Base/Touring Suspension - Real World Difference?

I'm sure you will get replies that the Touring gives a much better ride. However, I've driven both and really didn't see/feel much difference between them.

 

Touring does not make for a "zippy" model. The drive train, engine, and effective gearing are all the same. Touring gets you fancy wheels, better tires, and a stiffer (not better) ride. Whether a driver likes the stiffer ride of a touring model is strictly a matter of personal preference. Upgrade the tires on the standard model and it will be just fine. If you play the new tires properly, you may be able to placate your wife, or at least reduce the severity of "that look".

Tom

 

Hi Mr. Incredible,

Welcome to PriusChat.

Personally, if it were me, I wouldn't get anything other than a Touring. Two big reasons:

1. Better handling - the Standard Prius handles poorly for a car of its size (175 inches long). With the Touring's bigger and wider tires (195/55/16), one inch larger stabilizer/sway bars and different rear shocks and springs, body roll should be reduced (the Standard Prius has more body roll than a lot of SUVs and minivans) and overall handling, including emergency handling (as noted by Consumer Reports), is improved.

2. Better braking - the Standard Prius' braking distances rank it only in the 11th percentile of the more than 100 current model sedans tested by Consumer Reports. The Touring's 60-0 mph braking distances are 10 feet (dry) and 12 feet (wet) shorter than the Standard's.

You can probably achieve these shorter braking distances by putting wider (195mm) and better tires on the Standard Prius. But that's $400 - $500 right there -- about the difference in price between a Touring Package 5 and a Standard Package 5.

Anyways, if you haven't done so already, you might want to take a look at some of the previous relevant threads about the Touring. Here are the previous threads with the word "Touring" in the title:

PriusChat Forums - Search Results

Congrats and good luck.

 

Many here have stated the larger 16 in wheels /wider tires knock mileage down & some have actually changed to the 15 in rims...I drove both ,I like the ride better on the non touring model ...as already stated the drive line is the same for both ....oh yea..the touring has a larger spoiler in back ,it has no effect on being zippy

 

the problem with upgrading the standard prius's tires to something like the touring is you probably already spent half of what toyota sells the touring for and don't have any of the other stuff that comes with it. just the rims and tires is well worth 895.00 if you think about it. its practically like getting better suspension parts and the other spoiler for free.

the only real downside of the touring is like i said over and over, your choices in the 195/55/r16 is going to be limited. depending on your area you might only have a choice between say a falken ze912 with tread life warranty for $99 a tire vs a michelin pilot primacy no tread life warranty for $135-$150 a tire, or the stock turanzas for $89-$110 a tire with no tread life warranty

when the time comes and you do not like your choices of tires, you might get be forced to going run flat tires, or upgrading the touring to 205 55 r16s

there are like 60 or more makes of tires in the standard prius size.


it seems that the customer base of 195/55/r16 owners are 10 % prius touring owners and 90 % owners of cars that do not carry a spare

also forgot to mention if you show off your touring wheels and rims, other base/standard prius owners will look at you all jealous and not even wave at you, fearing your car is better looking then theirs

 

Mr Incredible,

Uh Oh, The Look! This demands immediate action...

There has been much lively discussion here on the meaningfulness of the
relatively minor differences between the Standard and Touring models. The
relevant OEM equipment differences have already been noted.

As far as on-the-road, there has been mention that the Touring model may
track better in cross-ways side winds. And, it has also been suggested that
adding the after-market BT Stiffening Plate and maybe the BT Front Shock
Tower Brace may minimize any such tendency in the Standard model.
(Available from the PriusChat Store) Use the search function at the top of
the page to see the threads on these items.

So, even after putting the best face on your non-Touring purchase, if The
Look persists, bestir yourself from where you've been sleeping on the couch,
and know that there may still be ways for you to rescue a passing grade in
Creditability-101.

If/when you do have questions about the ride, handling, etc, don't hesitate
too ask here, most folks are only too willing to help ... remembering that off
in the wings we maintain a small group of cranks and curmudgeons as
Old-School Subjective Reality Checkers.

 

In my limited experience, if you had two Prius on the race track, one touring, one non-Touring, the Touring would lap a -little- faster due to higher cornering speeds. On the street, -I- don't feel any difference. I have a non-Touring because that is all that was available in 2007. This year in Canada, all that is available is the "Touring".

Pearl, a 2007 non-Touring, corners as fast as I'm willing to go in the mountains, even when she wore the Goodyear Integrities. Due to the fact I don't want to go to jail and don't want to kill anyone. I grew up in the mountains in B.C. I drive faster than most on narrow mountain roads. I wanted a "touring", but now I don't really care. I put on Nokian WR tires and they made a huge difference/improvement.

The difference between the two models is very subtle.

 

I go for the non-Touring Prius because its 15" wheels will have more choices on tire brands than the Touring's 16" odd-ball size.

 

Im a 49 year old woman....my thoughts are and were that the safety features of stopping distances and the decrease of drifting on the highway are really important. Be the HERO and let your wife know her safety is the most important thing, not the approval of the salesperson who wants to sell "that" specific vehicle to you.

In my quest for information about the differences between the base and the touring, I spoke with many Sales Managers and Service People who also did not know about the braking differences....and i learned it all right here, on Prius Chat...There is a wonderful resource of people, some are very factual, others have a sense of humor,and everything in between.

Best Wishes Going Forward.....

 

For what it's worth, I think the wandering is alleviated and the poor handling improved quite a bit by adding the BT Tech Strut Tower Brace ($250) and, to a lesser degree, the BT Tech Stiffening Plate ($165). I'm also thinking about adding a beefed up rear sway bar made by Premier for the 03-06 Corolla/Matrix ($95), which I understand fits the Gen II Prius perfectly.

Regarding 10mm greater tire width, I think its impact on the wandering nature of the Prius is miniscule. But its impact on braking distances (especially if the tires are better too) can be significant. The Touring's 10 and 12 feet shorter braking distances are huge.

Regarding the Touring tire size, I think about 3/4 of the 22 choices available are Run Flats.

That explains it. No wonder you're getting That Look. She also probably can't eat pizza outside of Naples ever again.

Good luck and congrats again.

 

Have a 07 Touring #5 and a 09 Touring Pak #3. Handleing is night vs. day. Ride is bumpier. Fog lights and VSC come with Touring. Wheels, tires, struts, shocks, swaybars would cost 3-4k additional if replacing those stock Prius parts. Get her some better rubber and think about stiffening up car with bigger sway bars. That should almost put you on equal ground with the Touring.

 

If you look thoroughly from that 22 tire choices for the Prius Touring wheels, 3/4 of the tires are Run-Flat. And if you filter out the Extreme Summer and Winter Performance choices, you'll just down to 2 brands only...(where one of them is the O.E. Bridgestone) and the other is Firestone.

Compare to the Standard Prius's 15" wheels, there are 29 tire choices if the same filter is applied from the Touring....

I've no intention to use Run-Flat and Firestone tires, thus the choice is very limited to just the O.E. Bridgestone if Touring Prius is the car I have for new tires. Your preference is vary of course, but that's my point to pick the regular Prius instead of Touring.