We did it !!!! .....ordered a Toyota 2020 Prius Prime XLE

GKL

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The supply of the Prius Prime in the southeast is way below the demand (yesterday there was only one XLE in the whole southeast region, but not in the color we wanted) so we ordered one from the factory thru a dealership.

We are getting a Toyota 2020 Prius Prime XLE in "Magnetism Blue" with a black interior.

It is a Plug-in hybrid, you can drive on electric only, or hybrid mode using both gas and electric.

Fully charged it is listed as getting 25 miles in all-electric mode, but I have read where some owners got as much as 30-35 miles on a single charge, great for local commuting without having to use any gas at all.

Even when needing to use the hybrid mode for longer trips it can get an estimated combined 133 MPGe, I have read reviews where some owners talked about only having to go to the gas station about once every 4 months or even longer !

The very neat 11 inch screen display includes a built-in navigation with maps and a feature that will tell you current traffic conditions along your projected route. It even has Alexa voice capability to do some things.

Here is the Toyota link to that model -

https://www.toyota.com/priusprime/2020/

Here are a few pics I got from online:
Prius_Prime_XLE_01.jpg
Prius_Prime_XLE_03.jpgPrius_Prime_XLE_04.jpg
 
Assuming you’re a retiree, desiring a vehicle such as that, why not save $25k and just buy an electric go-cart?
 
You'll love it. My aunts are on their second one and my brother has one because our tundras get 13 mpg. I had a jetta diesel. We call them our go-carts. Zero problems ever and ridiculous gas mileage. Theirs are butt ugly, good to see Toyota is making improvements on looks.
 
My brother in-law has two Prius. They are reliable!
I drive a 1996 Camry, quality cars!
I'd love an electric car but too much for me.
Congrats on your new Prius.
 
Assuming you’re a retiree, desiring a vehicle such as that, why not save $25k and just buy an electric go-cart?

:laughing:

Thanks for the idea, I have seen people driving golf-carts around before !

Though I am retired, my wife wants to keep working for a while, and while an electric go-cart sounds fun, it might be a challenge hauling a weeks worth of groceries from the store :lol: (not to mention if you want to stop by a few local stores and need to leave stuff in your vehicle)

While our local travelling being in a small town could be on electric only, the times we need to travel about 25-30 miles each way to the city the hybrid mode (using both gas and electric) with it's super MPG would save us a whole lot on gas expense.

We are using our 2015 Kia Soul at least until our new Prius Prime XLE is delivered in a few months, at that time we will decide whether to keep the Kia or sell it as we could get at least $10,000 selling our Kia according to KBB.

The other potential factor I want to be prepared for is gas prices going up and/or gas shortages like what happened in the past. It seems gas supplies and prices are very sensitive to when there are conflicts overseas, and if a major conflict causes gas prices to go way up and supply to be limited, those who have a plug-in hybrid will be very glad they do.

You'll love it. My aunts are on their second one and my brother has one because our tundras get 13 mpg. I had a jetta diesel. We call them our go-carts. Zero problems ever and ridiculous gas mileage. Theirs are butt ugly, good to see Toyota is making improvements on looks.

Thanks, we already love it even though we don't have it yet :lol:

My wife tends to be the conservative one when it comes to spending and I am the one who has to be careful to keep my spending in check :lol: so it surprised me last year when my wife mentioned wanting to get a new car after we paid off our Kia and wanted it to be a Toyota because a friend of hers has a Toyota which they so far put about 350,000 miles on and it's still running great, it does seem Toyota has a rep for dependable cars that hold up very well.

So months ago I started doing a lot of research to decide which Toyota we would want to get, and yes, many Toyotas seem to be somewhat pricier than some other brands econo models, but you usually get what you pay for, anyhow, when I saw the price of a model we would want to get (hatchback) and then saw it would only be so much more to get a plug-in hybrid, I figured why not pay a little more and get what you really want, one that has the money saving benefits of a plug-in hybrid, which would also help make up for the extra cost over time.

I appreciate that tastes on how a vehicle looks is subjective as a personal preference, but we really do like the look of the Prius Prime, kinda a futuristic look, and the Magnetism Blue color is cool, I've read an owner's comment that that color makes it easy to spot their car in a parking lot :lol:

My brother in-law has two Prius. They are reliable!
I drive a 1996 Camry, quality cars!
I'd love an electric car but too much for me.
Congrats on your new Prius.

Thanks, yep, that is what my research online from Prius owners has shown - they are indeed reliable !

