Owners please comment

You can stiffen the frame of a standard Prius with a BT tech stiffening plate.

I'll be buying a new Prius and plan to skip the touring and just install the plate.

 

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Keep in mind the "touring" Prius just has part of the suspension "firmed up". It's going to handle a little bit better, and those who claim it's a lot better should have changed the 15" Goodyear Integrity tires to "real" tires before they compared. Pearl does very much better now that she has Nokian WR tires (stock size 15" non-"touring").

I have flogged poor Pearl over mountain roads and she does quite well, thankyou very much. And that was with the Goodyear Integrities. I wouldn't have wanted to go much faster, as my license may have been put in danger (I was passing everyone else on that narrow winding road).

The slightly wider contact patch of the "touring" tires WILL stop the car a little better. Change the stock tires to better quality and you would get the same effect (remembering that ANY "stock tire" is the cheapest the manufacturer could get).

The "touring" does get slightly poorer mileage. The Japanese "hyper-milers" have proven and documented this, and Toyota, or more correctly the Japanese Govt. has rated the 16" wheel equipped car lower mileage wise. The EPA has ignored this. Better traction currently does equate to more drag, although my Nokian WR tires give better traction and my mileage has not suffered. So as always, YMMV.

To me, it comes down to:
Do you like the look of the larger rear spoiler and the 16" wheels?
Are they worth about $500?
If so, get a touring. If not, get a non-touring.

 

I rented a Prius Touring edition. I found it to have negligible handling differences between it and the regular Prius package 6 I bought. I do see better mileage with the Prius I bought but I attribute that to being more concerned with gas mileage than driving fast to a destination. The ride in both were comfortable...I really don't remember a difference but the people on this website can be very articulate in defining the differences. I simply was naive about the Prius when I rented it. For the first day or two I didn't really know how to get the most MPG's from the car....but I did know it was special and bought one as soon as I got back home. This site has really helped me learn all about the car. Good luck with your purchase.

 

You are incorrect about the price difference. The touring model comes standard with a number of options that you have to pay extra for on the base model. The actual price difference is about $950. For the extra $950, you get a car that has a stopping distance that CR rated as excellent as compared to poor on the base model. To me, the $950 is a bargain for the wheels, tires, sway bars, springs, and shocks.

My goal is to buy the most fuel efficient car that I can, but if I have choice between two trims where one handles better than the other, I'm going to take the car that handles better and stops faster. You are making the assumption that just because the OP *asked* about the difference that their top priority must be handling and that they should not get the Prius. That is extraordinarily arrogant. The OP was asking about the handling diffence. The OP did not ask for a lecture about what they should or shouldn't be doing....a lecture that was filled with inaccuracies and assumptions.

 

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catgic,

You're comparing apples to oranges.

You're comparing the price of the Base/Standard 2008 Prius with no options, which is super-stripped compared to prior model years' Base/Standard Prius (i.e., it's the same as earlier model Standard Priusus except it doesn't have heated side mirrors, cruise control, wheel trim rings, front seatback pockets and tonneau cover) versus the Touring Prius.

Once you add back the stripped items and any of the option packages, the price differential is very little for what you get.

At the option package #2 level (which is what you have), the Touring Prius costs only $895 more. For that $895 you get the Touring's tuned suspension, HIDs, foglights, larger, wider and better looking wheels and tires, and a larger spoiler.

At the option package #5 & #6 levels, the Touring Prius costs only $520 more. For that $520 you get the Touring's tuned suspension, larger, wider and better looking wheels and tires, and a larger spoiler (HIDs & fog lights are on the #5 and #6 Base/Standard Prius too).

So, except for the super-stripped 2008 Base/Standard model, the price difference between the Base/Standard Prius and the Touring Prius is really between $520 and $895.

My biggest regret in getting my Prius is that I didn't test drive it first. If I had, I would have known instantly that the Base/Standard Prius' handling wasn't for me. All I want is a car whose handling is about average. But IMO, the Standard Prius is probably the worst handling car of its size (about 175 inches long). It handles worse than the standard Corolla!

So at the option package #2 level, for only $895 more I would have gotten HIDs, fog lights, larger spoiler, tuned suspension, and larger, wider and better wheels and tires.

To me, the Touring's better and safer handling and shorter and safer braking distances (10 feet shorter 60-0 mph stopping distances) alone are well worth the $895 difference. But Toyota goes on to include HIDs, fog lights and the larger spoiler too. So to me, the Touring is a real bargain, and the only Prius model to get.

 

You're an idiot. Did you *READ* my post? I said *after* you add the options on the base that you *MUST* pay for to equal the touring. In this case, I was wrong as it is less than a $900 difference.

 

Go with the touring package, I think it's worth it just to get the bigger rear spoiler. It bothers me that there are Prius out there with bigger rear spoilers than mine.

By the way, I'm very happy with the handling of my base Prius but I have a feeling we get the tuned suspension although we don't get 16 inch wheels. It turns out the cheapest tyres Toyota could find for the Aussie Prius was German made Michelins! Must have been a sale on. I recommend the Michelin Energy XM1+ tyres, they are quiet and have very good grip. The standard Michelin Energy XM1s lasted 95,000km which is fantastic on Australian roads.

 

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Oh CATGIC,keep that stick out and get on to another forum/forums that are worthy of a good stirring.......CATGIC style!!!

 

Casey123,

Go with the Touring. Wife and I both love them and they certainly handle and brake better than the standard model. As far as fuel ecomomy, both wife and I routinely get between 45 to 49 MPG per tank with mostly city driving.

 

Sorka, I agree with your assessment between the standard and touring Prius model. With that said, I have seen a number of Prius Chat comments from Boo and I have learned a great deal from him. Boo an Idiot, hardly! Boo a Prius advocative, helpful and informative, usually or always. All of us are invested in our Prius model, and your response, along with others, make me wonder which Prius model I will go with next. With that said, I am amazed with emotional/spirited responses on this site.

 

Hey Casey123 - I like my touring a lot, made the choice after long deliberation, never had occasion to regret it.
Stops on a dime in an emergency (better than my previous cars, and even better than I had any reason to believe), handles great through corners (noticeably better than the standard prii I've driven on the same roads), and to me, it looks better too.

 

If you've taken defensive driving courses and done a auto-x and then drive the standard prius vs the touring, you'll realized just how much difference there really is between the two. Does the touring model handle like a sports sedan? Not really? Is it better than the standard Prius? Much. Is it better than the average sedan? Yes.

10 feet may not make a difference to some, but it can and does make the difference between life and death every day. Could I buy a safer car than the Prius? Sure. But everything is a trade off and what we're after is amazing fuel economy being as safe as we can. The touring model stops faster and did better in avoidance maneuvers. The small difference in price for the added margin of safety when my 4 year daughter is in the back is a no brainer.

 

I also preferred the Touring but I got the standard instead. If we could wait, we would've gotten the Touring but we were in a rush for a car to drive.

We were interested in the #6 package so I think the Touring is a better deal if you're buying a #6. The price difference between a non-Touring and a Touring #6 is very small and you get more for the money.

Just my opinion. If you can wait, then I would get the Touring, but they only make a small percentage of those (according to my salesman), so you're in for the wait. Plus, the wheels on the Touring look better than the standard Prius. I see standard Priuses everywhere, it gets very boring and you don't feel very "exclusive".

But I'm just happy we got a Prius, whether it be Touring or non-Touring.