For me it's color. I know I want the dark interior cloth but I can't decide between the winter gray and the silver for the exterior color. Any thoughts/opinions? I need help! Perhaps the dealer will make the decision for me in what they can get but for now they are leaving the choice up to me and will call me as each car becomes available. I need to have a decision and keep waivering.
Get the silver if you do not like exterior car care, like washing/waxing etc. If you enjoy waxing every so often and washing more often, like on the weekends, go with the winter gray.
Ditto to that, as an owner of a WGM Prius (and compulsively caring for my car). I actually wanted the silver, but none of the dealers in my area had one coming in. Just a thought, the WGM doesn't look quite that flattering in direct sunlight - the paint just looks flat. But in the shade or after sunset, the color does a good job of showing the little kinks and curves of the Prius, especially after a good waxing (or Zaino).
The lighter colors hide rock chips much better than the darker ones. Also, they will hide swirls and RIDS much better as well. Here's another way to decide. Flip a coin "heads light tails dark" and if you find yourself flipping the coin again, you definitely know you like the other color better.
The winter gray is a dull, flat color. Looking at it closely, it does appear to have some metallic chips in it, but not nearly as many as the silver. The car I saw was parked next to a Corolla which had the nice metallic gun-metal gray. It's too bad that Toyota didn't choose that paint for the dark gray.
Just washed and waxed my Barcelona Red today. Sharp as hell! I've spent the past 10 years with metallic silver and still have a silver Mercedes. The Mercedes is sharp but I have to tell you, I get a lot of comments about the looks of my Prius. Side by side, color wise, the red Prius stacks up nicely with the met. silver mercedes. Don't discount it.
As the owner of a silver Prius, I would have probably rather had the winter gray. I think it looks sharper. However, I'm sure I would have washed it about five more times by now. Silver's a great color if you "just want it to look good."
One of the reasons I did not go with Silver this time is -----well, that is all you see in the pre-2010s. As for Pearl, it is getting to be like the old Silver. I wanted my Prius to be different but at the same time "eye catching". Pearl is nice, so is Silver and I almost went with the W.Gray. In the end, you need to go with your gut, the one you will keep getting up, going to the garage just to take a peek at your new (color) Prius.
thanks everyone for your input. Someone down the street bought a winter gray and i keep driving by it to see if i picture myself in it. I think part of the appeal of winter gray is that it's a "different" color and i'm sort of quirky myself. but in terms of what is more practical, silver seems the way to go. I love the barcelona red and the pearl as others mentioned - but those colors are so not me, beautiful though nonetheless. the other thing i'm running into is that the silver seems so readily available and i find myself finding the winter gray more appealing. i guess i find the hard to get factor appealing..oy..what to do! if only i wasn't so indecisive!
I was going to get the Winter Gray originally but they didn't have one in stock so I got the Silver instead. In retrospect I'm glad it worked out that way...the Silver is a great-looking color (it almost looks like white sometimes) and incredibly easy to care for.
Unless silver paint has changed dramatically in recent years it has always been the worst color to fade.
Anyone have any input in this? This may seem ignorant, but what does a faded silver look like? Silver is already such a light color. I'm currently trying to decide between winter gray metallic, blizzard pearl, and silver (though dealers' availability may decide for me)!
I think the faded silver looks more dull than faded. As for winter gray, i was just told this morning in my neck of the woods that they are "hard to come by" and wasn't even given a timeline in getting one...i've seen many silver ones around, and a few blizzard. personally i like the blizzard the best, it's so unique, but i'm not a white car person at all otherwise i think i'd pull trigger!
I think the Winter Gray is a lot like black...looks great CLEAN but hard to keep that way - and I am saying this after only 10 days! A good wax or clear coat helps the shine...mine looks alot better after a hand-polish this past weekend.
For me, I park the car on the street and wash it twice a year so it's easy choice to get the silver. I started out looking for Blizzard Pearl but they are hard to come by right now on Pkg 2 and after some thinking I decided to go with silver. The rear tail light also match better with silver paint IMO.
I used to drive a silver 2008 and was really bored with the color after a while. My primary choice was the Winter Gray and i absolutely love it. That said, yes its more work hiding dirt and stains now..