Mileage on Touring, does it differ?

This describes my experience as well.

 

I've always driven sports cars in the past. When i bought the 2005 Prius I loved the car but was a bit disappointed with the handling. It wasn't awful, but it was way mushier than I liked, especially coming from an Audi A4 and a Miata R package. The Touring is a much better suspension. Way less body roll and much better cornering and transitional handling. Much closer to the Audi in handling.

 

SW Prius, I'd comment that the 'hit' to which I was referring had more to do with people swapping a different brand or size of tire for the Goodyear Integrities that come stock on the standard Prius. Is that what comes on the touring version also?

Sorry to hear about your abominable experience with the dealership. I've heard that some places, especially in the bigger cities, will do that, literally hold a person hostage and not let them out the door without them buying a car. Of course, there are legal limits as to how far they can go and if a person attempts to leave and they attempt to stop you in ways other than simply using verbal efforts at persuasion, they could potentially be guilty of a criminal offense. You might want to report what happened to someone higher up at Toyota, or possibly even discuss it with a lawyer.

Having said all of that, I bought my new Prius in December and love it, but would have preferred a touring version had it been available in the relatively rudimentary package #2 at my dealership, which it wasn't. I've driven my reliable and 11 year-old Honda Prelude which handles very well, and would have liked the firmer suspension and better cornering abilities of the touring Prius. Oh well, I'm happy with the one I got, was able to get into it for a seemingly reasonable price and I'm keeping the Prelude (although haven't driven it other than to the shop for some maintenance since buying the Prius) for the rare occasion when I feel like I need to whip through some corners!

 

PS: The size of the typical 'hit' I've heard described varies, usually 3-8mpg.

Also, I'd point out that short trips really clobber mileage in these cars. I live in frozen Montana and have only driven mine in cold weather, which also causes reduced mileage, but get 45 or so on the highway if I'm not lead-footing it, 42 if I'm driving faster, but in the low 30s around town if I don't drive it for more than 10 minutes at a stretch.

 

I switched to 195/60 15 tires (Goodyear Triple Tread) and noticed no difference in mileage.

My commute takes me over hills and dales. My mileage yo-yo's from 20 MPG on the hills to 99.9 MPG in the dales, but it all seems to average out at around 44 MPG.

 

Can anyone post a picture of a regular and a touring prius? i havent seen any prius different than mine

 

MPG seems to improve with pulse & glide in city driving. Glide with a Prius is different than coasting. Just making sure you have found that technique. Let off throttle to kill engine (below 42 mph and after warmup cycle completed), then feather back into the throttle just enough to stop the regen. Ironically, people buy the Prius for the battery, but learn to use it only selectively for high MPG.

 

The only way I can tell the difference is by looking at the wheels.
(Not the size mind you, just the hubcaps.)

Which is, of course, a useless skill if the car is moving.

I haven't compared the spoilers side-by-side yet.

 

I feel much the same about the Prius. My first car was a '67 VW Beetle which I got slightly used in '68. I loved that car, drove it for six years and put 100K on it before a drunk driver demolished it while it was parked in front of my apartment one night. Since then I've owned roughly a dozen vehicles and have only really become somewhat attached to a couple before the Prius. I really liked a Toyota 4WD pre-Tacoma a lot, had some adventures in it that were memorable and it seemed to have some character, and I am fond of my '97 Prelude which still looks like it just came off the show-room floor and handles extremely well. Luxury is not a big deal to me, a decent sound-system is nice but the Prius seems to have that, and also an intangible something that causes me to harken back to my old Beetle. The Prius just seems very 'right' for lack of better words to describe it, a certain indelible character.....

 

It's for actions like that we still have the death penalty!!!

My first car was a '71 SuperBeetle. 160K miles later I had to sell to help pay for school.

I too am excited about my Pri like I was about my Bug. The cars in between, while serving my needs at the time, just didn't engender excitement.

 

That's quite a statement coming from a guy who has the ACLU's website address as his sig line!

 

Some actions are beyond the pale. I usually take this one step further and say: "We should drag him behind a truck", despite not being a fan of the death penalty.

Tom