Advice please 2010 Prius owner - great car, 141 K, but dumping - (oil consumption only issue) Despite that, thinking of getting Gen 4. Best options by year? Used 2016-20? Any differences between car? Any kinks they worked out in later years? Just go with a new 20 or 21?? I value reliability and MPG. Basically are there any GOTCHAS in say the early year model 4's? ( I would not recommend a 2010 as it seems the oil consumption was worse then and fixed by say 2014, or at least better) Finally how is oil consumption in Gen 4's? Thanks for any and all advice? PENNY
I should mention I just want to stick with "regular" Prius I know since my day in 2010 (bough Penny in Sep 2009) all sorts of new "options" but want to stick with "regular" Prius not any e-model or whatever there is now. I am old fashioned with my Prius preference! PENNY
Never read about any oil consumption even on higher mileage Gen 4s. Just make sure you get the updated safety features which weren't on some of the early base models in USA, I think in 2016. Like RADAR Cruise and other features packaged with it.
they are all good so far. i think there was a small glitch in 16, no button to convert miles to kilometers or something. no biggie iirc. read through some of the old threads.
I have one of the first 2016's and no issues with oil consumption or anything other than the kilo's per hour issue that I am aware. Mine was april 2016 and can switch to kilometres per hour. I'm only at 73K miles though and had an issue with oil consumption on my previous toyota, but that was at over 300k. My recommendation if oil consumption is the only issue is just add oil every 2500 miles or whatever. I used to add a whole quart every 3k in my matrix and it wasn't leaking either.
Some people get to dislike the extra bells and whistles of all the notifications and sensors on the higher-end Gen4's. I specifically did my best to find an L Eco model that had the exterior and interior colors I wanted while avoiding the bumper sensors of the LE and above models. Someone once mentioned that there may have been an update for the system to put out more torque on 19 and 20 models. I don't know, as I have never driven one that wasn't a late-model 2019, but mine is pretty quick from stoplights.
I own a 2017 Prius Two that just tripped 75k. Not one issue on mine other than one recall. I’d try to purchase a 2017 or newer, simply because that’s when the Toyota Safety Sense became standard across all models. The 2021 models have Safety Sense 2.0 and also include blind spot monitoring and park assist on all models. If none of those features are important, save a little money and go for a 2016.
We have 2018, Two and Four Touring. The large touchscreen on the Touring is a bit of a joke, as it's rather limited. I don't like, actually HATE push buttons for sound system on/off/volume (Touring). Prefer the simpler DIALS on the Two. Ownership (bought used) only for 8 months, like both of them very much. No "gotchas" that I can think of, and I'm rather particular, OCD.
I would look at a later 2017 or newer Trim Two to closely match your old Prius. I have an early 2017 and they added BSM and some other safety features as standard midway through the model year. 2016 Trim Two had no safety features available Before the Trim name change Trims Two, Three, and Three Touring were the only ones with an actual spare tire.
Another is that 2020 and onwards include a longer hybrid battery warranty for all states. 10 years or 150,000 miles). The base models (Two or LE) have NiMH batteries, all others have Li-Ion. 2019 added AWD-e and some other updates like new bumpers, optional swivelling headlights, sliding visors, and USB charging ports in the rear (vs. 12V outlet in older models). Either model you choose, mpg will be decently improved.
