Took the new (to me) 2009 Prius on it's first long drive today (about 5 hours). It was packed to the gills, and really sagging in the back, yet I still got 52mpg. Pretty amazing. Overall i found the Prius very comfortable, particularly the seats. My only complaint is the road/tire noise really starts to wear on me after about 3 hours or so. It came with a brand new set of Goodyear's, so I won't be changing them for quite awhile, but when it does come time, I'm really going to research what the quietest possible tires would be. I'm very happy with the new purchase!
Hi! Before - in your previous car - you didn't hear the tyre's noise because it was drown out by other noises, which in Prius are minimised
My last car was a '96 Volvo 850 wagon. I loved that car, but it was pretty noisy too. Not as much road noise as the Prius, but it had a lot of engine bay noise. This will mainly be a city car, so I won't be taking it on a lot of long trips. I'd read a lot about the road noise before I bought it, so it's not a surprise. I am pleasantly surprised at how comfortable the seats were though.
This. I had a friend in the Prius over the weekend for the first time and she told me that if it wasnt for the MFD showing what was going on, she'd have guessed the car was always running on electric because she could only hear the noise of the tires and no combustion engine.
The 2006 went to Indiana within a few months of being bought. The Goodyear Integrities wailed like banshees on I-70. The same trip a year plus later, no noise. Maybe it was the pavement. Maybe it was the tire. Maybe it was the combination. You may find your noise problem just disappears as the tires wear.
Yes! I have the Goodyear Integrities on mine. And yes, it seems to completely depend on the varying surfaces of the highway. It's not a huge drag with the noise, just more than I'd like to have. I can deal with it though as the mpg trade-off is huge.
Cool. I'll check those out next time. I've always liked Michelins and they were relatively quiet on my Volvos. The Goodyears on my Prius are brand new though (from previous owner), so I'm going to have to live with them for quite awhile...
It is but you can replace the OE tires with other more efficient LRR tires that are less noisy, more comfortable and offer better traction. The OE tires on the GenII are garbage. See a comparison here: Tire Test Results : When Round and Black Becomes Lean and Green There are many new tires on the market since that test but the Energy Saver A/S is still the most efficient.
