Quieter Ride?

gen III isn't any different than II, so there's no reason to think IV will be, but we live in hope!

 

I agree totally.

At a minimum, I think we have a right to expect a quieter ride, or at least better dashboard/internal build material which do not add to internal noise. They need to test the car in roads with different surface roughness. Prius Gen3 suspension works fine in moderately rough terrain when driven slow - it manages to soak up the bumps well but in rough A- Roads like the ones we get here in Scotland, the entire cabin can feel the vibrations even at average speed - this is not good for a £20k car.

 

Of course there is! You can use Dynamat or similar insulation for the interior. They do this at car stereo shops. You can also swap out the fuel efficient but loud LRR tires for quieter touring tires.

Contrary to other replies, I found the Gen 3 Prius much quieter than the Gen 2. Much of it is owed to the larger engine I suspect. I expect a similar bump in refinement in the Gen 4.

I thought the undercoating was to mitigate rust from road salt?


iPhone ?

 

there are some threads here with dynamite installation and great results. don't know if the search function is working yet.

 

Michelin MXV4 are the best touring tires I've ever purchased. Currently running a set on my Hyundai Sonata and car barely hear any tire noise. My friends installed Dynamats to reduce rattle from body panels vibrating against each other when the stereo is turned up. So I never got the chance to experience the car as being quieter. Here's a youtube esxplaining the process.

 

Honestly, I'm not the best source for touring tire recommendations. I only purchased the Michelins for my Accord and they came stock on my Sonata and I've been impressed with them. I did my research on tirerack.com.

I suspect to decrease weight and cost, Toyota used minimal padding on the floor, door panels, etc. That's basically how luxury vehicles keep the noise out. They use thicker foam padding and thicker windows. Not much you can do about the windows but you can certainly add foam padding like Dynamat.


iPhone ?

 

michelin energy savers are supposed to be quiet and good LRR's. be careful about mpg loss when tyre shopping.

 

oh most definitely. i'm not an expert on touring tyres though.

 

About 30-40k miles back I installed Michelin Energy Saver tires on my G3 (2010) and I could not be happier. In addition to improved fuel efficiency, the noise was reduced significantly. They still have many miles of tread remaining.

In the west, the highway department lays a thick coat of some sort of asphalt slurry then lays and rolls smooth a layer of pea gravel on top. I am sure the road wear is reduced, but it is considerably more noisy than smooth asphalt. Scored concrete (improved traction in snow and ice) is also noisy.

 

Maybe the New Global Architecture will stiffen things up reducing rattles. Then again it could be a tunning fork conducting all sources of noise into the cabin where they can resonate. Old cars with frames could isolate frame noise from cabin to some degree. They also had lots of heavy sound damping and sound absorbing materials.
With the gen IV's 20% decreased weight I don't see allot of room for sound control. Then again you never know.

Ecopia ep422s made my 2005 allot quieter and great mileage.

 

I too look for a quieter ride in the Gen IV Prius. How about better sound deadening all around? From the roof to the floor and everywhere else. With newer materials, acoustic modeling, and active noise cancellation, the Gen IV Prius has an opportunity to be noticeably quieter.

We owned a GEN III and got rid of it for two reasons. Not enough sound deadening and just a hair to little room in the back seat. We'd really like to get into another Prius, so eagerly looking towards the Gen IV's release ASAP. Otherwise, 2015 VW Sportwagen TDi is in our future.

 

As far as Toyotas go, you could just buy an Avalon and be done with it.

 

Great results, lol??

Seriously, I've found our prius pretty quiet, comparing to past Hondas.

 

Everyone's expectations and desires are different, but I'm happy with mine too. I knew it wasn't going to astound me with its ride quality, but for what it was designed to do, I think it does a very nice job.