We are in the market for a possible Prius and we can not find the information on which Prius model has HID headlights. We see the newer body style Prius on the road with them so wondering what model we have to go into and/or what option package this would be. Thank you.
What you are seeing is the LED headlamps. Look to Toyota.com for info. on which models have them. I would say (uninformed as I am) that you wouldn't want HID headlamps based on all the trouble they caused in the Prius.
Starting from 2010 model year (Gen3), HID is no longer available. LED is used in Prius Five. Halogen projectors are used in lower packages. Gen1 only had halogen. Gen2 was offered with HID option. Starting from 2006 model (refreshed), Gen2 started to use a new mercury free D4R bulb and ballast. That proved to be unreliable and there was a law suit for it. Gen3 now has LED option instead of HID. LED is more reliable and uses less electricity. There is a difference between projector housing, HID lamps and LED lamps... all the gen 3 have projector housing, this focuses the beam of light a bit better HID are the really bright lights often seen on expensive cars most cars that do not come with them OEM you can get aftermarket... often times people don't adjust the lights correctly and blind all drivers around them
Additionally, the fact that the 2010-2011 Prius comes equipped with high quality projector-style headlights you can install an aftermarket HID kit quite easily and increase your lighting. Because they are projectors, you can use HIDs without risking blinding oncoming traffic. I do not recommend using HIDs in a reflector-style housing like you find on the non-HID equipped GenII cars. I realize that thousands of people put HID kits in non-HID reflector housings but those are the people you observe blinding everyone else at night and their effective lighting is limited to 20ft. in front of the vehicle which is exactly what you don't want. high lighting levels directly in front of the car cause eye fatigue and cause the pupils to contract which limits distance vision. Lastly, if you decide to install an aftermarket HID kit, then stick with a Kelvin rating of 5000K or lower. OEM HIDs are 4100K-4300K which put out the highest Lumens and reduce eye fatigue.
As mentioned, no Gen III has HID's. The Prius 2, 3 and 4 has projector beam halogens and the Prius 5 has LED headlamps. Look in the modifications forums, some have changed their halogens to HID's.
