Any tips on buying a Prius

[olddriver]

I am thinking of buying a Prius, probably new, and I wondered if anyone has any tips.  I will use my Corolla to get the £2000 scrappage on a new on.

It's 40 years since I drove an automatic.

[Anthony Poli]

Have you had a test drive yet?
If your buying new then the only thing you need to worry about is what options you really want. The impression I get from Prius owners is the lack of a full size spare wheel, rear seat/ headroom and interior look and feel.
A test drive and good look at boot and interior, should help to see if it ticks all the boxes for you.
I took to driving a hybrid straight away, never had to try the maintenance mode to disable the traction control in snow.


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[olddriver]

1 hour ago, Anthony Poli said:

Have you had a test drive yet?
If your buying new then the only thing you need to worry about is what options you really want. The impression I get from Prius owners is the lack of a full size spare wheel, rear seat/ headroom and interior look and feel.
A test drive and good look at boot and interior, should help to see if it ticks all the boxes for you.
I took to driving a hybrid straight away, never had to try the maintenance mode to disable the traction control in snow.

Thanks Anthony.

Just had a look at the Prius today in the showroom, very large boot area with the back seats down, much more room than the Corolla and nice inside although it was probably top of the range as it had leather seats. I had a pair of Adidas track trousers on, because I had cycled to the garage, and slid about on the leather seat, so I wouldn't have them: perhaps I should have a look at the inside of a fabric seat model.

I'm not too bothered about just having a space saver wheel, if I'm bothered about it I could always buy a full size one as it looks as though it would fit. Not bothered about the rear headroom. However, the engine bay looks a bit cramped.

[Anthony Poli]

Thanks Anthony.
Just had a look at the Prius today in the showroom, very large boot area with the back seats down, much more room than the Corolla and nice inside although it was probably top of the range as it had leather seats. I had a pair of Adidas track trousers on, because I had cycled to the garage, and slid about on the leather seat, so I wouldn't have them: perhaps I should have a look at the inside of a fabric seat model.
I'm not too bothered about just having a space saver wheel, if I'm bothered about it I could always buy a full size one as it looks as though it would fit. Not bothered about the rear headroom. However, the engine bay looks a bit cramped.

I wouldn’t worry about under the bonnet, unless you like working on it yourself. In theory one bit that should a lot longer than normal cars is the brake discs. Since you will use the regenerative
braking normally, unless you have lead feet. Or at low speeds.




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[johalareewi]

As well as the Prius (new or used) there are a few other options open to you. If you want a lot of room, there is the Prius+ (7 seater) and there is the plug in Prius (a Prius you can also charge up). If you just want the hybrid technology, there are Yaris, Auris, CHR, and RAV4 models.  Definitely do a few test drives and used hybrids are well worth looking at.

Don't think any hybrids come with full sized spare wheels but on some hybrids there is no spare wheel and nowhere to put one.  For others there is a space saver spare or somewhere to put a space saver spare.

Don't worry about the engine bay looking cramped.  The hybrid drivetrain is basically a single lump.  There's no clutch, no starter motor, no gearbox, no alternator, no cam belt, etc. The only things to do here are top up the screenwash and check fluid levels. All easy to get at.  Bulb changing can be tricky but if you have LEDs they last a long time.

[kithmo]

Don't worry about not driving an automatic for a while, the Prius is the easiest car in the world to drive (Gen 2 was quoted as such in a J D Power survey some years back). No gears, just an electronic selector with D for forward and R for reverse, press the P button to put it in park. It also puts itself in park when you turn it off. There is a foot operated mechanical parking brake, which takes a little getting used to, but TBH I hardly ever use it, I rely on the P unless I'm on a slope.

It's also very quiet and relaxing to drive.

Gen 2, Gen 3 and Prius+ have a spacesaver spare wheel, but some of the new Gen 4 trims don't, they have gunge and pump kit instead. But I believe there is a no cost option to choose a space saver now, if you don't want the gunge kit.

[olddriver]

2 hours ago, johalareewi said:

no starter motor, no alternator,

Ah, that's why I couldn't find them.

[olddriver]

48 minutes ago, kithmo said:

There is a foot operated mechanical parking brake,

Ah, I wondered what that was, it was lunchtime when I visited the show room and all the salesmen had disappeared.

The car I looked at was probably top of the range as it had leather seats, it had a space saver wheel and it looked as though there was space for a full size wheel.

[birdseye]

Regarding automatics I think you will wonder why you ever suffered  a manual with the  antiquated mothod of  shoving one lever with your foot & another with your hand  repeatedly all day long. 

Also  Choose  the 15" wheel option for even better economy and  CO2 of just 70 which currently is London congestion charge free

[PeteB]

2 hours ago, kithmo said:

...Gen 2, Gen 3 and Prius+ have a spacesaver spare wheel, but some of the new Gen 4 trims don't, they have gunge and pump kit instead. But I believe there is a no cost option to choose a space saver now, if you don't want the gunge kit.

Unless it's changed since I bought my Gen 4 last year, the bottom two models come with 15" wheels and a space saver, the top two with 17" wheels and gunge, without a spare wheel, and no space for one under the boot floor (you do get a slightly bigger boot though).

As Kithmo says, on the top two you can opt (when ordering) for the space save (in which case it does come under the boot floor), but only if you choose 15" wheels (I chose both).

However, it's not strictly  a no cost option: you get a £400 rebate for choosing the 15" wheels, which you have to do if you want the space saver as original equipment.

