles).

So basically it depends whether the original owner bought the extended warranty?

TBH I am not that much fussed about the warranty, was just interested and confused by the lenghts of it. It's a nice to have but not essential for me now.

In 2012, the gen3 had a facelift. The facelifted gen3 has a "touch and go" head unit which means you can update the satnav maps yourself. The non "touch and go" satnav is a real PITA to get updated. Facelifted gen3 also has reversing camera as standard.

Hold on, it says in all the cars that I look (mainly 59 reg, so up to Mar 2010) it says it has Touch and Go and reversing camera?

I have sat in a 09 Prius and it definitely had a camera.

Your actual mpg will vary but will be way better than your current Mazda. Have a look at fuelly.com

Yeah, I had a look, and it looks a bit disheartening at all that 40s for a Prius :) I was hoping for late 50s and 60s TBH.

Have you looked at a used hybrid auris? Similar mpg as prius.

Yes, I have, but I don't like small cars and small boots :-) I am already going slightly smaller to the Prius :)

[Bibsy]

"Yeah, I had a look, and it looks a bit disheartening at all that 40s for a Prius :) I was hoping for late 50s and 60s TBH."

That'll be because you've not changed it from US gallons to UK. Click the UK button top left and it will all look much rosier...

[Olga]

"Yeah, I had a look, and it looks a bit disheartening at all that 40s for a Prius :) I was hoping for late 50s and 60s TBH."

That'll be because you've not changed it from US gallons to UK. Click the UK button top left and it will all look much rosier...

Aaaaah, that is much better, thank you! :)

[Olga]

I believe that map upgrades are easy. Just take your car to an authorised dealer, pay a disproportunately large amount of money and upgrade the standard maps with new ones which are only 18 months out of date instead of 4 years out of date.

What if I have something like this:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Full-uk-European-maps-on-DVD-format-for-Toyota-Prius-2009-onwards-/151000751919

Is it easy to do it myself then?

[Bibsy]

If the nav system has a DVD player (ie gen 2 models), then you just chuck the DVD in. If it has a hard drive instead though, then that's when it gets tricky and requires dealer work at some expense.

My understanding is that early Gen3 models with nav all had hard drives, but am prepared to be corrected.

The nav is pretty rubbish anyway, don't get hung up on it.

[Olga]

If the nav system has a DVD player (ie gen 2 models), then you just chuck the DVD in. If it has a hard drive instead though, then that's when it gets tricky and requires dealer work at some expense.

Hmm, I was under impression, that I can update myself. It just gets worse...

My understanding is that early Gen3 models with nav all had hard drives, but am prepared to be corrected.

I have just returned from a test drive in 59 plate Prius. I think it had a hard drive, as when I opened it, there was a little sign HDD or something like that.

The nav is pretty rubbish anyway, don't get hung up on it.

OMG, is it that bad?...

Don't tell me I now have to look for another car :)

The test drive did not convince me too much, I am now thinking of hiring one for a weekend to see how I feel in it for longer than 10 minutes.

Also on all of the videos the HUD was quite large, in this one it was tiny! Hardly visible at all. No, the brightness was not a problem, the size was.

[Duffryn]

What info did you want from the HUD? If it's MPH only then it should be big enough. If you require additional info as well then the MPH readout reduces in size in order to accommodate the other readings. At least mine appears to.....

[Olga]

What info did you want from the HUD? If it's MPH only then it should be big enough. If you require additional info as well then the MPH readout reduces in size in order to accommodate the other readings. At least mine appears to.....

Speed and navi directions.

On the test drive I did not have a route, so there was just speed.

I was expecting that:

from 0.33 for about 5 seconds

However, all I got was about half that. It looked tiny! I hardly saw it at all. Plus it was broad daylight, so I expected it to be fainter, so that's OK.

[johalareewi]

Hold on, it says in all the cars that I look (mainly 59 reg, so up to Mar 2010) it says it has Touch and Go and reversing camera?

I have sat in a 09 Prius and it definitely had a camera.

Pre-facelift gen3 prii did not have "touch and go" fitted as standard. The T3 and T4 didn't even have a touch screen. Only the T-Spirit had the touch screen which supports the backup camera and satnav. The satnav in early gen3 is on the HDD (hard disk drive) and can only be updated by the dealer with an expensive lead. Things were different in other parts of the world where they didn't have the HDD.

Some of us have replaced the Mr T head unit with an aftermarket unit so we can have backup camera, proper satnav, music on SD card, etc. ;)

When you look at used prii on Mr T you will find that the descriptions are somewhat generic. :(

It is definitely worth getting a long test drive if you can.

