Gen 3 versus Gen 4, from new owners point of view

[barrycoll]

New Excel is £22.5k from drivethedeal, and BE+ is £21.5..............in free white that is.....£800 extra for red is a tad cheeky

[FROSTYBALLS]

13 minutes ago, barrycoll said:

New Excel is £22.5k from drivethedeal, and BE+ is £21.5..............in free white that is.....£800 extra for red is a tad cheeky

Presumably the red is pearlescent.

On other models the solid white is £250 extra.

[GreenJuice]

Another frustration with the Gen4 is the loss of SatNav route guidance display on the HUD. I found that very useful of the Gen3.

It is available on the Gen4 in the US but goodness knows why not in the UK version.

[PeteB]

On 23/10/2016 at 10:15 PM, GreenJuice said:

Another frustration with the Gen4 is the loss of SatNav route guidance display on the HUD. I found that very useful of the Gen3.

It is available on the Gen4 in the US but goodness knows why not in the UK version.

If it's any consolation, it was dropped from the Gen 3 in the 2012 onwards face-lift versions.

Not as good, granted, but at least you can display the next instruction on the MFD next to the speedo, so you don't have a re-focus quite so low or near in the car.

[cviclark]

Toyota increased the prices 1st of October so it looks as if I will stay with what I have.

I have found out that the very expensive Parking Pack  option for the Business is not integrated into the dash but just an audible beep. For some reason Toyota insist on burying the rear Speakers in the boot. This makes it so muted it defeats the object. Even Carsta can not make it loud enough to act as a warning. My Gen 3 dealer fit sensors were equally hopeless.  The Excel camera and visual are just about OK if I turn the radio off and I am on my own. IPA would be very usful if it would  put the car in the garage and it may come into its own as I get older.

[GreenJuice]

I've been very surprised with IPA on the Gen 4. Never used it on the Gen 3, but tested it on the Gen 4 and found it unexpectedly quick and effective even in awkward and tight spots. Still not as good as DIY but can see the Mrs using it

[PeteB]

8 hours ago, GreenJuice said:

I've been very surprised with IPA on the Gen 4. Never used it on the Gen 3, but tested it on the Gen 4 and found it unexpectedly quick and effective even in awkward and tight spots. Still not as good as DIY but can see the Mrs using it

I had a go on the first version on a Gen 2 2006 face-lift Prius T-Spirit, and gave up - from memory you had to put some markers on the camera screen to set up where you wanted to go - it took ages to get right (not advisable with cars waiting behind you!)

I've not come across it since until I got my Gen 4 Prius.  It certainly amazes friends, and a few times has got me into (and back out of) spaces I wouldn't have even considered trying, even with front and rear sensors (unless I was very desperate to park!).  It's so simple and quick to use.

My only caveat is that whilst it's usually very reliable, a couple of times it put left lock on very quickly as it moved forward having reversed into a space and messed up the front nearside wheel trim against a high kerb.  Still, better than messing up an alloy, I suppose!

[cviclark]

Finally managed to  find a dealer who could supply a Business Plus within my budget. Still could not test drive it on 15" wheels, and have not actually seen a Red or Blue one but as the ads feature the red I guess that suites the car best. It baffles me how Toyota try to push 17" wheels on us. Cars registered after 1 April will pay higher tax for the dubious pleasure  of driving a car on being wheels. They will pay at the pumps as low profile tyres cost owners about 9 mpg in consumption. They are more expensive to replace, noisier, normally less comfortable, and wear quicker.  They look better but in my experience over four cars, two on, LP,s two on SP,s cause more problems. 15" are much better in snow and you are less likely to a damage your wheels on deeper profiles. If customers can't see them or test them and the salesmen do not tell them many will be unaware of the downside. I have been caught twice but thanks  to "chats" like this trust I have made the best choice.

Hybrids suite my lifestyle, many short runs, the occasional  200 mile trips to see friends or relatives. They really reliable, easy to use and quiet. Over the past 12 years of tax free Hybrid ownership I am convinced the only reason they are not more popular in uk is down to poor marketing. They should be selling like hot cakes before the new tax hikes, but I have only seen one new Prius on the road, outside showroom demonstraters. All those seen have been black or silver.

