We did it !!!! .....ordered a Toyota 2020 Prius Prime XLE

Found another pic online of the map display on the Prius Prime.

Seeing pictures still does not compare to actually riding in the car and seeing it in action in person. Even though the dealership did not have a "Prius Prime" on the lot to test drive, they did have a regular non-plug-in Prius which gave us a basic idea of the car as far as the display features, feel of the ride, ect. The main difference was the regular Prius did not have the plug-in capability like the "Prius Prime" that we ordered, and that plug-in ability was a definite must for us.

When riding for that test drive it was neat to see on the display map a moving dot showing our location on the map as we were driving. You can zoom in or out on the map, and when you enter a destination it will tell you when to turn as well as have it on the map display.

There are other navigation options too like showing traffic conditions, locations of charging stations, local attractions, ect. The display has other non-navigation features also.

display maps on car screen

GKL said:

Found another pic online of the map display on the Prius Prime.

Seeing pictures still does not compare to actually riding in the car and seeing it in action in person. Even though the dealership did not have a "Prius Prime" on the lot to test drive, they did have a regular non-plug-in Prius which gave us a basic idea of the car as far as the display features, feel of the ride, ect. The main difference was the regular Prius did not have the plug-in capability like the "Prius Prime" that we ordered, and that plug-in ability was a definite must for us.

When riding for that test drive it was neat to see on the display map a moving dot showing our location on the map as we were driving. You can zoom in or out on the map, and when you enter a destination it will tell you when to turn as well as have it on the map display.

There are other navigation options too like showing traffic conditions, locations of charging stations, local attractions, ect. The display has other non-navigation features also.
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Now if it can just show you where to detect with a big X on the map .

davidlhyde63366 said:

Now if it can just show you where to detect with a big X on the map .

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…..hey, if it can have the ability to show where all the charging stations are located, maybe there's a way to show good detecting spots like all the parks in the area you are driving

cars GPS system

GKL said:

…..hey, if it can have the ability to show where all the charging stations are located, maybe there's a way to show good detecting spots like all the parks in the area you are driving

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Most likely can show all county and city parks , you will have to check it out.

I have owned 5 Toyotas over the years. I now have an 08 Tacoma with over 200,000 miles on it and a 2014 Corolla Sport. Can't beat the reliability. I've been happy with every one I have owned! By the way Gary... that's a sharp looking car!

Barefoot said:

I have owned 5 Toyotas over the years. I now have an 08 Tacoma with over 200,000 miles on it and a 2014 Corolla Sport. Can't beat the reliability. I've been happy with every one I have owned! By the way Gary... that's a sharp looking car!

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Thanks barefoot !!!!

…..and I appreciate hearing your great experience with Toyota vehicles !

Last year my wife told me she was interested in getting a new Toyota after our Kia was paid off, she explained why she specified Toyota, she said a friend of hers has a Toyota they put almost 400,000 miles on and it's still running great !

I not only like the looks but the color "Blue Magnetism" too, from comments I read elsewhere online said not only does it look great, the Blue Magnetism color makes it easy to find in a large parking lot

I'm partial to blue too Gary. My Tacoma is a bright blue

Barefoot said:

I'm partial to blue too Gary. My Tacoma is a bright blue

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+1 I like the color as well thinking about getting the old truck painted this year( right now a light red) , want some thing bright to help me spot it in the parking lot. Always forget where I park it now days.

One thing about driving the car on the electric option is that it costs nothing towards road maintenance, so more $ back in the pocket!

Barefoot said:

I'm partial to blue too Gary. My Tacoma is a bright blue

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Neat !!!!

davidlhyde63366 said:

+1 I like the color as well thinking about getting the old truck painted this year( right now a light red) , want some thing bright to help me spot it in the parking lot. Always forget where I park it now days.

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……..you're painting it bright blue, right ?

amc rulz said:

One thing about driving the car on the electric option is that it costs nothing towards road maintenance, so more $ back in the pocket!

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The other thing I just remembered is a side benefit of not depending on the gas engine 100% of the time like a regular car, is there should be less wear and tear on the gas engine and therefore it should hold up longer before needing anything other than normal maintenance.

ChrisMD said:

I bet you’re excited, a bunch of guys I work with have them and live them, one hasn’t had to fill up in like 45 months. He is going to burn his tank of gas just to freshen it up.