Yes, they are pricey compared to an average car, but as far as plug-in hybrids go the Prius Prime seems to be about the most affordable compared to other plug-in hybrids as well as electric-only vehicles which can cost as much as $10,000 more than a Prius Prime and even more than that for some models.

What helps us is that we have enough saved up to make a very good down payment so the amount needed to be financed is not as much, I also factor in how we will be spending a lot less on gas after we get it.

Now this will only benefit those who pay a lot in federal taxes each year, but there is a federal tax incentive of $4500 off your federal income taxes when you buy a Prius Prime (see the Toyota web site for a tax form to print out and include with your tax return), not sure how much longer that will be available, I think they phase it out after so many are sold.

Another option some people do when they are not ready to get a new one is to buy a used Prius, you'll get it cheaper than new, but Prius cars seems to hold a good resale value so it won't be as cheap as a regular used car unless you just happen to find a good deal, maybe someone who wants to sell theirs fast because they want to upgrade to the newest model soon. (always do research when buying used though, like checking the vehicle history with Carfax or something to make sure it has not been in a flood or badly damaged in the past)

Whether buying new or used, never accept the advertised price, that should only be your starting point, if the dealer sees you are ready to walk out and go elsewhere you might find they are more flexible in the price :lol:

When the total cost was a little too much and we also wanted assurance of keeping our loan APR under 3% my wife told the salesman we'll think about it and that we were ready to leave, the salesman immediately got his manager over to us and he not only got the total cost down by almost $1500 ($150 off the base price that we were previously assured of over the phone and almost $1200 off a required addendum) we also got assurances that he could pull strings to help keep our loan APR under 3%. So be ready to walk out and you might be surprised at how much "wiggle room" they have in the price, I'm sure they allow for that, and ultimately they would prefer making a sale with a little less profit rather than not make a sale at all.
 
Congrats man, nice car!
I really wanted a Prius C but they got discontinued, so i can either go the used route or maybe the new corolla hybrid hatchback, also a nice looking car...
My current car is a VW Up, good little car bought brand new 3 years ago. And yes, i am outside the US so we get some different cars...
 
I love it, but the hard part now will be the removal of that back portion to install the mini pick up bed. You must have an area to haul all those premium finds and advanced detector equipment. You know that image is very important these days :)
 
Congrats man, nice car!
I really wanted a Prius C but they got discontinued, so i can either go the used route or maybe the new corolla hybrid hatchback, also a nice looking car...
My current car is a VW Up, good little car bought brand new 3 years ago. And yes, i am outside the US so we get some different cars...

Thanks, and Toyota seems to be coming out with more hybrid versions of their cars, the 2020 RAV4 is supposed to have a hybrid plug-in version.

Not familiar with the VW Up, but do know that Toyota seems to have hybrid sales pretty much worldwide as far as I can tell.

There are plug-in versions of hybrids and non-plug-in versions, personally I think the plug-in versions are better since you can plug it in to your regular household current and fully recharge your battery while it's sitting in front of your house (or anywhere else you have access to an outlet)

The current Prius Prime has an LE, XLE, and Limited, many (including myself) prefer the XLE because it is worth the $1900 extra over the LE because of the extra features including an 11 inch touch screen display (actually 11.6 inch screen) whereas the Limited version is a $4000 increase over the XLE but I don't feel the extras the Limited has are that necessary to justify $4000 more.

I love it, but the hard part now will be the removal of that back portion to install the mini pick up bed. You must have an area to haul all those premium finds and advanced detector equipment. You know that image is very important these days :)

:laughing:

Thanks, and having a hatchback was an important part of our choice, and the Prius Prime has 60/40 back seats where one or both can fold down for extra cargo space.

Here is a pic I found online showing the seats down -
Prius_Prime_XLE_cargo_area.jpg
(PLENTY of room for detecting equipment and finds :lol:)
 
At least rice is cheap! Referring to the cost of charging it up. :cool3:

We get good electric rates in our small town compared to the rates the company in the city 25 miles south of us charges. Unless your area has really extremely excessive electric rates, recharging a car should be cheaper than buying gas.

When you are driving in hybrid mode (using combination of gas and electric) the car puts a charge back into the battery when you take your foot off the accelerator pedal and also when you use the brake (it converts the kinetic energy from the car slowing down during those times).

Another factor to consider is that unlike regular cars that continue to use up gas even when sitting at a red light, the Prius Prime does not, and a regular car uses extra gas when accelerating from a stop sign or light turning green whereas the hybrid will use electric power at first even when in hybrid mode, they design these things to be really efficient !

