Used 2020 Toyota Prius Prime Consumer Reviews
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Snazzy looking! Some pluses and some minuses
Great looking car. Ran wonderfully in EV mode when I left the dealer. Range was about 30 miles. Pretty good. I have yet to get the EV mode fully charged since then. 3 weeks in my MPG is about 48.5 mpg. Looking for Santa to buy me a Level 2 110 charger. Should be able to charge the car overnight every night. For Toyota engineers, some recommendations: The LE info display is less distracting than on the other models, but c'mon -- it's positioned too far below the windshield and to far from the driver for safe driving. Real buttons are also safer than touch screens, too. I'm very concerned. Would like to see that ergonomically safety engineered so that it takes less attention away from the business of driving! Also, the location of other buttons and utilities in the interior are awkward to find when driving, and worse at night. The USB location is really dumb and hard to find in daylight, even harder at night! Blind spot visibility is better than on the RAV-4 but still not great, and the side mirrors must double duty to compensate for the small range of view out the rear windshield. Also, NO REAR WINDSHIELD WIPER? In a snow storm last week, the lack of a rear wiper was a bother, and the rear window heater couldn't melt the snow -- it kept shutting off every 4 minutes, too! This is the first Toyota I've had in 20 years without a rear wiper! WTx? Under gas, the gearing seems inconsistent. Not sure I've figured out why. I'll pay more attention and see if the service folks can fix something. Finally, the voice command system is slightly better than the system on the 2017 RAV-4s, but very flawed compared to what I had on my 2014 Prius. Is Toyota's voice recognition technology falling behind what it was six years ago? How could that be? Another drawback is the Prime's shrunken cargo capacity. I understand the room needed for the EV battery, and accept the compromise. But it does limit the utility of the vehicle. If the model had a sun roof, however, then at least I could feel a bit less claustrophobic, and maybe even bring back taller items from my landscape supply store occasionally. Finally, the car swings wide when parking! Oy! Have some sort of warning when the fenders are getting near an obstruction. I was very surprised at the space needed to safely parallel park or to pull out of head-in parking spaces when there were other cars or obstructions alongside. Check out the Volvo and Nissan surround vision and alert system. If Nissan can have it, why not Toyota? Recommendations: For future models --engineer the interior so knobs and switches and displays are located closer to the driver and in safer, less distracting locations. Also, add a rear wiper, a better read defroster, and better warning systems of what's at risk of damaging the car's side and front and rear fenders and of what's in the blind spots
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Great Car for the Money
WE mouth the Limited version in order to get the advanced screen and electronics. With the $2,000 credit and the $4,500 federal tax credit, the price of this car dropped to $25,000. The plug in works easily and gives a good 26 miles on electric only power. The range with the hybrid is wonderful. The interior is clean in design and comfortable. The screen takes a little getting use to, but once you learn it, it's great. It may not be as exciting to drive as a Tesla, but for less half the price of a Model 3, you get a great and environmentally responsible vehicle. The only little niggle is that you can't adjust the heads up screen right or left, only up or down. Also, they should add auto park assist instead of just vehicle warning. A little better color selection would be nice, but we are happy with the Silver.
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- LE Plug-In Hybrid 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $23,998In-stock online
- LE Plug-In Hybrid 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $24,879In-stock online
- Limited Plug-In Hybrid 4dr HatchbackMSRP: $26,000In-stock online
Highly recommended
Bought this car because I wanted something that reduced my gasoline consumption substantially, but wasn't ready to go all-electric. Suits my setup very well. I charge overnight in the driveway on a regular plug (schedule easily with the in-car timer), then drive to and from my office, a total of 21 miles round trip. When the car first arrived, it would indicate 22 miles of electric range. Now a few weeks later it's up to 28.5 miles. Running in electric mode is far quieter than in a normal car - you can hear the radio, the other cars going by and that's it. So far I've traveled 500 miles and used 1.3 gallons of gas. So the odometer says I'm averaging 390 mpg, something like that. With the federal income tax rebate of $4,500 it's the easiest decision ever to purchase this car, compared to a non-plug Prius or any other vehicle. The big screen GPS and infotainment system is fun and there are lots of ways to 'gameify' your commute. Trunk is a bit small due to extra space needed for larger battery, that's the only drawback I've found so far.
