Prius 4 or Prius 4 Touring?! Which one drives better?!

I used TrueCar.com for my Three model. I was torn between getting a white Prius, or a red one. The only red one on the lot was a 4T....top of the line. I wasn't interested (and couldn't afford) that model, but the TrueCar price at the time (Feb) was something like $28,600, plus tax/lic. (The sales guy almost talked me into it.) Now I just checked and it's back up to about $30,800 (with the Premium package included.)

The TrueCar website is kind of weird. The prices fluctuate up & down quite often. (My car was $25,109 in Feb, and now it's back up to $27K.) They send you quotes from 3 dealers one day... and when you log on a few days later, you may get quotes from 3 different dealers. Anyway, I'm glad I'm done messing with salesmen! The whole car-buying experience just sucks! 6 freakin' hours I was in there... for a cash deal!!

"Here's my check, guys... good riddens! You won't ever see me again! My Prius will last me the rest of my life!!"

 

That's what we said, over 5 years back.

 

"Confident vs Skittish"

Hi Mendel. I can honestly say I haven't felt any "skittishness" (yet) in my non-touring plain-jane Three with 15" tires. The more I drive it, the more I think Toyota did a great job with the suspension on the new Gen4.

In fact, I think my Prius handles much better than my "sport edition" Camry did, with the 17 inch wheels. Maybe it's just the lighter weight of the Prius; I don't know... But it's fun to drive. I've gotten it up to some fairly considerable speeds (85) and it felt planted and safe. And I took those stock Toyo tires through some pretty hairy S curves a bit faster than recommended. It felt good. I have no complaints about the handling.

(Now I'm back to driving 35 again. Don't get behind me. )

 

I've heard it was just 3rd gen, and specifically the 2010's and 2011's that had the different steering setup, that in 2012 onward they're the same, per 17". Apart from a bit different turning radius. Yeah, apples and oranges.

 

I used TrueCar. There's a big difference between what they say and what is the reality with a dealer who has a car on the lot. At that time, I was getting quotes from dealers who didn't have the car, or it was the 4T but it didn't have the floor mats and PCP options. By the way, that adds to the cost. I got the PCP with Floor mats as well as the console cover. I was always getting quotes from guys who would say come in so we can talk about it. I didn't want to go in and talk about it. If they didn't have the car on the lot, I didn't take their quote seriously.

By the way, my price I'm quoting was OTD.

 

I just got lucky, Glenn. There were several Three's, Two's, Fours, and even Touring models at most dealers I visited. Longo Toyota, in El Monte, (where I had bought 3 previous vehicles) had something like 57 new Prii's in stock back in February... but the salesman told me they are not a TrueCar dealer. He couldn't beat the price.

So I go to Long Beach. I couldn't believe it, but there were no hassles, and no debates about the TrueCar price. I showed the salesman my "guaranteed quote" from the website, and it was no problem. It worked great. I wrote the guy a check, and happily walked out... 6 hours later!

I'm glad we both got a Prius we enjoy. (I think I'll buy a blazing red Four Touring as a spare... and that will be my "weekend sports car to drive." )

 

I got a four because I could live without the mild handling improvement. I really wanted a sunroof and the HUD, which aren't available on the four touring. From when I test drove the four and four touring, the four touring had a bumpy ride with a little better grip. THE FOUR"S BETTER, but that's IMO. Try it yourself

 

As someone who really likes PCP (on the car) I can unequivocally state: I was on the fence about getting it at first... now I am SO glad I got it. It has been an absolute joy for me. If you're looking in the range of of FOUR (Touring or not)... why stop there?

Get it fully loaded and go home happy!

