My neighbor got on the waiting list and bought one of the first Priuses to arrive in the US. The early, smaller model. She said it had major expensive work done at year two done free under warranty - I think all the electronics. Then flawless operation for the next 300,000 miles and still runs nice today.
After puzzling over what could replace my Outback but with better mileage, I have come around to considering a used Prius V at $12~15k. Toyota is the only make likely to be reliable several more years after buying used. I'm thinking of something to get by with until Teslas are available at ordinary prices, maybe 5 years out.
I thought about a used Volt but plugging it in after every time it had run errands seems like too much nuisance. And I'm still a little gun-shy of GM. The last 'new, innovative' one I bought new (80 Citation) was 100% worn out and near undrivable ($600 tradein) at 45k miles, a real lemon. Camshaft, clutch, ate tires, broke the clutch cable 50 miles from home at 20 k miles, lots more. At the time I swore never another GM vehicle.
What can people tell me about the Prius V? The first issue I see is poor visiblity to the right-rear, does the rear view camera solve that? Do all trim levels come with the camera? What other options are important?