I believe one of two (who wanted 17" wheels for some reason!) have purchased a space saver separately, but with some difficulty (some dealers say they're not allowed to sell it for cars with 17" wheels!) and sorting out the under-boot floor trim may not have been straightforward. 

It appears from my manual that in some markets a full size spare wheel is available with appropriate space under the boot floor - I wish they'd offered that in the UK, I'd have paid extra for that.

[PeteB]

1 hour ago, birdseye said:

...Also  Choose  the 15" wheel option for even better economy and  CO2 of just 70 which currently is London congestion charge free

not just CO2, better mpg, cheaper replacement tyres (they seem to last just as long), better turning circle, less road noise and more comfortable ride.

[kithmo]

When I bought mine, the space saver spare was a £0 option with 17" wheels on the Build your Prius Toyota website.

My dealer had my car in stock but it had a gunge kit, so as part of the deal he promised me a space saver and he got me the wheel and tyre together with correct 3 foam bits that go in the boot to accommodate the wheel. I gave him the gunge, the pump and the two foam bits that went with that in return. He didn't ask me for those and in hindsight, I should have kept them to put back in when I sell or trade the car for another that may not have a spare.

Toyota (or the dealers) may be opting for the space saver spare on the top models now as it sounds like the one the OP looked at was an Excel, with it having leather seats.  

[johalareewi]

18 hours ago, PeteB said:

cheaper replacement tyres 

Oooh yes. The 15 inch tyres are so much cheaper than the 17 inch and there is way more choice.

[Chris Dance]

If you buy a new Prius ensure the Sat/Nav is fully up to date. The salesman assured me that the Sat/Nav on our new car purchased last march was up to date. I purchased the Prius business edition but had the Sat/Nav upgraded.On checking myself I established the Sat/Nav was not up to date. It was eventually sorted with the help of the service manager not the salesman.

[Hicardo]

Anyone suffer Prius rage these days from other road users? I remember having a Gen 3 back in 2009 for 3 years, and it certainly attracted some of that.  There are other Toyota hybrids which don't attract intimidation.  I guess there are so many around now maybe people have got used to them.

[Hicardo]

Or maybe its my driving 

[PeteB]

Nope!

When I had my first Gen 1 Prius in 2002 I barely saw one a month (even in London), and I don't think many people recognised it or knew what a Prius (or Hybrid) was.

Since then I've driven almost 300,000 miles in all four Generations of Prius, and a few thousand in other Hybrids, including Lexus LS, RX and NX, Yaris and Auris Hybrids, plus the Honda Civic Hybrid and Honda Insight.

I can honestly say I've never once experienced anything I've taken to be Hybrid rage - bad manner, yes, but that's all.

Even today, 20 years after the first Prius was launched in Japan, I still get people ask if it's an electric car when I drive silently in car parks with the window open.  (Even once got ask as I was pulling away from a petrol pump.  A PETROL PUMP!!!)

[Catlover]

I dont mind a space saver wheel but I wouldnt want the gunge stuff.

The space saver obviously saves space, but as important IMO, it saves weight which means potentially better mpg - and thats one reason I chose a hybrid.

[Anthony Poli]

Anyone suffer Prius rage these days from other road users? I remember having a Gen 3 back in 2009 for 3 years, and it certainly attracted some of that.  There are other Toyota hybrids which don't attract intimidation.  I guess there are so many around now maybe people have got used to them.

Maybe more hybrid drivers like to surprise non believers, by showing we don’t all drive like vicars lol


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[PeteB]

17 hours ago, Catlover said:

I dont mind a space saver wheel but I wouldnt want the gunge stuff.

The space saver obviously saves space, but as important IMO, it saves weight which means potentially better mpg - and thats one reason I chose a hybrid.

I certainly wouldn't be without some kind of spare tyre, but would happily trade a tiny amount of weight for the extra safety and convenience.  The space saver is steel, so doesn't save quite as much weight as you might think - and it IS cheaper for the manufacturer though as well as saving a little space.

My first two Prius were the original Gen 1 which came with 5 matching alloy wheels and tyres as standard.  I kept one for 9 years, and a space saver would have started perishing by then.  As well as not being restricted to 50 mph (alarming on a motorway even in lane 1 when people seem to nearly crash into the back of you ll the time), it means when buying a new tyre it can be swapped for the spare so the spare doesn't get too old.

I plan to keep my Gen 4 Prius for quite a long time too, so I may be replacing a perfectly good unused or partly used spare at some point.

[olddriver]

Thanks for all your replies guys, still thinking about it, heart says GT86 but head and back says Prius 

[Anthony Poli]

Thanks for all your replies guys, still thinking about it, heart says GT86 but head and back says Prius 

But which will win in the end, sensible or fun ?

;-)


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[16_Auris_HSD]

On 10/8/2017 at 5:08 PM, olddriver said:

I am thinking of buying a Prius, probably new, and I wondered if anyone has any tips.  I will use my Corolla to get the £2000 scrappage on a new on.

My tip is that you forget the "scrappage" since it's a marketing ploy and get some quotes online. Try comparison sites and brokers. You should be able to achieve a much higher saving. E.g. current achievable saving on Auris Estate Hybrid is over 20%. Prius is roughly 14% (might be more I had a quick look at only one website).

[Harters]

I got just over £5000 off my Prius Excel in March by going through a broker and the experience was simple and effortless.