Cold air coming in from door handle

yes most if not all cars do this. I have noticed that my prius does this alot more than other cars i have owned from GM. But it's completly normal

 

Yep. Was really windy here the other day and I could feel the breeze coming through almost 6 inches away. Probably not much insulation or sound deadening material in there at all.

 

Same here. Can really feel it in the winter.

 

Insulation costs money and weight...

It's "normal"---at least on my II.

 

I agree it is normal in cars without much insulation, which include this one. However you could fix it. The door panel is easy to remove and you could put some foam rubber or other insulation behind the door handle.

This thread tells how to get the door panel off: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...s/67089-removing-front-door-6x9-speakers.html

 

That's what I was thinking. About the 5th picture down, it looks like you could tape some plastic sheeting over the back of the door handle mechanism to stop the airflow. You would need to tape work around the cables that aren't shown in the picture.