I expect this will be my last new car, I said that about my last four, but after 55 years of car ownership I hope this will prove to be the best yet.

[FROSTYBALLS]

38 minutes ago, cviclark said:

Cars registered after 1 April will pay higher tax for the dubious pleasure  of driving a car on being wheels.

Only partially true.

In the case of the Prius, the VED rate for cars registered after 1st April 2017 will be higher in the first year for those with 17 inch wheels (76 g/CO2/km) as opposed to those with 15 inch wheels (70g/CO2/km) - £100 as opposed to £25.

In the second and subsequent years, the VED rate will be the same for both - at the Standard Rate of £140 per annum 

See https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vehicle-excise-duty/vehicle-excise-duty

[PeteB]

16 hours ago, cviclark said:

... It baffles me how Toyota try to push 17" wheels on us. Cars registered after 1 April will pay higher tax for the dubious pleasure  of driving a car on being wheels. They will pay at the pumps as low profile tyres cost owners about 9 mpg in consumption. They are more expensive to replace, noisier, normally less comfortable, and wear quicker.  They look better...

...I hope this [Gen 4 Prius] will prove to be the best yet.

It baffles me too.  Personally, I don't even think they look better - the 15" look like 'proper' tyres to me.

There's a Hummer I see occasionally with enormous (at least 22" - and probably extremely expensive) wheels but what looks like about ½ inch of rubber - I wouldn't want to put those over a big pothole!

Company car drivers with a Gen 4 Prius on 17" wheels are paying an extra 4% benefit in kind tax right now, bless 'em!  (13% instead of 9%).  If they drive in London, cars on 17" don't get the Congestion Charge exemption either (mine does - for now).

Those on 17" wheels have a worse turning circle as well; presumably, the lock is restricted so the wider tyres don't foul the bodywork on full lock.

I thought my first (2000 model Gen 1) Prius was the best I'd ever had until I got the Gen 3 on 15" wheels.  I now think my Gen 4 15" gets the Badge!

[Harters]

I'm the opposite and love the look of the 17's and wouldn't take the option of the 15's even if there was a price reduction incentive. 

I'm a private buyer therefore not bothered about the extra CO2 produced and would never drive into the congestion zone. 

I was more than pleased with how well the 4th Gen rode on my test drive

Its all down to personal preference and circumstances 👍

[PeteB]

1 hour ago, Harters said:

I'm the opposite and love the look of the 17's ...

Sure, it's good to have the choice.

I avoided the top two trim levels of the Gen 3 Prius (fortunately it was easy to get my dealer to fit the cruise control switch on my T3, the only extra I would have missed), and had expected to go for a Business Edition of the Gen 4 until I discovered there was the option of 15" wheels.

[cviclark]

I finally placed an order but doubt I will see it before Christmas. I have gone for the  B+ Red on 15" wheels I can not understand why it's so hard to buy a Toyota Hybrid. This will be my fourth and getting the car I want at a rreasonable  price as always been hard work. It's as if the dealers do not want to sell them.  Once again I have not been able to test drive or see a car in the colour or configuration I want before I order it. Nobody appears to know the details of the different models.  After a comparison site search managed to it at an acceptable price. Little wonder so few are on road in UK..At best it's damned with faint praise. OK I personnel did not like the Gen 3 as much as the Gen 2 but the was much better to drive. Other than stupid design omissions, no heating for rear seats, a speedometer that is unreadable, and those stupid wheels my Auris Ts would be great. 

I feel as if I have come across a secret. I have owned many  cars, none perfect although I loved my old SAAB96, and none were really bad, well my Rover 2.6 was a dog but Toyota Hybrids have been the best by far.  Pity about the awfully dull colours, cheap looking white plastic, lack for false flat floor but I can live with the red and sort out the rest with a bit of ingenuity. This will be my last though at my age I cannot be bothered to go through all the hassle again.