Another thing is that sometimes you can find charging stations that are free to use, really nice if it is close by a restaurant or store you are going to, get a free charge while shopping or eating ! Also, for those who travel, some hotels/motels seem to have free chargers as an incentive to stay there.

I have heard of some workplaces that have charging stations so employees with plug-in hybrids or EVs can recharge their cars while they are at work.

There are web sites that show where chargers are countrywide, some are free, others cost.

The 11.6 inch display in the Prius Prime includes a navigation map feature that lets you know where all the charging stations are in the area you are driving in.
 
Just ribbing you Gary, but interesting info.

:laughing: …...no problem, I understand :lol:, but actually glad you brought it up, I was not aware of much of this until I started researching months ago, this helps remind me of info to share that other members might be wondering about also.
 
:laughing:

Thanks for the idea, I have seen people driving golf-carts around before !

Though I am retired, my wife wants to keep working for a while, and while an electric go-cart sounds fun, it might be a challenge hauling a weeks worth of groceries from the store :lol: (not to mention if you want to stop by a few local stores and need to leave stuff in your vehicle)

While our local travelling being in a small town could be on electric only, the times we need to travel about 25-30 miles each way to the city the hybrid mode (using both gas and electric) with it's super MPG would save us a whole lot on gas expense.

We are using our 2015 Kia Soul at least until our new Prius Prime XLE is delivered in a few months, at that time we will decide whether to keep the Kia or sell it as we could get at least $10,000 selling our Kia according to KBB.

The other potential factor I want to be prepared for is gas prices going up and/or gas shortages like what happened in the past. It seems gas supplies and prices are very sensitive to when there are conflicts overseas, and if a major conflict causes gas prices to go way up and supply to be limited, those who have a plug-in hybrid will be very glad they do.



Thanks, we already love it even though we don't have it yet :lol:

My wife tends to be the conservative one when it comes to spending and I am the one who has to be careful to keep my spending in check :lol: so it surprised me last year when my wife mentioned wanting to get a new car after we paid off our Kia and wanted it to be a Toyota because a friend of hers has a Toyota which they so far put about 350,000 miles on and it's still running great, it does seem Toyota has a rep for dependable cars that hold up very well.

So months ago I started doing a lot of research to decide which Toyota we would want to get, and yes, many Toyotas seem to be somewhat pricier than some other brands econo models, but you usually get what you pay for, anyhow, when I saw the price of a model we would want to get (hatchback) and then saw it would only be so much more to get a plug-in hybrid, I figured why not pay a little more and get what you really want, one that has the money saving benefits of a plug-in hybrid, which would also help make up for the extra cost over time.

I appreciate that tastes on how a vehicle looks is subjective as a personal preference, but we really do like the look of the Prius Prime, kinda a futuristic look, and the Magnetism Blue color is cool, I've read an owner's comment that that color makes it easy to spot their car in a parking lot :lol:



Thanks, yep, that is what my research online from Prius owners has shown - they are indeed reliable !

Yes, they are pricey compared to an average car, but as far as plug-in hybrids go the Prius Prime seems to be about the most affordable compared to other plug-in hybrids as well as electric-only vehicles which can cost as much as $10,000 more than a Prius Prime and even more than that for some models.

What helps us is that we have enough saved up to make a very good down payment so the amount needed to be financed is not as much, I also factor in how we will be spending a lot less on gas after we get it.

Now this will only benefit those who pay a lot in federal taxes each year, but there is a federal tax incentive of $4500 off your federal income taxes when you buy a Prius Prime (see the Toyota web site for a tax form to print out and include with your tax return), not sure how much longer that will be available, I think they phase it out after so many are sold.

Another option some people do when they are not ready to get a new one is to buy a used Prius, you'll get it cheaper than new, but Prius cars seems to hold a good resale value so it won't be as cheap as a regular used car unless you just happen to find a good deal, maybe someone who wants to sell theirs fast because they want to upgrade to the newest model soon. (always do research when buying used though, like checking the vehicle history with Carfax or something to make sure it has not been in a flood or badly damaged in the past)

Whether buying new or used, never accept the advertised price, that should only be your starting point, if the dealer sees you are ready to walk out and go elsewhere you might find they are more flexible in the price :lol:

