Is there any difference in ride quality between touring vs. non-touring Prius?

I test drove the 15" and 17" versions here in Europe, and found handling differences as described by others in this thread. For handling and comfort, the 17" are fine.

As to road-noise, it was way better then my 2nd gen Prius 2009 (your Tourer model) on 16" Dunlup Blueresponse Sport tires and a 1st gen Prius Plug-in with 15" Michelin Energy saver I also tested. Both are LRR tires.

But on loud surfaces, there still is quite a bit of road noise with both the 15" and 17" tires. It should be possible to improve that by adding insulation as done for the 2nd and 3rd gen Prii.

I'd also like to draw your attention to an excellent article in our French Hybrid Life forum, written by its administrator, Hortevin. He has several other interesting articles on various car models! It is accessible using G...le translate.

We both attended a recent Toyota event in Paris: Prius Day, where Toyota showcased its 4th gen Prius to > 400 Prius owners who attended with > 230 Prii. That's where we saw the unique opened up Prius, providing a lot of insights in various aspects, especially where and how insulation was used.

Jan

 

Thank you, Jan. I watched a video of a Toyota-sponsored event where they showed an opened up Gen4 Prius. Oddly, there was no mention of sound insulation. Just a few extra welds.

 

You can find some pictures of insulation :
Prius Day : une première européenne avec 223 Prius ! - Hybrid Life Actualités

 

My lady and I test drove both one afternoon. The touring is a little stiffer but corners better. We decided to go with the touring and love it!