Thanks to all who helped me choose.

[FROSTYBALLS]

Annual UK sales for the Prius taken from Toyota's own figures, are:

2012 - 4,716

2013 - 2,793

2014 - 2,443

2015 - 3,361

2016 year to date up to and including Sept - 4,093.

[Heidfirst]

4 hours ago, cviclark said:

I finally placed an order but doubt I will see it before Christmas. I have gone for the  B+ Red on 15" wheels I can not understand why it's so hard to buy a Toyota Hybrid. This will be my fourth and getting the car I want at a rreasonable  price as always been hard work. It's as if the dealers do not want to sell them.  Once again I have not been able to test drive or see a car in the colour or configuration I want before I order it. Nobody appears to know the details of the different models.  After a comparison site search managed to it at an acceptable price. Little wonder so few are on road in UK..

Prius are all built in Japan so even at the best of times supply is limited & factory orders will take months to be planned in, made, shipped & delivered. & this year they unfortunately were somewhat disrupted by a bad earthquake.

Auris hybrids on the other hand are built at Derby where they are a very significant % of production but on the road it's not so easy to differentiate an Auris hybrid from a petrol or diesel - as you know it comes down to a blue Badge or not. 

[johalareewi]

Toyota had a gen3 prius factory in the far east (Singapore or Malaysia I think) which supplied the local market so not all of them are built in Japan.

 

[FROSTYBALLS]

8 minutes ago, johalareewi said:

Toyota had a gen3 prius factory in the far east (Singapore or Malaysia I think) which supplied the local market so not all of them are built in Japan.

Thailand

[Duffryn]

Well, I've noted precisely two Gen 4 Prius on the open road so far, and one of those I suspect may have been a dealer demo - although admittedly it seems I do live in a bit of a Prius desert area....Gloucester city pop, 130,000, but no Toyota dealer!

[PeteB]

6 minutes ago, Duffryn said:

Well, I've noted precisely two Gen 4 Prius on the open road so far...

I've only seen 2 as well.

I've seen 3 Tesla Model S, but of course they've been out longer - a wee bit more expensive than a Prius though! 

[Heidfirst]

I've got a Gen4 that lives around the corner from me (early adopter & he already had a Prius) & I have seen a couple of others but I don't think that I have seen a single Tesla in the UK (have in the US).

[johalareewi]

I have seen a few gen4 prii on the road including a taxi.

[barrycoll]

Some questions for the cognoscenti, regarding the Gen 4

   Is there a wheel well in the 17" Excel, that the hard fought Space Saver from my Gen 3 17" Spirit would fit.....and does anybody know whether the nut spacers are the same to allow me to use my 17" on a new car and so have a  with a spare.

  Do all 17" options have that black streak down them (WHO thought of THAT?)...can anybody imagine any of the Germans putting a black line on their wheel options to suggest 'sportiness'??

 If a new car is registered before March 30th, does it stay with the old payment system of £0 p.a.???

 

[PeteB]

If the car comes with 17" wheels, there's a different (slimmer) tray under the book floor with cutouts for the gunge and tools. if you want to put the spare under there, you have to buy the tray system that comes with 15" models.  Also means a bigger step to the rear seats when they're folded flat.

don't know about the spacings.

I think the black strips are removable, so you can buy different coloured inserts!

The tax band will stay the same for cars already registered when the new totally senseless (IMHO) scheme starts, but there's nothing to stop them changing the price at each level!

[Harters]

The black streak down the wheel is actually the alloy wheel itself.  The whole wheel is gloss black alloy AFIAK and the silver parts you see are actually pull out silver trim pieces.  You can get black, blue and gold inserts if you so desire.  Personally I really like them.

My car is on order for March 1st to ensure I remain in the Zero VED band.

[Heidfirst]

1 hour ago, barrycoll said:

can anybody imagine any of the Germans putting a black line on their wheel options to suggest 'sportiness'??

Yes.

Afaik PCD & offset are the same for Gen III & IV.