We just got some news over here that we thought you all might be interested in - looks like AMCI testing has confirmed that the 2016 Prius Four Touring has better overall handling performance than the 2016 BMW 528i Sedan, and smoother overall ride quality than the 2016 Mercedes Benz CLA250 (*AMCI Testing Certified: MY16 competitors tested). I laid out the findings below: AMCI Testing Certified Claims for 2016 Toyota Prius Four Touring vs. 2016 BMW 528i Sedan: The 2016 Toyota Prius Four Touring has Better Overall Handling Performance than the 2016 BMW 528i Sedan* The 2016 Toyota Prius Four Touring has Better Slalom Performance than the 2016 BMW 528i Sedan* * Dry pavement, Stability Control Off AMCI Testing Certified Claims for 2016 Toyota Prius Four Touring vs. 2016 Mercedes-Benz CLA250: The 2016 Toyota Prius Four Touring has Smoother Overall Ride Quality than the 2016 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 The 2016 Toyota Prius Four Touring has Better Smooth-Road Ride Quality at 55 MPH than the 2016 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 The 2016 Toyota Prius Four Touring has Better Rough-Road Ride Quality at 55 MPH than the 2016 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 The 2016 Toyota Prius Four Touring has Better Ride Quality Over a Speed Bump at 10 MPH than the 2016 Mercedes-Benz CLA250 We're very proud of our baby. We're looking forward to when you have the chance to give it a try for yourself.
Unfortunately no, at least not yet - AMCI doesn't post the information publicly, they put it out on the wire to the press. I don't know offhand if anyone has written about it yet - they may even decide it's not newsworthy. But we were excited, and we thought you might be too.
Thank you Akio Toyoda for the injection of enhanced driving dynamics to all Toyota vehicles, even the "mundane" ones. Just out of curiosity, why did you (@Prius Team ) choose to compare the Prius Four to the CLA250 for ride comfort? Wouldn't you compare it to the C-Class (or just straight up compare it back with the 528i?)
Wasn't it Car and Driver that reviewed both the Two Eco and the Four Touring, and actually got far better skidpad numbers from the 2E than the 4T? Edit: Yes: 2016 Toyota Prius Four Touring Test – Review – Car and Driver
Toyota Prius Reviews - Toyota Prius Price, Photos, and Specs - Car and Driver Sounds like the 17" tires don't have as much grip as the 15". That is probably fixable with a tire swap, but my guess is if you improve the handling with tires you will increase fuel consumption. Gen III's 15 inch skid pad was 0.81g, so the 17" tires on the gen IV really don't have a very good grip.
It could be weight too. Even though the Two Eco has ultra LRR tires meant for fuel economy, the lighter car is easier to handle (and I'm sure th chassis is barely stressed at that point. It's meant to carry cars as heavy as the Prime which is nearly 200kg heavier than the Eco model.
Mostly we were trying to prove that the Prius had premium quality driving dynamics, and could compare favorably to luxury brands.
This isn't a terribly big deal. The F10 BMW has been panned for its slow, sloppy un-BMW like handling. And the CLA is a cheap POS. Anyway, these days the gap between luxury cars and normal cars has closed considerably from 10-20 years ago.
Some of the Kia's are getting fancy - & they'll stop in 174' according to Car&Driver. They say that 174' is; 2016 Kia Optima SX 2.0T Test – Review – Car and Driver Don't know luxury brand "70mph to 0mph" stopping distances from Shinola. So out of curiosity I wondered what kind of distances luxury might have - as typically that infers larger size (to me). I noted 1,000Lbs heavier, & 21" rims gets a 160' stopping distance in a model S. Maybe stopping distance is more of a safety feature than luxury though? 167' for a new caddy; Cadillac ATS Reviews - Cadillac ATS Price, Photos, and Specs - Car and Driver .
