If a Prius has the center display (mpg, camera, etc.), is that a higher level Prius?

here is a decsription of the various trims

 

You're completely backwards there. It is excusable since Toyota made it very confusing.

The "Touring" model has extra features over the base trim package it is in. However, many dealers and sellers have no idea what the heck they have and misrepresent the models as Tourings when they are not. The touring models come with larger diameter wheels, a stiffer chassis and a few minor handling things in addition to the interior trim options. If you are in the US, the Touring is generally the package #6 + touring package.

2008 models come in 6 standard flavours:



They all have the MFD (the screen in the middle). If you have navigation then you will also see an extra button on the left side of the screen that shows the map data when you press it and an extra button on the steering wheel controls for the map feature. Other than that they look the same.

 

No, because it has 15" aluminum wheels and the standard-sized rear spoiler.

The Touring has 16" aluminum wheels and a larger spoiler. It also has different struts/shocks.

 

Either that or they really didn't know. It is pretty confusing.

Figure it out look at the pictures and the chart. It has SKS because the little black buttons on the hatch and two front doors. Therefore it is above a package 1, not a base. Looking at the MFD, there is no navigation button so it is not a package 5 or 6. It doesn't seem to have fog lights, so it is a package 1-3. So that leaves packages #2 and #3.

So if it has the autodimming mirror or 6-disk CD changer, it is a package #3. Otherwise it is a package #2. To me it looks like a package #2. Non touring.

The touring has a rougher ride. To american's "better handling" means a stiff suspension so Toyota, like BMW and Audi, obliged.

 

We've seen that the fraction of Touring Prii on the used car market far exceeds the fraction that Toyota actually built. This is a very common mislabeling.

My quick tell is to look at the wheel covers, presuming no one swapped wheels. Touring had 7 spokes, regular GenIIs had 6 spokes. GenIII liftbacks have 5 spokes.

 

here is what the wheel cover looks like for the regular Prius and the Touring model

 

hope this picture looks better

 

Over here in the UK, the Touring Gen II Prius is called the "T Spirit", then we have in descending levels of extras, the T4 and T3 models. While I'm pretty sure none of the T3's have SATNAV installed in the MFD, perplexingly, T4's have been known to come with the SATNAV package.
However, to the best of my knowledge, ALL Gen II T Spirit's in the UK definitely come with SATNAV by default.

Judging by the lack of the NAV extra buttons on MDF of the so called Touring Prius in the pictures - and the lack of fog lights too, I would wager that sadly, it's definitely NOT a Touring model.