Really? So, cars w/soft touch plastics (that also feel solid when knocked on) are the same and made of the same material as hard plastics that sound hollow when knocked on? From the OP's post:
Cwerdna is the one who responded to my question about that very point saying it was, in fact, the same chemical formula.
Seriously? You can say whatever you'd like when it comes to your opinion, but please don't lie and try to pin something on another person posting responses. There are many formulas for the wide variety of materials you and I call "plastic." You cannot say "plastic" is "plastic" any more than you can say "steel" is "steel" or a "book" is a "book" -- and hope to be taken seriously in such a discussion.
I'm with you, man. Plastic varies wildly between cars, even if the composition is the same. The texture, weight, color, and finish are what separates a Corolla from a VW Golf GTI. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In response to those who think the Prius has a harsh ride: Likely it's my own ignorance, but I have no clue what you are talking about. I have the Prius Touring with the 17" wheels and I run all my tires at least 40PSI. You must be used to floating around in big Buicks and Malibu's to think the 15" wheels are harsh.
^^^ Re: ride, I have insufficient seat time in Gen 3 Priuses, but I can say that my Gen 2 Prius in ride smoothness/quality is comparable to econoboxes. It's between my former 02 Maxima GXE (VERY smooth, almost Lexus-like, per many reviews) and my 04 350Z (VERY harsh and bouncy too). My Z was by far the roughest riding and bounciest car I've ever owned/driven for an extended period of time. From my minimal Gen 3 Prius seat time (just had a # of test drives and ridden along), I'd say its ride is similar to or slightly better than my Gen 2, but nowhere close to my Maxima.
I'm with you, cwerdna. I had an '07 Gen II for about two and one-half years. I enjoyed the ride. I moved to my '10 Gen III (17" wheels, 215/45 low-profile tires) and felt the ride was a step better. Still, the ride of my '04 Altima was better, as was that of my '98 Maxima. I don't think I was expecting the Prius to be a smoother or softer or tighter or "better" ride than the Nissans, but I didn't reject the Prius in favor of my older rides -- it was the other way around for reasons other than ride comfort.
He is like those who would lump high strength steel and aluminum and magnesium and titanium alloys, in with cast iron and pig iron in a homogenous category called 'metal'. The mechanical engineers, plastics engineers, and industrial designers I worked with had an extremely broad range of plastics available.
One answer to the harsh suspension problem may be the tires. My 2010 liftback came with Yokohoma Avid tires. The ride was rough and interior noise high on rough roads, but I just accepted that it may be the result of a small unit body car with little sound deadening material and 40psi in the LRR tires. I lived with it and was generally otherwise very happy with the car for 3 years. My tires wore out and I could not find the much loved Michelin energy saver all season tires in my size. After nearly a years search for the Michelins, I settled on the second or third choice, a set of Goodyear Assurance Fuel Max, another LRR tire. My first drive thoughts were, WOW!! has my Prius become a Lexus ?? Ride harshness and road noise are SO much less than with the old tires at the same 40psi. I took a slight MPG hit with the Goodyear tires, but the driving experience makes it so worth it.
If there is not an equivalently-priced car having the comfort features you are seeking and Prius technology, the answer to your question is YES.
