17" wheels worth the charge?

For those of you with 17" wheels, (the V model), are you glad you purchased them, or do you believe you would have been just as happy with the smaller wheel size?

I believe one of the reasons I am so pleased with the driving characteristics of my car is the inclusion of 17" wheels with the Prius V. It also may have a lot to do with the 215 width of the tires and the quality of the tires (in comparison to the OEM Integrity tires on my 2007).

There is a steep price to add 17" wheels later (not to mention the cost of those tires), so take that into account when pricing out the automobile.

I've had my V wheels for sale, am happy with 17s and agree they handle well. My only reason for wanting new 17s is the fact the stock wheels are 23+ lbs and I can replace them with 17s that weight around 17 lbs. One really nice feature of stock 17s is they are super easy to clean.

No offense to the non V/17 owners, but I would not have bought the Prius if it wasn't for the V. Or get a IV and definitely would have upgraded immediately to aftermarket 17s, and installed fogs. Personally feel the 17s and alloys add so much asthetically. And the increased level of handling is wonderful. I've driven a III quite often and the difference is so apparent.

So worth the charge? I'd say upgrading a purchase to the V is - not sure about simply optioning out the 17s from Toyota - steep price if I recall. Of course if your heart is set in the solar roof - one option is solely available. Recommend to test drive both 15 & 17 extensively. You may really like the 15s and save a lot of $$$.

If one doesn't care about the fogs or the navigation such as I didn't, then upgrading from the 15's isn't that bad. Save your money on the other options and just go aftermarket. I got a great set or wheels/tires for under $1000 mounted/balanced & shipped.

What series tires are the 17's ? My sons Scion xD has Pirelli 225/45-17's and it doesn't ride
very good at all, handles great but didn't ride nearly as good as the stock size wheeled
xD we test drove first. The 10 spoke Enkei's with 17's lookawesome though.

215/45