101 mpg over 12000 miles.
The greatest hybrid ever built is even better for 2020. Don't bother with a Tesla. You can go to Niagara Falls, Massachusetts and Washington from New Jersey and you won't need a 2 to 3 hour break to charge (assuming others haven't beat you to the charger).
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Updated - Love the car! Sold it!
Sold my Prime Advanced for a RAV4 Prime XSE. The parting gift from the prime was its exceptional resale value. The prime had been good to me for 3 years, 48K miles, zero trouble, wonderful fuel economy. What else you can ask for in a Hatchback. Decided to get the Prius prime after 3 years with a 2012 Leaf (Horrible), 2015 Ford CMax (Roomy car with decent Mileage, too bad ford did not improve on it). Have a 80 miles round trip commute from Orange county to LA and prius is turning out to be a solid buy. Electric range could have been better. The fuel economy is stellar. Laser cruise control and automatic breaking is a boon. Want to replace wife's aging GL with something more efficient. (Looking at a PHEV Pacifica in the next year or so, Toyota are you listening?) 18 months and 28K miles later, the Mpg/e for my 80 mile round trip commute with no charging at work is 96 Mpge. Automatic emergency breaking is an amazing co-pilot. Will not think of buying another car without one. Please make improvements to the "autopilot", more ev range please (60 miles would be good). Bring the prius technology to the Sienna!
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Comfortable Ride but Wish Longer EV Range!
I have 16,000 miles and having this car has convinced me the next car/truck will be all EV! This car is like having 2 separate cars.... when in EV mode it is quick, nimble, quiet and smooth and fun to drive. When it clicks into Hybrid/Gas mode it becomes slow, louder and the drone of the engine..... I wish the Prius had longer EV range like 50 miles instead of the 25 miles. Car is otherwise comfortable and for a family of 4 it is tight but comfortable. Great commuter car but I'm ready for all EV as in a Tesla or other models. Pros: -Comfortable -In EV mode great to drive -Efficient for MPG -Apple Car Play Cons: -Slow hybrid engine -Low EV range vs. other plug ins (RAV 4).
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Amazing Car, Especially with Tax Credit
Let's start with the worst features: Acceleration is what you'd expect from an EV hybrid, but I've found it adequate to do any merging or passing on both city roads and highways. The Toyota entertainment system is a nightmare, crashing and rebooting as if it were a Windows computer circa 2000, and the car does not support Apple CarPlay unlike other Toyota models. However, the end-around is to use your iPhone or Android apps and bluetooth for a perfectly fine interface. The third disaster feature is navigation which is just like all the other terrible navigation systems ever built into every other car. Just ignore it and use Waze or Google Maps or a Garmin. The screen is nice and big, so I find I can stick my suction-cup Garmin to it for perfect viewing rather than on the windshield. Now the good stuff: I've had my car a month, have yet to gas up, and the gas level is just slightly below "full." That's because most of my driving is under 25 miles round trip and I plug in each trip. So far I'm averaging 100 mpg. The car handles like my old Prius V or any other Prius for that matter. Cargo space is slightly reduced but I find it adequate. As of April 2019 Toyota still has plenty of $4,500 tax credits to give away, unlike many other car manufacturers who have been making EVs or EV hybrids for a while, so that allowed me to get the Advanced model for the price of the basic model (though I won't see that $4,500 until April 2020). Of the Advanced features, I like lane following, lane cross warning, blind-spot warning, near-hazard warning, and watch-out-for-that-car-you-can't-see-zooming-behind-you-as-you-are-backing-up warning. I don't use the auto parking system as I can park the car faster myself. The nicest little touch is the wireless recharger for your cell phone. I just plop my phone in the phone-shaped area and not worry about the battery level. In short, I couldn't be happier with this car unless it had a workable entertainment system that I didn't have to work around. I'm updating the review now that I've had the car half a year. All my driving locally is within 30 miles round-trip and I literally don't gas up until I have to go on a road trip. There was a 2-month