[Duffryn]

Well the HUD in my 2010 car doesn't look much like that in the video footage (US version?). My display is bright green, a similar colour to the light in the switch, and is set much brighter than that one. Mine's a T4 so don't have satnav, touch-screen etc etc.

[johalareewi]

The HUD buttons are to the right of the touch screen head unit.

You can select what to display on the HUD and change the brightness and move it up and down.

I only have the T3 but the HUD speedo is about the same size as the one on the main dash.

[Olga]

Hold on, it says in all the cars that I look (mainly 59 reg, so up to Mar 2010) it says it has Touch and Go and reversing camera?

I have sat in a 09 Prius and it definitely had a camera.

Pre-facelift gen3 prii did not have "touch and go" fitted as standard. The T3 and T4 didn't even have a touch screen. Only the T-Spirit had the touch screen which supports the backup camera and satnav. The satnav in early gen3 is on the HDD (hard disk drive) and can only be updated by the dealer

with an expensive lead. Things were different in other parts of the world where they didn't have the HDD.

Yeah, I was talking about the T-Spirit.

Some of us have replaced the Mr T head unit with an aftermarket unit so we can have backup camera, proper satnav, music on SD card, etc. ;)

Thats what I have done in my Mazda. However, my choice of the system was not great, so if I did it second time, I would have chosen different, which costs a bit more.

When you look at used prii on Mr T you will find that the descriptions are somewhat generic. :(

It is definitely worth getting a long test drive if you can.

I am thinking about it. Thanks

[Olga]

The HUD buttons are to the right of the touch screen head unit.

You can select what to display on the HUD and change the brightness and move it up and down.

I only have the T3 but the HUD speedo is about the same size as the one on the main dash.

Yes, I did select the brightness and position, but that didn't change the size of it at all. Maybe something was wrong in this particular model, as frankly that HUD was no use to me, I had to almost squint to see it, it was that bad. I guess it would be better after dark, but still...

[Olga]

Thank you everyone for answering my questions! I am now still thinking about hiring it for a day or two and test drive it for longer. However, if I am to spend 10K I started thinking about a Lexus, for the same money, only a bit older. The mpg in the Prius is what is winning at the moment, but the GS450h is soooo nice :-) Decisions, decisions...

[Bibsy]

Different league the Lexus, if you get the right model. Been there myself and would have another right this minute, except that the pain of the fill ups is too great for me, as are the services, the tyres, the tax - in fact every time you dip into your wallet it's noticeably more than it is for the Prius, which is a fine beast.

Horses for course, but as very rough idea, in my circumstances of mileage and so forth, I traded down from a Lexus LS430 to the Prius, and over three years I reckon to have saved £5k actual cash in hand, which has bought us three nice holidays instead and left a little wodge in the savings account towards the next car change.

But if you don't care about that and want to, go for it - the Lexus experience is not one to be passed up if you can justify it.

[Duffryn]

.....but just make sure you can find a space in the multi-storey big enough to park it!

[Olga]

Different league the Lexus, if you get the right model. Been there myself and would have another right this minute, except that the pain of the fill ups is too great for me, as are the services, the tyres, the tax - in fact every time you dip into your wallet it's noticeably more than it is for the Prius, which is a fine beast.

Horses for course, but as very rough idea, in my circumstances of mileage and so forth, I traded down from a Lexus LS430 to the Prius, and over three years I reckon to have saved £5k actual cash in hand, which has bought us three nice holidays instead and left a little wodge in the savings account towards the next car change.

But if you don't care about that and want to, go for it - the Lexus experience is not one to be passed up if you can justify it.

No, the only model I look at (and can afford to run) is the GS450h which is also a hybrid. 30mpg - better than my Mazda, road tax same as Mazda, insurance actually less!!! No idea why, as it is group 17, but I have run it through a few comparison sites and it comes up less or same, so why not? :)

[Bibsy]

You horror. I'm off to look in Autotrader right now.

Actually, I'm not, because my fuel bill is currently £1600 a year, and at 30mpg it's simple - it would double, and personally I'd rather have the £133 a month in the bank, but I take the point!

[Olga]

You horror. I'm off to look in Autotrader right now.

LOL

Actually, I'm not, because my fuel bill is currently £1600 a year, and at 30mpg it's simple - it would double, and personally I'd rather have the £133 a month in the bank, but I take the point!

Yeah, you do more miles than me. My current fuel bill is about the same as yours now in my Mazda, so it would actually going to be less with 30mpg of the Lexus. Of course it would be a third of it in a Prius, but you don't miss what you never had :-)

So that's why I am undecided. Within the same car buy price shall I go for saving money (Prius) or a bit of luxury? :-)

[Bibsy]

That's an absolute no brainer, old sausage. Get thee to a Lexus.