Too bad your market isn’t like Maryland. Our lots are filled with them. One of our Carmax dealerships has an agreement with the Toyota dealership next door and offers big discounts on all the Toyota’s. Here is a 2020 Prime XLE maxed out.

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Thanks and yes we are excited, being able to save on gas and having a car that will be fun to drive !

Research I had done seems to indicate likely why certain regions of the country have Prius Primes readily available in stock and other areas you have to order from the factory and that seems to be that some state governments offer an incentive to Toyota to sell such cars in their state and other state governments don't. The best areas seem to be the northeast (including Maryland) and also California.

I have read where some people will drive or fly out of state to get a Prius Prime and drive back home, that idea occurred to me but right now my wife's work schedule would have made that very difficult to travel that far, but that was fine because by the time our Prius Prime is delivered and we start making payments we'll have a bill paid off and will also have even more cash to put towards the down payment making a less amount needing financed.

That person you mentioned who went 45 months without getting gas might want to be careful as I think Toyota recommends adding some fresh gas at least every 6 months, not sure how well a gas preservative might work but I'd have to research that. I have read where some people that don't do much long distance driving (and hence use very little gas) keep their tanks only about half full as it lessens the weight you are carrying around but still gives you enough gas to fall back on if needed and also allows room for fresh gas if it gets to 6 months since you've been to the gas station.

….but yes, I saw online some of those fantastic deals they have on Prius Primes in Maryland and other areas of the northeast and really wished it wasn't so far to travel or that would have been an option, but we are happy with how things worked out, not as good of a deal as up there, but we still got the dealer down close to $1500 overall as well as a good APR on the finance, and we know the money we save on gas will help pay for the car in the long run, especially if something crazy happens overseas and gas prices go up like they did in the past.

I really like that the Prius Prime includes the charging cord designed to plug right onto a regular household voltage outlet so you can recharge the battery at home.

No car is going to be perfect, but months of research made us feel very good about deciding to get a Prius Prime, between having the electric only mode, hybrid mode for longer trips, the dependability of Toyotas, and the affordability of the Prius Prime "Plug-in" hybrid compared to other brands of "Plug-in" hybrids.

ChrisMD said:

Hahaha, darn iPhone edited out, should have been a dash, so 4 to 5 months not 45 [emoji2957]

I’m considering one in the next 6 to 12 months. Honestly the only thing holding me back is I just dislike how it looks, but 44 year old me cares less about that and more about the $100 a week or more in gas I’m putting down my 2015 Acura TLX, which gets decent mpg at 32 highway average. My daughter turned 18 a few minutes this back and graduates this year, so thinking about tossing her the paid off TLX and grabbing the Prius, since she is staying home for college and her school is only 5 miles away for now. Either way I have to get her a car and that will solve my gas problem. For work I’m at 60 miles round trip daily, then I drive for GrubHub a couple times a week that goes into my toys fund so I can spend without getting nagged on, and then I rack up 200 plus miles a week between detecting and photography.

I think I just talked myself into it. Silver for me [emoji23][emoji1787]

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Okay, 4-5 months sound a lot better than 45 months

I also have read of some people (depending on the distance they drive daily) going 4-6 months in between gas station visits

If your work has a place for you to plug in your car while you are at work that would really be nice, even though the Prime is listed as having a 25 mile limit on "electric only" before switching to hybrid, I have read where some owners said they got 30-35 miles on "electric only" (I think factors like driving conditions can effect that)

If you could recharge at work then you'd only have to go maybe 5 miles each way in hybrid mode and that should really reduce your gas bill !!!!

The average owner might not need the 240 volt recharging option, but some that need to recharge their cars faster at home will pay to have a 240 volt hookup at their home to recharge their battery faster than the regular household current. The Prius Prime car is designed to handle both voltages, you would just need to also get a separate recharging cable designed for the 240 volt connection at home.

There are recharging stations in various public areas, some are free, some charge. There are web sites that show where they are at, and the navigation screen in the car itself is supposed to have the ability to show the charging stations in the area you are driving at the time.

We actually like the looks of the 2020 version of the Prius Prime XLE, and I kinda think once you start seeing how much you save in gas expense the car might start looking better to you

Are you considering the XLE version ?

Let us know if you join the Prime "club"

ChrisMD said:

Yep, my work has a couple rows of chargers, which are always empty because I’m on a schedule called “Any 80” where I can work any 80 hours a 2 week pay period. So I get in at 5:00 AM’ish to get our early and avoid traffic both ways, and have plenty of time for afternoon activities.

