"I see you bought a black Prius ..."

I'd call it a non-shiny black. Next to a real black one, of course, winter gray is definitely not black. (excuse me while I adjust me peril-sensitive sunglasses. . .)

 

The family went out to eat the other day, and I saw one as we pulled into the restaurant parking lot. I said it was the first black one I'd seen, but my wife and two sons were quick to correct me.

I went back to take a closer look and after studying the color a bit, I decided they might be right...

 

In some lights, my WG looks black -- but at other times, it can appear to be any color from medium-dark grey to dark blue/purple. Definitely a chameleon!

Next to black, you can definitely tell the difference. Unfortunately, however, it's almost as hard to keep clean as black!

 

There's a WG that parks in the same lot I do every day and I've always called it a dark gray, but that could be because I was familiar with the colors and pay lots of attention to Prii on the road.

Interestingly enough, there is a Mazda 3 that parks here, too, that is pretty much identical in color to the Prius, but for some reason it does look more "gray" while the Prius looks closer to "black." Wonder why that is.

 

The WG has a lot more blue in it than most dark greys, including the previous Magnetic Grey. Magnetic Grey is a more neutral grey, and is more typical of dark greys. The blue in WG can make it look almost black. Right now, I'm looking at my car parked in the sun with some shadow from trees. It looks almost black and very shiny. Earlier this morning with less sun it looked grey. Here are some pictures that show the changes in color.

 

Lots of older, true black cars have faded black paint, so people equate Winter Gray with it, especially if it looks black in certain lighting conditions.

 

I too have the Winter Grey...it can be Grey, Blueish Grey, Dark Grey.. Prius Ros said Chameleon and she is right!

 

Oh dear - older faded black - doesn't sound very attractive!

Sometimes I do wonder whether I should have just gone for the black, since the WG seems to show up dirt just as badly as black and nothing quite beats the look of a freshly cleaned and polished black car! But then, the black would never have that dark blue-purple-grey look that is so different about the the WG!

 

Are people generally happy with the WGM? I'm deciding between that and silver. Also, any insight into whether it looks better with misty gray or dark gray interior? I prefer the dark gray interior, but the contrast on the misty gray might look better.

 

Jafca09,

I like the Winter Grey over the silver and the reason I selected that, is it seems in my area EVERYONE has a silver car...No pun intended of course..

I was a little more fearful of silver only from a door nick/bang theory...I thought it may show those indicents a little more.

I too though think the Car is sharp in Winter Grey, Silver and Black..heck they all look good for one reason or the other...all personal choice.

If I were to get a Silver I think the darker Grey interior may be nice, and vice versa with the Winter Grey..Although I opted for the Winter Grey and Dark Grey interior...There is no right or wrong option in my opinion, but merely a matter of personal preference.

 

I guess BLACK would have been my favorite as well and of course the first car to arrive at the dealership here was a Black IV. I almost went for it, then came to my senses for when it covered in snow and salt!

So I like the W.Grey...it's like a changing color pallette...you never know...so it shouldn't get boring!

 

The Winter Gray is darker than I thought it would be, and it's definitely a more blue-gray than the Magnetic Gray was. It does look black unless it's next to a black Prius (like I was at the mall today). My friend has a similar color Nissan Altima and I always thought his car was black until he corrected me. I think it's just personal preference vs. Silver though. To me the car looks completely different in a lighter color vs. the darker. I was leaning toward Blizzard Pearl but have seen quite a few around here, and my family liked the WG better.

 

I had a silver 2006 and didn't like the color very much because I found it kind of bland and light. Even after polishing, it never looked particularly glossy. Also, it seemed that the paint was particularly thin compared with other colors -- I had all sorts of nicks and scratches on the bumper and hood within a few months. On the other hand, it was good at hiding dirt and never looked terribly dirty even when it was.

So when I got the new Prius, silver was definitely not one ofl my choices, even though I think the 2010 in silver looks really sharp, especially if paired with the solar roof. WGM was my third choice and it was the one that showed up the soonest. I do think it's a great color, but it shows dirt easily and when it's not freshly polished, looks kind of dull. However, after polishing it has a deep shine - and, looks almost black.

I have the misty grey two-tone interior and really like the contrast between the dark exterior and light interior.

 

I really don't think the WGM likes black. At work, my car is park in a covered garage with limited natural light, but even then, the car doesn't look black at all (just looks like a shiny dark grey). As for choice between WGM and silver, I would probably prefer silver because it doesn't look as "dirty" if it has not been washed for a while. I could see the WGM looking a bit filthy if it doesn't get washed. Also, in direct sunlight, the WGM color looks very, very flat. But with a good coat of wax or polish and in the right light, the color does shine very nicely.
As for interior, I too was mixed on the misty and dark grey. The misty grey's two tone look is nice. However, as I have plans on driving my dog around, I wanted the darker leather to keep the staining to a minimum.

 

I can easily tell the WG from the black...if it is covered with scratches, it's black!

 

To each his own. All I'll say, is I loved the Metalic Gray that was available on the 2009 generation 2 Prius.

I do not like the new Metalic Gray nearly as well, that is available for the 2010's.

I think Toyota is trying to apply enviromentally friendly paints and finishes and maybe right now that limits exactly what they can produce. But the color pallet for Toyota's in general is pretty boring.