period where I stayed local, put no gas in the car and the fuel level didn't do down at all. When I do hit the highway, road noise is acceptable, as is handling, but you won't mistake this Prius for a Lexus. The blind-spot warning feature is really useful on the road for those drivers that like to park in your blind spot while cruising along. I generally fill up the car when I'm at about 1/8 tank, and it costs an average of $25 to do so. For that I get about 4-1/2 hours of driving (a little over 300 miles). The tolls I have to pay on the PA, OH, and IN turnpikes cost me more than the gas. I average around 60 miles/gallon overall, which is also not like a Lexus, but in a good way. This car isn't going to turn any heads, but it exemplifies the advantage of plug-in hybrids. If your local driving is truly local (< 30 miles round trip per day) but you occasionally go on the road, an all-electric vehicle doesn't cut it unless you don't mind waiting 20 minutes for a partial charge-up. An all-gasoline vehicle also doesn't cut it because of poor mileage and spewing carbon into the air. Plug-in hybrids rule, or will once people figure it out.
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Still love this car
I really love this car. On normal days, I drive all electric to and from work, but if I need to go farther, it just seamlessly (although not noiselessly) turns over to hybrid operation. If I never took it on long trips, I think I’d get gas once a year. Even with the occasional long trip, my trips to the gas station have been so few that I honestly have a hard time remembering which side the tank is on when I do go. The tech is just right, too: I looove the Apple CarPlay, backup camera, and the heated seats. I also love NOT having motorized seat adjusters, which take too long to operate. (My husband is tall and I’m short.) It’s nice to drive, especially in electric mode: feels like it hugs the road and it’s so quiet. Only complaint is that the seat warmers are easy to accidentally turn on and that’s no fun on a hot day, lol. And don’t get it if you need a lot of truck space — this is not your car for lugging lots of stuff, though it’s fine for even fairly extensive grocery store trips as long as you don’t mind using the backseat for overflow. Still, I’ve never actively liked a car of mine before, and I really like this one.
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Great value!
I love this car! the plug-in hybrid option is saving me hundreds of dollars a month in gas - currently I'm getting over 200mgp! Yet it was much cheaper than a full electric vehicle, so I think it is great value. I find everything comfortable and intuitive to use/control and it's responsive and nice to drive.
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fantastic value
We have the Prime XLE and have found it to be a fantastic car. The fuel economy is top notch, of course (we are averaging 130 mpg combined and have gone 2500 miles on just over 2 tanks of gas - no long trips yet, just 3 trips of about 120 miles round trip and then mostly around town driving). We have also found the it to be quite comfortable for a small car and Apple Car Play is a nice addition. It does seat 5, but in order to add the 5th seat some of the trunk space was lost. A couple of other minor drawbacks: there is no ventilation to the back seats and there is no Homelink garage door opener on the XLE - you have to go up to a Limited to get that. All in all, highly recommend this vehicle!
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"If only"
I own a 2016 Prius 4 and a 2014 Prius 3. The 3 is coming off lease and will be turned in. We love everything about the Prius 4 and we just purchased the 2019 Prius Prime Premium for my wife. Her only complaint is "if only the car had the outside mirror warning sensors to allow me to switch lanes safely". It took my 71 yr. old wife quite some time to locate the Prime she desired but completely missed the description of the outside mirrors. If it was possible to change them out we would do it. This is the last vehicle we are purchasing since we are senior citizens. Now we both drive Blizzard Pearl Prius cars. They are beautiful!
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A nice little car
It's a nice little commuter car. Except for the engine noise (maybe due to CVT transmission), it's a fun car to drive every day to commute . It has all the safety features and nice 11.6-inch intuitive touch screen. Wish it had 40 miles battery but other than that you will not regret it.
