I've noticed that on all the European Prius websites, the cars are shown with a very nice 7-spoke alloy wheel. According to the European Toyota website, the cars have 195/55R16 tires (or tyres, as they call them ) The cars in Japan seem to have the same wheel. Apparently, only cars in the US and Canada have P185/65R15 tires on the wheels with the infamous "trim rings." Is that tire/wheel combination available here (I'm sure you can something comparable aftermarket), and why were we singled out for the "special wheels"?
I can't answer your main question, but for what it's worth, cheaper models in Japan and Australia come with the 15" wheels the US gets. All European cars get the 16" wheels. It may be something to do with Americans preferring a softer ride - higher profile tyres will help with that.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(larkinmj @ May 10 2006, 10:56 AM) [snapback]252753[/snapback]</div> The Euro wheels also have a plastic trim on them. Without the trim I think they are even more ugly than the N.A. 15" wheels... http://priuschat.com/index.php?act=Attach&type=post&id=1830 These still have the protective plastic wrap on them but you can get the idea...
