Just this week my wife and I took delivery of her Series V (w/AT). So far so good. Before deciding on the Prius V, I had an opportunity to take lengthy test drives in both a Series IV and a Series V that friends had recently purchased. During those test drives it became very clear very quickly to me that the 17" low profile tires on the Series V made a big improvement difference in handling and just overall road feel compared to the 15" tires on the Series IV. Although we only have 150 miles on our Series V, I am pleased with the handling. It seems solid on the freeway and stable in turns. I know that we will be giving up some MPG but we can live with that. And we like the much sportier look of the car with 17" wheels a lot more.
I am very glad to hear this, as I am picking up my V very soon & it is one of the reasons I went with a V, not the IV. I think the handling is an important aspect, more so than 1-2 miles extra.....
I have been driving my V w/ Nav since June 4th. I just crossed the 4,000 mile mark, and usually average between 55 and 62 mpg per tankful. I am new to the Prius family, but even with the mpg hit on the 17' tires, I could not be happier with the results. Now if I could only consistently stay above 60 mpg.
After my first set of tires wears out, I'm going to replace the stock wheels with 17" ones that are much lighter than the bloated stock ones (24 lbs if anyone's counting). Then I'll have better mpg to boot. I do wonder how much of the perceived improvements in handling and road feel are due to the quicker steering on the V.
I also have a 2010 Prius V w/ATP and also find that it handles very well making those 'S' curve turns on the mountain road going to Julian. A narrow one lane in each direction road.
When you did those test drives, did you notice a difference in noise at highway speeds? I have a Scion tC with 17" rims. It is very noisy at speed unless the road was recently paved, have to crank up the audio a lot just to hear it. Even though I love the road feel, the noise has biased me against low profile tires. Maybe the Prius suspension does a better job of isolating the noise, so I will look forward to your comments. I have a Prius IV on order.
Agreed. The 17" wheels/tires do have better handling and road feel, and look so much better, than the 15". And the MPG hit is a rounding error.
Hey Stevie....question...do you think its the 17" wheels that give it the better handling ? Or the tighter steering ? Im going with the III with all the options, and then buying aftermarket 17s (after someone answers my post and tells me what the correct offset and width I need to get). But, I keep hearing about this tighter steering making a big difference. Now, the Prius isnt a sports car, so I'm not all that worried, but just wanted your $0.02 on it
Anyone compared cornering roll between the 17" setup and the 15" with the tires up at useful pressure, like 60psi or so? Bet there's very little difference once you eliminate sidewall roll. . _H*
We got a IV, and plan on replacing the wheels with nice light 17in wheels and good tires. I didn't see the crappy stock wheels and OEM tries as a good reason to get a V.
Hey hobbit.. how are you? Well the 17" do not have any side wall to speak of.. very small. I don;t think.. no matter how much psi you put in a 15".. you are going to stop the side roll.. But.. I don;t think i would risk putting 60psi in my 17" just yet.
The only definitive info I've seen is a Toyota spec doc from the UK (it's been posted so do a search if your interested), and the difference was ~1 MPG. Keep the gas tank at half full instead of full and you'll likely offset that.
I have ordered my new Prius with solar panel, and thus no 17'' wheels. Understood there is a weight problem combining those two, but does anyone know the true nature of the problem: fuel-economy, handling or safety? If it is the first case, then I guess I'll try to fit a set of larger wheels as soon as I get my car (My dealer has assured me that there is no problem doing that) and use the stock wheels for winter driving.
Wow! I tried my 17" tires at 50 lbs. once and it rode very hard going down the freeway. I decided that 36F/34R is just fine with me on my Gen II Prius with TRD springs and struts, front strut tower brace, BT frame brace, rear sway bar, and 205/45/17 tires on Gram Lite wheels. Mine actually handles pretty nice.
The 17's and the quicker steering ratio transform the V into more of a "Germanic" vehicle. Amazingly tight, reactive, responsive. I tried the IV and then the V. My mind was made up before I got out of the parking lot.
well, responsiveness would be due to the pack and pinion gear ratio... steering feel would be due to the larger wheels....
I have not done a designed test, but recently I did a 170 mile trip and achieved 56.8 mpg. I drove in a normal manner with the cruise control set 3 mph over the speed limits (55 to 65). The terrain was all flat and traffic was light with open roads. The air conditioning was on throughout the trip. I am satisfied with that and glad I have the 17" diameter wheels.
