I am planning to buy a 2012 Prius II/III. Not too particular about exterior colors - except no black or dark blue. But interior - I prefer tan. A lot of Prii for sale have the gray interior and a few with black ones . But the tan interiors are very rare. I just dont see them . What is the reason for this ? Are the tan interiors unpopular ? Do folks dont like it b'cos it may stain easily ? I like tan interiors - they make the car seem more roomy and spacious and less suffocating . Appreciate your thoughts !!
My dealer had 10 Prius on the lot with about 40 in back and 5 V's when I got mine. Of the 10 on the front lot, 2 had the dark grey interior, my Barcelona Red and a Black one, everything else was bisque (tan) and 1 Misty Grey. I would see if your dealer can trade with another one close by
Yes Tan looks better and brighter inside. Since it's light color and in comparision easier to get dirt or stain. No problem. When it's new, but two cans of Scotch Fabric guards(for cloth,sofa..),spray them to every inch of the seat to let it soak WET with the sloution. Dry over night. No smell. No change to the feeling of the fabric. Then the seat is water,coffee... repllent. Enjoy the bright color interior.
It's highly regional specific rather than customer or dealer preference. For example, they've stopped allocating Misty Gray to the Southern California region about a year ago so all you pretty much see around here are Dark Gray and Bisque.
I really wanted the darker interior since my exterior is black, but all the dealer had when I bought my package III was the tan. I am in SoCal.
My Black Beauty is also with tan seats. I love them. Treated with Scotch Guard the second day and they are water, coffee and stain... repellent forever.
For a black or red car, tan is awesome, but it would have to be leather or that Softex material to feel "right", in my opinion!
tan (bisque) here, with black carpet! I had the cloth seats replaced by the dealer with leather and love the way it looks in a white car. It looks bright, clean, and big inside (especially with the sunroof). Who wants to be stuck in a drab, dark little car?
Well, as long as it's light color seat will look good. Leather, of course the high end. But please be reminded that Prius is not a small car,especially inside . It's as spacious as a Camry. All most. My 2005 is as spacious a my 1998 V6 Camry.
well, for me, having had a prius with tan seats (2004 i think) it got dirty as hell fast fast. of course i work in the paint department of a famous big box store. i did get same color seat covers which in the long run helped a lot.
I'm not doubting the longevity of your Scotch Guard application, but; I've been spraying my interiors with SG for many years, and all of the high traffic seats such as my drivers seat, and occasionally the passenger seat get something on them (grease, sticky drinks, dirt etc) which becomes difficult to remove. Scotch Guard as far as I know, needs to be reapplied every so often - how long probably is best determined by the moment when a damp cloth can no longer simply wipe the seat clean.
Our gold Gen 3 Prius has tan interior and the interior is gray in our blue ribbon Gen 3 . I agree that the tan looks brighter and would prefervtan in either car. II think Toyota limits the interior color to specific exterior colors, although their taste in color matching is different from mine.
The local dealership I got my car from had around 12-15 prii. Of those maybe 2 had the dark interior. When we went to buy our car we told them we wanted the dark interior with dark blue paint and they had to go to the next state over(which was only an hour away but still) to find one. Most of the ones in state were white or silver with tan interior.
I had the opposite experience this past week. Seemed like all the Blizzard Pearl Prii had the bisque (tan) interior. Both my wife and I found it to be quite ugly and with a dog that sometimes needs to ride in the car it made most sense to us to get a dark grey interior which had be to found at another dealer. All of the dealers I went to didn't have white with dark grey. Certainly seems like a dealer/location thing.
I just bought a 2013 Blizzard Pearl with bisque interior that the dealer had to get elsewhere and change out cloth to leather seats for me. It also came with dark floor mats, which are great, BUT I notice that my cargo area, ceiling fabric and some of the side door pieces are gray. Is this just how Toyota is making things these days or is mine a "cosmetic hybrid"?! (My first Prius was black with bisque interior and all the mats and carpeting, etc were the bisque color)
Aside from the staining issue, I'd also avoid the tan interior because of the issue of dashboard reflections in the windshield. A dark gray or black dashboard would reflect less in the windshield than a tan one.
I have a 2005 seaside pearl (blue) Prius with a bisque interior with smooth leather seating. After 167,000 miles and 5 years delivering the mail (2007 - 2011), the interior looks showroom new. How did I do it? By covering the floors and seats with folded towels. As they accumulate sand, they get shaken out and replaced. When wet or muddy, they are thrown in the washer. The only maintenance is a once a year light vacuuming. Car stays spotless. Dealerships drool over my vehicles and would love to get them as a trade in.