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Prime numbers
This car feels more like a Tesla then a Toyota. Definitely check it out. Only thing lacking is a CD player. Overall, a great car!
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My Plucky Plug-in
I'd most like other people to know Ihat their Prius Prime can be charged in a standard 110 outlet in about 5 hours. That the trunk space is minimal. And, finally, that the gas mileage is astounding!
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Great gas mileage
Feels great driving in all electric mode. Eco mode feels sluggish. Awesome gas mileage.
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Fourth Prius - Best Yet
The electric motor is plenty powerful and I haven’t run out of battery yet while driving around home. One trip from CT to NYC and I am still almost full tank and 104 mpg! Car feels very solid and substantial, rides great and has plenty of power.
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MPG techno machine
My average commute is 80 miles round trip. The car is charged up in the AM, driven to work, charged up at work and driven back home. Had the car three weeks and clocked up 1500 + miles before it needed a fill up. So far my monthly fuel bill is right around $25 bucks. Only nit is the navigation. it's a bit clunky to use and the routing algorithms could be better. I keep a Garmin in the car for navigation. Lots of complaints about the 11.6 screen. For me, it's fine. The screen gets a wipe off once/week. You get use to how to use it after a while. My last Prius has gone 180,000 trouble free miles and is still going strong. Why get anything else?
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Excellent
Shopped this car because of the incentives from Toyota and the tax credits from the state and fed, as well as the fuel economy. Test drove and we were completely blown away by the amount of technology and comfort.
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the entertainment console is horrid
This is my 3rd prius. The drive is fine. The entertainment system is not. It was fine when I got. Third push notification for updates, and it doesn't work right. I left it in the I heart app last night, this morning it wouldn't connect . You can't get out of it, to the radio, if it won't connect to toyota app. I have had to forget and reconnect blue tooth several times. I would have rather had a CD player than the apps that freeze.
First 2 Weeks
I would say it's a great car right now. Storage is lacking due to the traction battery. Milage is as avertized in hybrid mode. Took three days to read the manual which is highly recommended in the toeing section to avoid damage. Charging is nice and improved MPG so now at 68.3 MPG so it is a bit misleading if you want to differentiate between gas and electric. Driving is interesting with a consistent feedback on how you are doing for "being a eco driver" in summary There is a point system where slow acceleration, slow brack, and constant cruse will give highest scores.
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Electrical gremlins.
Screen freezes, loses power after parked and won’t restart. Have to open and close drivers door several times to reset and get power back. After parking and power loss all defaults are changed. Just surprised 900km and getting towed back to dealer. First time towing a Toyota and extremely disappointed
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Pleasant and practical
Not as great handling as I would like. -However, it’s comfortable cabin, fuel sipping engine with electric assist, and more than reasonable number of features (when you can find them), makes it one of the best daily commuter vehicles on the road.
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Prime Limited
At 63,000 miles, the 2020 Prius limited still averages around 55mpg in hilly terrain with snow tires. So far, only routine maintenance with one transmission oil change and regular air filter changes for dust. The low clearance requires careful parking.
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Oversights
Have owned this car for just under 6 months now. Find it very comfortable, smooth ride, good acceleration. Yet there are some perplexing oversights which come into play every time you use the car. First, there is no way to open the trunk from inside the car and worse, the trunk is manual open, heavy and very high. The automatic trunk open is old technology available on many if not most cars these days. With the Prius, you will have to put your parcels down on the ground and use two hands and reach high up in the air to use the trunk. Second. the a.c. operation button to cool the car before you get in is pretty silly. It is operational from about 15 ' and turns off when you open the car door. Thus, there is really no time for the car to cool before it is turned off. Third. The front window visors are short and cannot be extended when rotating the visor to the sides. This again is a sensible feature I have encountered in other American and Japanese cars. Can't be very costly to install and involves no technology!. Third. I am being told that the system cannot connect to an IPAD (even though the IPAD option is listed in the Sources). Would be nice to access my audio books in this technologically advanced vehicle! Fourth. I have been sent to buildings that are closed and have been for some time via the gps directional screen. Lesson: don't use the name of anything. Type in the exact address you want to get to. Well, that's all I have found so far. As stated, these items come up almost daily. Hard to believe with the technology forward image of this car, these little conveniences have been overlooked.
