# Which Prius for Boston Uber and daily driver?



## DonDdlV (Jan 14, 2018)

Selling my coupe and buying a Prius for an Uber mobile (part time while I finish some schooling) and daily driver. Lately, I have been putting a lot of miles on my current car. The Prius gets almost double the gas mileage. I have done some research, but really am unsure what years/trim level I should be looking at. I will be buying the car outright. It could be anything from 2005 (oldest allowed + 2 years) to a 2017.

2007 side curtain and torso air bags become standard
2009 Gen 3 (maybe I should consider this as the oldest year ?)
2012 redesign? and solar roof kit (is this something worth having? cant find much info on it. I want a roof rack for my kayaks if that makes any difference)
2015 Gen 4? Is this a much better car than Gen 3?

I am more concerned with getting a car I don't hate as a DD than depreciation, expenses, squeezing out ultimate profit etc. On the other hand the less I spend on a vehicle the more money I keep in the bank. Somewhere is a balance of how nice a car I want to drive vs expense. Thanks.


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## thatridesharegirl (Jul 7, 2016)

There's a forum called PriusChat that could give you a lot better info.
But the lowdown is that the 2nd generations (2003-9) tend to have a lot more battery and other issues.
3rd generation (2009-15) is a good happy medium in terms of price point and reliability. I'd highly recommend the 2012-15 especially.
I have a 2012 Prius II base model, and it has many bells and whistles I didn't expect for an old(ish) used car.

Prii are notorious for having terrible seats.

My one gripe between trim levels - which most Prius owners will agree is comfort and safety features.
If you can spring for a model with adjustable lumbar support - your back will thank you immensely.
Leather-like seats also tend to clean up easier in this gig, although that can be remedied with some vinyl seat covers.
It would also be nice to have those fancy LKAS and ACC safety features in the newer/higher trim models. But again - that's from someone who does this FT. If I didn't drive as much it wouldn't be such a huge gripe.

As for the solar roof - for all my rideshare friends with that model -its been more of a headache in terms of maintenance costs, etc. When things go wrong with it or around it, its super pricey to fix.

You're welcome to rack up your prius - many do. Just understand that it's a light vehicle and if you add more surface area - like a kayak - it gets terrifying to drive in the wind.


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## DonDdlV (Jan 14, 2018)

thatridesharegirl said:


> the lowdown is that the 2nd generations (2003-9) tend to have a lot more battery and other issues. Prii are notorious for having terrible seats.


Thank you. This is solid info. Lumbar support is a must have for me. A friend had a car where the seat was so bad my back would start aching in 5 minutes. I refused to drive it after the first couple of times.


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## RynoHawk (Mar 15, 2017)

I had a 2007 Prius and yes they had issues with battery cooling that resulted in a recall. If this issue was fixed on a prospective gen2 then you may be okay, but I wouldn't risk it and would go with gen3 or higher as the recall has expired so if it isn't fixed it's coming out of your pocket.


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## 1.5xorbust (Nov 22, 2017)

I have a 2015 Prius that I bought with 10k miles and I’ve logged an additional 38k miles. I service every 5k and change the oil every 10k. No problems and get 45-50 mpg.


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## fulcrum23 (Jan 10, 2018)

What about a used Lexus CT200h? The MPG is less (42mpg ish) but it's a little nicer inside than a Prius.


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