Well, the search is over for my 2023 LE replacement! It's a brand new 2026 SE PHEV in gorgeous Supersonic Red! I tried to drive something else, I really did. I couldn't stand the emasculated look of the RAV4 Prime - let's not even talk about the price. I absolutely, positively wanted a PHEV as I felt that was the best way to win the BEV depreciation game. Speaking of that, I drove my 2023 for 3 years and sold it for 90% of the purchase price. Zero maintenance cost. Not even windshield wipers... Okay, I did pay for one oil change, but only after Toyota gave me a coupon. That kind of resale value Is the equivalent of golden handcuffs. You just can't, not, buy another Toyota. I did even better when I sold my 2019 Prius - selling it for the exact same price I paid. But there was a bit more inflation going on at the time. And we also had the car supply crunch. I did my due diligence and tried not to drive the exact same car again. I checked out every PHEV on the planet. Nothing compares to the Prius, except for the RAV4. Thankfully, I was going for the plug-in hybrid so there would be some differences. And I remembered a member on here displaying their beautiful Hypersonic Red Prius, which I stated at the time, was the second best color to Wind Chill Pearl IMO. So here we are today! Back in the family after being out of it for only a couple weeks (sold my car prior). I'm excited to see what the Prime can do and learn some of its quirks. I only have 200 mi on her and have yet to extract the maximum thrill from the pedal. As far as finding peak efficiency, I don't know if I have the same motivation as I did with my LE (you'll remember my clocking over 700 miles on one tank). So far it definitely seems more "luxurious" than my LE - quieter for sure! Does the SE have better glass? Or maybe they added a bit more sound-deadening. I immediately noticed the camera on the steering wheel and it's already barked at me several times. I didn't know that was on the base trim. I will be disabling anything that is persistently annoying. I got a bunch of stuff disabled on the LE. I'm already getting some very nice numbers on EV mode. I haven't changed any settings yet so it's still on percentage remaining. What's the record EV range on a charge? Maybe I'll try to break it... (random photo in red)