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Good milage terrible navigation.
Round trip commute is 80miles. The mpg is great. The lack of CarPlay and navigation system are terrible. I wind up looking for phone holders again even with an 11’’ screen. That is essentially useless. There are no ETune apps, note they were pretty much dropped. The car runs etune 2.0 non plans for updates, no plans to allow adding 3rd pet apps, such as Waze, no plans to allow updates to etune 3.0, no plans to allow retrofitting post production to the 2020 head unit which supports car play. I regret buying this car.
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Knowledge after the fact of buying
This is a great vehicle with technology, efficiency, and quality. However, the driver must always be "attentive to driving it to keep it on the road". It is quick steering with almost no feed back to the steering wheel. Any lapse of attention such as glancing at the nav display, radio, dashboard displays, etc. can lead to undetected lane violation or road edge approach. I have learned to "pull over and take actions" like selecting a nav setting, radio setting, opening a cup of coffee, eating a sandwich, etc. That being said, I have driven the vehicle 10K miles with no dents, dings and only one minor rub (by some one else in parking lot". I have driven it in all weather conditions, across plains, in mountains, up long hills, down long hills, etc. It has the required power and braking, Fuel efficiency is above 55 mpg calculated. It has space for luggage and other large stuff. The clearance detectors make it easy to park in close spaces. One criticism I have is the doors require wide side clearance and tend to unexpectedly hit adjacent parked vehicles.
Great car for the money
Not a race car. Slow but gets you to your destination
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prime positive!
Great car, really good if you travel less than 25 miles per trip as that is the all electric range on a full charge.
Our best car buying experience in my last 20 years
We were greeted by Martha G on time at 9 am, very professional, friendly and courteous in completing the sale transaction on Prime XLE all the way. Kudo's to Charlie Park, Manager, who resolved an issue and said "Customer is always right, you are the customer, and no need to thank, when I thanked him". This is our best car buying experience in my last 20 years
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That’s not leather!
The Prime is a nice car and drives great. Give the seats a good look…that fabric is definitely a fake leather and the one we drove had strange damage.
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Best car Ever!!
Nothing to dislike about this car——65k miles, not one problem, combined MPG from gas and electric over 100MPG—quiet, love the Heads Up Display on windshield UPDATE: We have owned the Prius for the past 5 yrs and have had not one problem. Replaced tires with Michelin Crossclimate which are very quiet and good in all conditions. Can’t say enough good things about this car.
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Still a Great Prius
Loaded with features and great quality, I bought the silver with cream color interior. Looking for great MPG ! Update, still incredibly happy with my vehicle, no issues and I stay up with my oil changes and dynamic tire balancing on a regular basis. I am a technical nerd, so that works out to always check tire pressures, fluid levels and use the dynamic braking at every chance to up my mpg
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I don't love cars, but I love this.
The car looks and feels fantastic to me. It has all the pick up I need, feels very solid, and smooth. And I'm very impressed that it can get up to 70 on the highway fully on electric mode. I'm up to 160 miles per gallon (as we mostly take short trips) and loving every minute of it.
Great car hardly ever put gas in it
Great car nice ride and rarely do I need to put gas in it. Now have 16K on it, drove it to Atlanta and back. It cruises nicely at 95mph but you only get 50 mpg and those speeds.
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Great Find
I had to undertake a major regional search for a 2020 Toyota Prius Prime. It paid off! I found a fantastic vehicle - just what I was hoping for. The car basically looks new and has low mileage and price was reasonable. That was a Great Find indeed.
funky
quiet - great accelleration - good battery ops for around town driving
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300 miles on my 1st gallon of gas!
Budget for installing a 240-volt charging station at home.
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