Ive had this question for a while on my head, ive looked at alot of prius, but i dont see any difference. i do see some with different rims, looks like 8 or 9 stars rim. atleast for me i got the package 5, which is the one before the most expensive the dealer was selling. the only difference is that it has no leather seats. anyway for sure you can know what do you have?
Visibly the Touring cars have the 16" 7 spoke wheels that are charcoal colored w/ silver covers and the spoiler is a bit longer off the back of the car. The Touring models also have a stiffer suspention and HIDs w/fog lights on the Package 1 and 2 models.
Do be aware, however, a used car could be a non-touring but still have the 16" wheels (owner could have changed them). The owner can even change the rear spoiler, but that's more difficult. But as jelloslug posted, on the lot with new cars in the US, if it has 16" wheels/tires it's a touring. For a quick glance identification, the touring doesn't have the trim rings but instead has full coverage wheel covers that look like aluminum wheels. They are plastic and pull off, revealing aluminum gun metal colored wheels with reverse curved spokes. The non-touring has 15" wheels/tires with or without trim rings. The aluminum wheels are bright aluminum color with straight spokes. Like that <--- in my avatar (that's Pearl).
Check the Stripes on the Rear Shocks Too In terms of suspension parts, the Touring has thicker front and rear stabilizer bars, and different rear shocks and springs than the Standard's. The Touring's rear shocks should have Pink & Red stripes on them. The Standard's rear shocks should have Light Blue & Red stripes. If you want to, you can check your rear shocks by looking underneath your car from the rear. You can see photos of the Standard's Light Blue & Red striped rear shocks, and the Touring's Pink & Red striped rear shocks in the following thread: http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-m...k-your-rear-struts-post630668.html#post630668
I don't understand why you are asking if you already decided to buy the non-touring Prius? If you are looking for agreement that you made a good choice, I would say you did. The one you have is the best.
How do I know if I have a touring here in the UK ? Had it about a month... 16" alloys.. model is a "T4" Does anyone have a picture side by side comparison of the rear spoiler ?
Hi Dozzer, UK option packages are different. I believe that you can choose between T4 and T-Spirit? Pls tell us what color bands appear on your rear shocks.
hi.. It's got green and red stripes. Green at the bottom red above it. The UK specs are T3, T4 and T-spirit. I opted for the T4 as it had cruise control, front fogs and the JBL 6 disk stereo. A rear parking cam would of been nice though... but I have a better mod planned for it.. in car CCTV with 4 cams. One internal wide view, 2 out the front and one rear view (hopefully an OEM camera unit) AFAIK the UK versions do not have the HID option.. the law over here required any HID lights to have light washers fitted.
There is no such thing as a touring in the UK or Europe. It's an American name. Toyota Japan allows each importer to order the car configured as they see fit, probably with input from them. They can order cars with the options we have all seen and some we haven't (auto parking, for example). They can order cars with either wheel, with either suspension, probably mixing shocks and anti-sway bars of different calibration. I -think- there are actually three suspension configurations. Europe gets rear disk brakes, another order option. Probably because Europeans wouldn't buy a car with drum brakes. In Canada we also don't have the "touring" as an option. Up to and including 2007 all Canadian cars were equivalent to US non-touring. 2008 cars are all equivalent to US touring models. We only have three option packages as well. But Toyota Canada didn't order -any- cars with leather. Ditto with HID. So a model designation in -your- country is basically meaningless outside your country. And this applies even in Canada. I say "even" because it appears Toyota Canada is actually controlled by Toyota US.
It's quite simple. If you're driving your car and members of the opposite sex are literally throwing themselves out you because of how rad they think your ride is... then you have a Touring. If they're not, then you have a standard, like me.
The Touring makes your head bloated but thats ok the rear spoiler is bigger too, according the discerning Prius owners. Really its a Prius, enjoy the ride.
Re: Check the Stripes on the Rear Shocks Too Hi Boo, I have a 2008 Touring and I am wondering if a Stiffening Plate is a waste of money since as you said it has front and rear stabilizer bars. I am getting the Strut Tower Brace and have wondered if the stiffening plate is worth it. What do you think?
Hi Kazie, I think the Stiffening Plate is worth it. But I started with a Standard Prius which I contend may very well be the worst handling and least fun to drive car of its size anywhere, and could use all the help it can get! However, the improvement I noticed from the Plate was subtle. My car just seemed more stable at highway speeds, especially on some of the curvy parkways we have here in the Northeast. The other frequently noted improvement is better resistance to crosswinds. However, I didn't have my Prius long enough before I put on the Plate to have an opinion about that. Note that I believe that Gadgetdad and other Touring owners have also said they like the Plate, citing the same improvements in handling that I mentioned -- increased stability at highway speeds and greater resistance to crosswinds. But the improvements I noticed from the Strut Tower Brace were definitely much more dramatic.
Thanks Tom. I think you know what you are talking about. I will get both. Another question you probably know about. I just realized that I have plastic wheels that come off but there is no cover for the inner part that looks bad. What do you reccommend so I get rid of the plastic but it looks nice? Kazie
Hi Kazie, I think that Touring owners who take the plastic wheel covers off usually put on center caps. Here's one thread with pictures of narf's Magnetic Grey Touring with the covers off and with center caps on: http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-modifications/26406-2007-mag-grey-touring-naked-wheels.html You can get the caps from your Toyota dealer or metrotpn.com: http://www.metrotpn.com/ProductDetails.aspx?CollectionID=25&ProductID=198&SortIndex=25 Good luck.