When the total cost was a little too much and we also wanted assurance of keeping our loan APR under 3% my wife told the salesman we'll think about it and that we were ready to leave, the salesman immediately got his manager over to us and he not only got the total cost down by almost $1500 ($150 off the base price that we were previously assured of over the phone and almost $1200 off a required addendum) we also got assurances that he could pull strings to help keep our loan APR under 3%. So be ready to walk out and you might be surprised at how much "wiggle room" they have in the price, I'm sure they allow for that, and ultimately they would prefer making a sale with a little less profit rather than not make a sale at all.
My 1989 Toyota has a little over 200,000 miles on it and still running strong very solid built pickup and my wife sure don't care if I drive it to go detecting .But looks like a nice car , hope the wife lets you drive it some times .:laughing:
 
My 1989 Toyota has a little over 200,000 miles on it and still running strong very solid built pickup and my wife sure don't care if I drive it to go detecting .But looks like a nice car , hope the wife lets you drive it some times .:laughing:

:laughing: Thanks, well my wife prefers to do the driving when we go somewhere together, but I'll definitely have times when I need to run an errand or go shopping that I'll be driving it :lol:
 
:laughing: Thanks, well my wife prefers to do the driving when we go somewhere together, but I'll definitely have times when I need to run an errand or go shopping that I'll be driving it :lol:

The only times I drive my wifes new car (Honda CRV Touring model with all the bells and whistles )is when we use it for a long trip to Florida ,but we usally take my 1989 Toyota pick up because we always have a lot of stuff to bring for the daughter and our granddaughter . Other than that I drive it when it needs to get serviced. If we go somewhere in her car she does most of the driving unless she is tired , but I do most of the driving in my old truck.:laughing:
 
I like it , I like it ! Congrats !

Thanks ! I'll post a pic of ours after it gets delivered, and also after driving it for about 5 or 6 months let everyone know how many months it took before needing to go to the gas station again :shock: :lol:

The only times I drive my wifes new car (Honda CRV Touring model with all the bells and whistles )is when we use it for a long trip to Florida ,but we usally take my 1989 Toyota pick up because we always have a lot of stuff to bring for the daughter and our granddaughter . Other than that I drive it when it needs to get serviced. If we go somewhere in her car she does most of the driving unless she is tired , but I do most of the driving in my old truck.:laughing:

Hey, make sure when you get a new truck it has all the bells and whistles too ! :lol: you could use your old Toyota as a trade-in for a new Toyota when you are ready !
 
Thanks ! I'll post a pic of ours after it gets delivered, and also after driving it for about 5 or 6 months let everyone know how many months it took before needing to go to the gas station again :shock: :lol:



Hey, make sure when you get a new truck it has all the bells and whistles too ! :lol: you could use your old Toyota as a trade-in for a new Toyota when you are ready !

Will probably keep the old truck around when I do get a new one not much trade in value on a 31 year old pick up , don't know if it is true but I read that they are going to start making the new Toyota trucks down in Mexico. I am waiting to see what the new Santa Cruse looks like , scheduled to come out in 2021 liked the proto type. Don't want to many bells and whistles on it though . :laughing: If I get it to fancy she will want to drive it to work. A link showing what the proto type looked like https://www.motortrend.com/news/2019-hyundai-santa-cruz-pickup-almost-ready/ Gary also posted a picture of one in his funny photo edits .
 
Will probably keep the old truck around when I do get a new one not much trade in value on a 31 year old pick up , don't know if it is true but I read that they are going to start making the new Toyota trucks down in Mexico. I am waiting to see what the new Santa Cruse looks like , scheduled to come out in 2021 liked the proto type. Don't want to many bells and whistles on it though . :laughing: If I get it to fancy she will want to drive it to work. A link showing what the proto type looked like https://www.motortrend.com/news/2019-hyundai-santa-cruz-pickup-almost-ready/ Gary also posted a picture of one in his funny photo edits .

The truck at the link you shared sure looks like it would have lots of bells and whistles :lol:
 
Looking at a new truck

The truck at the link you shared sure looks like it would have lots of bells and whistles :lol:
Right now the plan is for it to come out in the $25,000 range a lot cheaper than many out there will have to see what the finished product looks like .Should show up at one of the big car shows before long might even have a new name by then. Kia is also planning on a new mini truck but no real details on it yet . Been waiting since 2015 to see the Santa Cruse Mini pick up at a dealer ship . Also want to see what bells and whistles and assories are going to be available. At my age probably last new car or truck I will get , since we drive them till they are wore out. Driving a 1989 Toyota pick up right now with a little over 200,000 miles on it.
 
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