 

Ah yes, NYC is where the money is. It's amazing the difference in salary, as compared to the suburbs. Even the other boroughs don't compare salary-wise to Manhattan.
To tell you the truth, I don't know why exactly I choose the Four over the Three Touring. I know I wanted beige interior, and I'm pretty sure that isn't available in the Three Touring. Now that I have the Softex interior, I love the way it looks, but I'm not happy with the way they feel. They definitely are "sticky" in hot weather. My Chevy Volt had leather interior (also beige) and the leather was perforated, so it was never a problem in hot weather. The Four has heated seats, so I suppose I'll like them a lot better in the winter. I did enjoy the heated seats in the Volt. So, if I didn't mind not having a beige interior, I might have chosen a Three with a tech package or two. Gone are the days when you can add options ala carte. You can't have it all, and have to make some compromises when ordering. I doubt many people are 100% happy with the options as they come.
But all in all, the car is pretty awesome. Like I said, it's closer to my Volt than it is my '08 Prius. I have a bit of a heavy foot, and the new Prius can do 75mph effortlessly all day long. Can't say that for my '08 Prius!

BTW, I didn't want a moon roof. Had one in a car years ago and never used it. I'm pretty sure the Three Touring has the moon roof.

 

I agree with you.

 

Feel every pebble? hmmmmm .... the 17" gen4 Touring ride is very nice IMO. I did not feel every pebble in road or jolts going over bumps in Touring tires set at spec PSI. It seems they tuned suspension with 17" tires for a nice feel. Very reasonable to live with daily.
btw, I feel jolts going over speed dots at 30 MPH in our home tract in my 15" wheel 2011 Prius, but this 2016 Prius is a vastly improved ride and road holding quality over mine.
And my gauge was reading 63 MPG in 3 Touring

 

Definitely sticky ( wet actually for me)as you say. I need to wear a vest under my shirt since my back sweats through my shirt on the softex.

LG-H901 ?


















































Merged.

Indeed. Never trust what the dealer has. One great option to find out is the buyatoyota website. It tells you all the inventory that is available and also when or where it's located.
In our case a silver 4 with PCP and ATP was due in from Port. We negotiated on that.

It had none of those silly add ons like nitrogen filled tires and toyoguard or etched windows to beef up the msrp making my negotiating more difficult. Most however did have those add ons which bumled the sticker price.

Ours didn't even have floor mats LOL.

But guess what? Without even asking the salesman took a set from another car and fitted it to ours during the part where he was showing my wife how things work in the car after the sale.

LG-H901 ?

 

Yes, I got the PCP and also the carpet mats.


iPhone ?

 

Having driven a Three Touring and a Three (although a couple months or so apart), honestly, I didn't notice that much difference, and I was satisfied with the Three's handling. Ride is probably a bit smoother on a non-Touring, but even on Ohio roads, I didn't really notice the Three Touring being harsh, or the Three being too soft.

And, tires are cheaper on the non-Tourings, and the aforementioned mileage gains.

Also, the non-Tourings have a slightly faster steering rack for Gen 4 - 13.4:1, instead of 13.7:1. For my driving style (which does involve throwing a car into corners - I mean, I drive a Miata, a car that is all about being thrown into corners), that slight difference actually will subtly help. (For the Gen 3, this was different - the 15" wheel models (everything but Five, I believe) got a very slow steering rack, whereas the 17" wheel model (Five) got a faster (but not as fast as either Gen 4 configuration) rack.) I didn't have problems with steering feel in either version, though.

 

yeah..I hear you..I did the opposite, I traded a Prius 2015 Persona to a 2016 Camry V6.
What year was your Camry.?
Somehow I got 40 miles per gallon on the Persona, the Gen4s must be really good then.
V6 is a totally different beast, although I still miss the 40 mpg on the Prius, the ride comfort is much better on the 2016 Camry and I get about 25-26 miles per gallon combined

 

My Camry was a 2005. I think it was rated at 19 city/24 highway? I got 11 pretty good years with it. I wanted a change.

Now with my Prius, its a shock to be getting 60 mpg. But that's nothing... forum member Mr.MPG just reported getting 78.6 mpg and 800 miles from a full tank! He posted pictures of the dashboard display.My 2005 Camry was a clean machine. That's an 11 yr old engine right there. I detailed it twice a year. (I guess I was bored. ) Is it OK to clean a Prius engine??? I'm afraid to try, with all the electronics and stuff.