Hey all -- sorry I haven't been posting or logged in of late -- life and all. Here to post impressions of the '24 XW60 purchased last August... pardon rehashing old news, just my exp. There are quite a few things about the 5th-gen Prius, an owner new to Toyota hybrids will have to figure out from jump. Knew this, so figured I'd just keep a log of interesting details about long-term ownership (if less than 1 yr can be considered 'long-term')... but I'll be moving my business here soon so thought I'd post up before I'd be too busy again to give y'all a proper annual report. Some background: over 50, ex-mechanic, ex-moto endurance racer & sportbike commuter 20yrs. Owned 3 Toyotas, 2 Hondas, 2 Fords, 3 Yamaha and 3 Suzuki sportbikes... but zero hybrids -- am pat-newb to them. Would never have owned any Prius prior to this XW60, as have test-driven 3rd- and 4th-gen and found them unable to get out of their own way. Not so this 5th-gen... Pros: - have seen almost 90 mpg on some p2p sorties here on Maui, including climbing hills - the sheer torque from this little drivetrain still impresses after 3/4 of a year, esp 50 - 70 passing - this hybrid handles as good if not better than my last ride, a 10th-gen Honda Civic Sport (and that was easily one the best car chassis I'd driven in years; light-years beyond the crappy 7th-gen I had). On stock Toyos at that - very, very good chassis stiffness, w/ both axles very obviously working together to maximise limited tire contact patch. The last Toyota with a sporty bent I'd owned was an '03 Matrix XRS... and XW60 made that feel like a C4 Corvette - the LE trim with wheel covers / 17", is proving to be the hot combo -- cheapest trim, and highest mpg rating on the Monroney's a full 5 mpg below what I routinely get, measuring fuel going in at fillup (the dash readout's 2 mpg pessimistic -- is right now reading 60.4 with this island full of Zoomer drivers speeding everywhere). Tires are rare and pricey for what they are... but also pretty competent, if not exactly sporty - the seats are amazingly supportive for what they are, and what car they're installed in - changing oil in this car, is very easy and also less frequent. Oil filters are pretty reasonable from the dealer, so get them there -- a big deal on everything's-30%-higher-Maui Cons (a longer list than I expected, tbh): [with utmost respect to a marque I consider one of the best in the world for an ordinary schlub like me to buy a vehicle from... these are feelings about the nagging truths behind rushing designs into production:] - someone axe the junior engineer who signed off on these stupid window lift switches and their non-function. I exercise my lift motors daily, as here the salt air will corrode seized your lift motors and mechanisms unless you regularly fully lower and raise the glass. Every 3rd time they simply don't respond, and which one, seems completely random. No problem in the Civic doing this all 5 yrs of ownership... but in this Prius lowering both rear windows and front windows alternately seems to baffle the circuit board in the armrest. Annoying showstopper - and while you're at it, fire the idiot who placed the driver's washer nozzle behind the cantilevering passenger wiper 'pumpkin', so the nozzle spray hits it rather than your windshield, until it cantilevers out of the way - for such a useful control, the mode switch is nearly impossible to feel for, if you need to switch modes under pressure, like seeing a passing opportunity. Taking eyes off the road to look for this switch, means it needs to be beside or on the shifter, not behind it (or otherwise better located for haptics -- like on the steering wheel) - handwash my Prius every weekend. Can someone tell me why water wiped fully from the rest of the bodywork, waits until I've opened the hatch to empty a full cup onto the LR corner of the car, ten drips at a time? (found a partial solution: use a mini-blower to shove the water back into the hatch, where it exits in slightly better places. Only happens on the L side of the hatch, and blowing it back in only means it'll come out the 4 rubber plugs in the latch area, and splash over your bumper after shutting it. I did say 'partial') - like others have mentioned here, your mileage can vary wildly. I've seen 99 mpg on the regular, but also 21 mpg if I'm careless - if you don't like being surveilled, and your driving reported to your insurance company... don't own a new Toyota. Even after opting out of all the data sharing provided in the Toyota app, my insurance still went up 20% a couple of months ago. If it's not