Hello and safety question

You will be equally safe in the touring or standard model. They both have excellent safety ratings - muck better than the large SUV you are presently driving. Most SUV owners feel safe because they have a lot of steel around them and sit up high, but it's a false sense of security. Crash tests show the Prius is a much safer car than almost all SUVs. If safety is an issue for you, and it should be, buy a model with side air bags and VSC (Vehicle Stability Control). The Insurance Institute considers VSC to be the most important safety feature since seat belts.

Tom

 

The touring and standard are basically the same. The touring model has larger wheels and stiffer suspension, but that's where the differences end. The standard suspension is fairly soft, but I haven't had any trouble with control. If you are an aggressive driver, or just like the look of the touring model, then by all means get one. They are harder to find. You can also start with a standard and switch out a few suspension parts if you are serious about cornering and don't mind spending a few dollars on after market parts.

My main advice is to get a 2006 or newer model if you can. The MFD (the built in video display) changed somewhere around 2005 to a new higher resolution model. It's nicer in the new ones. We have all the options except leather seats. We live in a cold climate, and unheated leather is a little frosty for much of our year. The built in NAV system is nice if you take a lot of trips or drive in unfamiliarized territory. Many owners will argue that the built in NAV is a bit expensive, and some of the features are not as good as a Garmin, but I like having it all integrated into the dash, and I find it works quite well.

Given all that, here are my recomendations:

1) Touring or standard: strictly your choice. Both are fine.
2) VSC and side air bags.
3) SKS (Smart Key System). I believe this comes with all VSC packages.
4) NAV if you want a GPS navagation system.
5) Bluetooth.
6) Backup camera.

With the VSC package, I believe you get the SKS and the JBL stereo. There have been a few complaints from some ot the younger members and stereo nuts, but I like the JBL unit just fine. It has a six disk changer, and plays MP3 disks. With the built in stereo and NAV, you can run most functions right from the steering wheel buttons. It's quite cool.

Bluetooth comes standard with the better packages, certainly with the NAV system. I like the hands-free use of my cell phone through the steering wheel buttons.

Likewise the backup camera comes with most of the better packages. It displays through the MFD and helps a lot with parking and maneuvering in parking lots.

Hope this helps, and have fun shopping.

Tom

 

Haven't I read around here that the VSC was improved after 2005? If so that would support Tom's recommendation for a 2006 or later model.

Personally I went with a package that included HID headlights, and that was for safety reasons. I want to be able to see as much as possible at night, and they really work great, especially on unlit roads.

I've never driven an SUV (well, I had a RAV4 as a loaner once, but that's actually pretty small), but I've never felt that I was too small a presence on the road in the Prius. I've driven between DC and NYC/Long Island a bunch of times in it, in all kinds of traffic, sometimes surrounded by 18 wheelers, and never felt intimidated. The Prius is truly a midsize, almost exactly the same dimensions as a Camry, although many people still think of it as a compact.

 

I thought I remember reading that all the 2008 models have the side air bags, and that VSC is included in every package except the standard model.

 

Traction Control was improved somewhere around 2005, so yes, that's another good reason for one of the newer models. I think you are correct about the side air bags and VSC. I know it's getting to be much more common, as it should be.

Tom

 

The VSC initiated on me once this year and it definitely is an amazing safety feature.

 

I have a Ford Explorer Sport which I kept after buying the Prius. I only drive it now when I need to haul something dirty from Home Depot, tow something, drive in the snow (full time 4wd) or off road.

I feel safe driving the Prius. My car has all of the options including VSC, Side Air Bags and Side Curtain Air Bags which the Explorer does not have. I was rear ended about a month after I got the car, the damage was cosmetic only, even though the impact felt worse than it was.

There are some others on the board which have had accidents much more severe - in all of the accounts that I have seen the occupants faired very well even when the car was totalled because of damage. The body is designed to crush and absorb energy to protect the occupants.

The car has received good crash ratings from IIHS when equipped with Side Curtain Airbags and Four and Five Star ratings from NHTSA

 

Just to clarify:

The Prius is only available as a Front Wheel Drive only. It does have TRAC (traction control) standard to prevent wheel spin on slick surfaces. It also has ABS (anti lock brake system) to prevent wheel lockup and allow the driver to steer effectively while braking. The Prius also can be equipped with VSC (vehicle skid control) to prevent sliding or spinning the car and losing control. As noted above, this is an excellent feature.


