Hi all, figured I’d provide my unsolicited rationale on what some will think is a controversial decision. I’ve owned 4 Teslas and truly appreciate Tesla’s tech and drive—it’s really unmatched. However, I dumped my ‘16 Model S (facelift) in favor of a Prius Prime. Here are my reasons:
- Prius Prime is actually a nice car. Build quality, driving dynamics, and practicality is impressive for the price.
- Speaking of price, Prius Primes are dirt cheap right now (tremendous incentives) and they qualify for the $4500 tax credit. You can get a prime for ~$20k.
- Tesla depreciation is abhorrent. Tesla MS and MX lose $10-20k/year for the first few years.
- Quality and reliability on early MS and MX are abysmal
- Tesla customer service is embarrassing, period
- *Trigger warning* For many, the Prius Prime is more efficient, cheaper to operate, and has a smaller life-cycle carbon footprint.
- Toyota has Apple and Android CarPlay; sorry Tesla, its just better
- Insurance on Tesla is getting more and more out of control; Tesla repair times and costs are still unacceptable
All that said, I downgraded in styling, safety, and driving dynamics. The Prius looks like an inbred fish. That’s actually worse than the MX “beluga whale” or the frog-like appearance of both the M3 and MY. The MS is just plain gorgeous, so I can’t hit that. Nobody notices a Prius Prime, and I don’t mind that. The Prius drives ok. The first few generations drive like vacuums cleaners, but the Prius Prime drives more like an EV.
I will go back to Tesla when they mature and get their act together. Wife still loves her MY, but the quality difference between the MY and Prius is astounding. As much as Tesla has improved, they are still no match for a $20k Toyota.
off soapbox