I am considering the XLE version. I was reading that it’s like 5 hours on 120 charger to fill, so I could always get a smart plug adapter and have it turn on at 11PM when the cheaper rates are going and ready to go at 5AM. But I can see the benefit of having a level two charger also.


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That is GREAT your work has that many charging stations !

I definitely would like to hear the before/after in your weekly gas bill after driving a Prime for a while

We ourselves would be fine with the regular 120 volt charge, I have read where some think the 120 volt charge might be somewhat easier on the battery in the long haul, but I would think that the 240 volt charge can't be really bad or Toyota would not have that option though.

We opted for the XLE version because the price difference from the low end LE was worth the added features you got in the XLE. Whereas I felt that the added features in the high end Limited version was not worth the much higher increase in price over the XLE, I think many others feel the XLE is the better choice overall.

Don't forget the Federal tax incentive while it is still available (I think) it helps those who pay enough in Federal taxes to reduce the taxes amount they would have to pay for that year.

We have fairly good electric rates in our small town, I'm not sure if the Prime has a built-in feature for setting the charging time, it might, there is so much info it is hard to remember it all sometimes

The main reason I want to buy a prius is for the city driving numbers. I currently have a great small car that gets great highway mileage but even a car that gets 30mpg highway is going to drop down to the teens if it is sitting in traffic while the prius could be using all electric in that situation.
My daily driving loop consists of mostly in city driving with stop signs EVERY block, so 100 yards and stop, 100 yards and stop, add in traffic and it gets to be a pain. I may actually only drive less than 20 miles a day.

zeemang said:

The main reason I want to buy a prius is for the city driving numbers. I currently have a great small car that gets great highway mileage but even a car that gets 30mpg highway is going to drop down to the teens if it is sitting in traffic while the prius could be using all electric in that situation.
My daily driving loop consists of mostly in city driving with stop signs EVERY block, so 100 yards and stop, 100 yards and stop, add in traffic and it gets to be a pain. I may actually only drive less than 20 miles a day.

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You bring up a very good point that I didn't really consider till fairly recently that an "ICE" vehicle (Internal Combustion Engine) car uses up gas idling at a red light or stopped for a stop sign, it also uses gas getting back up to driving speed, whereas a plug-in hybrid like the Prius Prime using all electric mode is not using gas when sitting at a red light or stop sign, it even puts some charge back onto the battery when you are slowing down or hit the brake.

Still waiting on delivery of our 2020 Prius Prime XLE but figured it should be getting close enough that we went ahead and got an electrician to put in an outdoor plug today near the edge of the driveway were we would park it so that way we'll be ready for when it does arrive.

While I am a do-it-yourselfer, tying an outdoor outlet into the outdoor circuit breaker box was one project my wife did not want me to do myself, even though I would not have used duct tape

Anyhow, here are a few pics of it, it is a ground-fault safety outlet with a protective weather cover.
(I did have the painted board and outlet stuff already on hand)
(I added the solar lights after the electrician left)


(view from the front door)

GKL said:

Still waiting on delivery of our 2020 Prius Prime XLE but figured it should be getting close enough that we went ahead and got an electrician to put in an outdoor plug today near the edge of the driveway were we would park it so that way we'll be ready for when it does arrive.

While I am a do-it-yourselfer, tying an outdoor outlet into the outdoor circuit breaker box was one project my wife did not want me to do myself, even though I would not have used duct tape

Anyhow, here are a few pics of it, it is a ground-fault safety outlet with a protective weather cover.
(I did have the painted board and outlet stuff already on hand)
(I added the solar lights after the electrician left)
View attachment 466241 View attachment 466242

(view from the front door)
View attachment 466244

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Kinda funny looking. 99c store solar lights strapped on an electrical outlet.

KOB said:

Kinda funny looking. 99c store solar lights strapped on an electrical outlet.

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Hey, the neat thing is at $1.00 each they are inexpensive to replace if needed and work pretty good !

That outdoor outlet will come in handy not only to recharge the car, but also to use a vacuum cleaner to clean the cars, and to use my electric pressure washer to clean the concrete areas.

GKL you’ve got soul! Thought only my bro did!

It's been about 4 months, is that car coming soon?
Now I want to hear your reviews