Most SUV's are either Rear Wheel Drive or Four Wheel Drive. Rear Wheel Drive vehicles can be more difficult to control on slick surfaces than Front Wheel Drive. Front Wheel Drive will pull the vehicle thru the snow, where as Rear Wheel Drive pushes the vehicle and requires more attention to avoid a slide or spin.

Four Wheel Drive gives the best traction in bad weather conditions, but you will pay for that with lower fuel economy. Four Wheel Drive vehicles weigh more (extra differential and transfer case) and have more driveline drag, both of those factors lower fuel economy.

If you feel you must have Four Wheel Drive, then you may want to look at the Ford Escape Hybrid and the Toyota Highlander Hybrid. These two have the best fuel economy for 4wd, but they are much worse than the Prius. Currently the Prius has the best FE for any vehicle sold in the US.

 

My 2004 Prius has the rare but very anoying hyper-sensitive Traction Control that kills all power if it senses wheelspin. Since I prefer aggressive studded tires in winter anyway, every fall I slap on Goodyear Nordic, which I purchased from Canadian Tire and have on separate steel wheels

The Goodyear Nordic sold by Canadian Tire is exactly the same as the Goodyear Ultra Grip 500 sold in Europe.

Goodyear Eur-Winter Tire-UltraGrip 500

If you click on "Profile" a Flash presentation about the tire will load. I highly recommend this tire, it's *extremely* safe on ice. All I have to watch out for is an idiot in a SUV or 4WD pickup on "all season" tires: If I brake hard, they tend to slide right towards me, so I have to goose it to get the hell out of their way

Once my Prius bogs down in deep snow, game over. That's why I take my FJ Cruiser to the hobby farm, we've had a pretty bad winter this year with a lot of snow and blizzards

Yes, my FJ Cruiser also has dedicated winter tires. The stock size is P265 70 17, and for winter I run Toyo Open Country G-02 Plus in P265 75 16 size, on steel rims.

The Toyo is also sold as the Observe G-02 Plus for passenger cars. They claim a special compound in the tread to enhance ice traction. Overall a great winter tire on snow and ice, but my Goodyear Nordic tires have better ice traction by far

Note to the Canadians thinking of going to Canadian Tire and getting this tire: this tire is very aggressive and truly designed for harsh, cold winter conditions. As such, you will take a huge fuel economy hit - but if you're in a ditch you're getting 0 MPG anyway

This tire is also very noisy on dry pavement. The aggressive tread pattern sets up a howl/hum, like an old fashioned bias ply mud tire. But IMHO a good compromise, on ice you won't believe the traction

 

Smart-key is great. Too great. I've driven my Prius so much in the 2 1/2 months since I've had it that just today when I needed to drive the Jeep I found myself momentarily confused and wondering why the door wouldn't just open when I touched it, then wanting to stick my keys back into my pocket as I entered the vehicle.....

The VSC is available in all packages #2 and up in the '08 models. It isn't, however, necessarily connected with Bluetooth as the #2 package, the one that I have, doesn't have Bluetooth or built-in nav. I got a Garmin Nuvii at Costco the day after I bought the car and it covers those bases for a whole lot less money than the more elaborate packages, and I am not particularly concerned with the 6 disk changer, have had the impression that it is a troublesome beast based on some posts I've seen on here.

Hope you find a red one that's just perfect for what you want! Happy shopping!!

 

The roads in Manitoba are generally in poor condition, with rutted lanes worn into the pavement. So even a minor rainfall and you're driving in standing water.

I found the Integrities just terrible in that sort of driving. Mind you, I found the factory Dunlop Grandtrek on my FJ Cruiser even worse!

A directional tire is safest if you frequently drive in heavy rain. A tire like the Michelin Hydroedge or Goodyear Assurance TripleTred will either be in stock size or slightly different size

For example, my FJ is now equipped with Goodyear Fortera TripleTred as an "all season" tire. This tire is great on waterlogged pavement and standing water. It's branded with the Snowflake so claims to be a winter tire too

There is a huge difference in traction between the TripleTred and my dedicated Toyo Open Country G-02 Plus studless snow tires. As you won't be driving much in winter conditions, I'm sure a good directional "all season" tire will work for you

 

There will be minor difference in speedo/odo with the 195 60 vs the 185 65 (24 vs 24.5 inches OD). Either will work ok