Toyota, could be a device installed by the dealer in all their inventory. Both scenarios have happened to other owners around the country, apparently - why do I have to manually select the Energy Flow screen w/ two capacitive (non-tactile) button presses, every time the car's started? Can't there be an option to choose that screen as your default? Esp when I'm in a rush, again taking my eyes off the road to put the screen I use most to cater driving to, is just plain silly and entirely avoidable w/ software - gripe limited to here on Maui: the car gets amaaazing mpg, under 53 mph, and over 59 mph. Take a guess as to what range of speeds traffic here enforces the most - engine air filters... holy shirt they're pricey -- and the NAPA Gold ones aren't any cheaper. What I've learned: - any Prius newb will be drilled in 'pulse and glide'. This tends to work well when in Normal mode, but much less so in Eco mode, ime. Highway, just rely on the s/w to decide when to switch to EV operation -- it's pretty good at it. If your ego isn't made of glass, with all the first-car kids in Tiguans and K5s doing 40 over around you... just relax and follow the little animated guide in the dash (where the Start / Cruise / Stop screen is). As before, almost 90 mpg on a real, many-modes, many-speeds-and-loads, 15-mi stint here. And I know even for that high point, could've gone even higher - the XW60 does love 89 octane fuel vs. 87. I know the whole point of owning a Prius is low cost of operation... but if that fuel choice results in less protection for your spinning oily parts after it's paid off... plus returns routinely worse response and highway fuel economy (still 40% of my commutes)... then why not use it? It's literally < $20 more a month for 89 (I refuel 2 - 3x /mo, every 11 - 12 days or 360+ mi) - tip: if you want to cool the interior air so the battery gets cool air earlier, crack the windows on startup so the hot air can escape, switch to Normal Mode until your forehead's cool as your setting, then roll up your windows and switch back to Eco, to enter the A/C's Eco mode for the rest of your drive. - my tires are run at 37 F / 39 R. Have gone all over the dial looking for the best compromise of handling, ride, and mpg... and that was it - I seriously have no idea why this Prius' steering wheel gets so much flak -- it's one of the easiest to use controls buttons on, of any I'd used. But with the 'joystick' pad on the L wheel spoke... make sure to press fully L/R/U/D and not diagonally at all -- many times getting distracted being on a screen I didn't choose, until exercising some discipline - this is not a sports car -- your supply of battery instant torque, needs filled up before you can enjoy it again -so don't treat it like those ICE-onlies, who can hold max acceleration far longer than you. The chassis' competence and that addictive off-bottom response, can easily fool you into thinking it is... but it defo performs its prime function better, if you drive it like you're actually concerned about fuel economy. It's still a hoot to drive even on the boring daily grind, because when an economy car can do stuff within that mpg-centric driving style -- like Toyotas used to do in the '80s and early-'90s -- it's still fun. Just grownup fun. Which myself over 50 hopefully has finally given up his moto-curated speed fix to enjoy, sustainably --- If you bothered to read to the end, thanks fellow Prius-faithful. Yeah, there are lots of things I get hot about (like the rear door latches that didn't need to be electronic and delayed buying mine 5 mos... or the fact the dealer still hasn't gotten me my spare fob... or that the dealer may've installed a GPS snitch without my knowledge) about the car and the dealer exp that could be better... but they're sort of nitpicks that all kind of stand to the side, when I used to refuel every 4 days, and now every 12. Even the dealer exp has been pretty damned good (esp vs. the slimy Honda and Nissan dealers) and far above expectations. Be back after my life puddle settles a bit...
I'm not seeing the degradation of range I expected after 18 months. My Gen 3 plug in had 23 kms of EV range originally, which decreased a few kms the first year, and to 17 kms over a 12 year period. Throughout last year, my Gen 5 charged to 61 kms, as a high water mark for EV range. This year, it has already charged to 62 kms several times. Unexpected, since what I'd read about the hybrid battery being exposed to cold would degrade its performance. This seems not to have happened, despite a few periods of cold in the -25C range this past winter.
