Nasty Rumor Or The Truth

Lots of rumors for a couple of years now. If anything, I would think the Rav4 would be the competitor but the mileage on the Rav4 or Highlander does not come close to the Prius v.

 

How Do you know when the dealer is lying?

 

First time poster here

So when the V came out gas was over $1 more expensive. Sadly people gravitate towards larger SUVs as fuel prices drop and the new Rav4 Hybrid is a compelling option.

We just bought a 2016 V, and we pick it up today, but we did take a look at a Rav4 hybrid. It does offer a lot more cargo room and space for my wife and I (both taller than 6') along with a comfortable height for driving. That is the main competition for the V. American car culture is "bigger and I NEED 4WD!!" even though you don't really need 4WD and the Prius V is a good ride height. They needed to have all the safety features on the 2017 V, just like the 2017 Prius models, to be competitive. We considered sales figures as we were car shopping and the V has dropped off significantly as gas prices dropped.

Will the V be discontinued? Who knows. Either way, people don't know what they are missing. Based on our exhaustive research we are getting the best bang for our buck! We ultimately went with the V because it checked all our requirements and offers better mpg. Surprisingly hard to find a car where either of us can sit in front of an infant seat without our knees mashed against the dashboard.

-Sev

 

I heard the same rumor......about the Plug-in, and the Priussy, and even the hatch.

They're making them now.....in 2017 so who knows?

Even if they discontinue them before the 2018 season rolls out, you'll be able to get a leftover '17 on sale and it will last you until 2017.....

 

unfortunately, as you said, toyota is not speaking definitively yet, although, iirc, an official or two have thrown the possibility out there.
your new friend is simply repeating what he heard. you would do him service to enlighten him on the reality of car dealers and sales techniques.
as for 'toyota's problem', it's actually not their problem, it's ours.

 

My first thought is that the Highlander is a very different vehicle, I doubt there's anything to it.

 

i think the low sales numbers are an mfg concern. rav4h is picking up some speed. unfortunately, we live in a time of suv/cuv popularity.

 

Definitely Bisco. We all will be ready when fuel creeps back up over $3 a gallon and laugh at everyone who bought a new SUV and complains how much they cost to fill.

What is crazy is that a lot of the CUV and SUV we saw were equivalent in cargo space to the V. People think they need 4WD but the majority don't.

I actually preferred the Plug-in Prius, despite the less comfortable seats, because of the 11 mile range on EV and my 13 mile commute Sadly the Plugin doesn't work with a rear facing infant seat behind either of us because of our height. The V was our compromise but still looking forward to posting serious MPG.

-Sev

 

Just changed the rear differential fluid on our duaghter's 4WD, what a lot of fun. I don't think she's ever had it off-road. The thing is a gas pig.

 

I like the form factor of the v. I like the MPG of the v. I don't like the noise factor or the CVT. I can live with them locally but recently had to take a 3 hour trip up into the mountains (or what pass for same in NC) and I had previously taken my v there twice. This time took my wife's Avalon. Quiet and didn't create a lot of noise either at 70 MPH or going up the mountains.

So bring out a quiet driving v with some electronic nannies and quarterly free map updates and I'd buy a v again. No I don't want Android auto or Apple carplay as they require an unlimited data plan and a signal.

I'm in a quandary.

Mazda MX5 just got a great review in Motor Trend. but 29 highway MPG not so great. No Mazda dealer for 40 miles. I've gotten used to a Toyota dealer 6 miles away that will drop me back at my house.

Loaded RAV4h a nice $36k+ vehicle but not the same cargo space, fuelly MPG around 34, and due for a major refresh. 34MPG is only ~20% less than my v. Seemed much quieter than my v. Granted my v has 38k miles on its tires but their tread is still more than 50%.

I'm waiting another year I guess and then seeing if I can change her plushmobile into a hybrid Avalon or new model RAV4h.

 

I'm also waiting to see if they are coming up with a new V. After the disappointing 4th gen looks and the 4 seat only Prime, I am gravitating more towards the V for replacement. If a new one comes out, I'm hoping they will use the Prime as the basis of the V's exterior design.

But I think Toyota is in tough place. Kia Niro is lodged somewhere between a V and the Toyota CHR hybrid but offers better mpg than the V (probably very near a CHR hybrid mpg), and at a very competitive price. Personally I'd rather skip Kia for Toyota's reliability, but I'm not sure yet how Toyota is going to address this.

If they offer a new V, they have to make sure it is competitive with the Niro's mpg even if it is larger. If they bring the smaller CHR hybrid over, then it needs to be more efficient than Niro.

 

I went to the Kia site and they have nice side by side comparisons of 5 competitive offerings. The Kia lacks the "trunk" room I need on a weekly basis. No local dealers either.

Oddly, they never listed blind spot monitoring as a feature on any of the 5 wagons even though there were lots of other electronic features.

Once I got away from 20MPG on premium I figure my 42 on regular was enough and I'd rather have a few creature comforts than a few % more MPG. Any money I may save via MPG is so dwarfed by depreciation that it ends up as noise.