Hard Ride, Suspension?

The next logical question is - what is your tire pressure set at?

 

Actually, for a compact car, I think the Prius suspension is among the softest. Some people, like me, think it's too soft.

 

our prius rides pretty nice at 40/38. 42/40 was noticeable rougher.:juggle:try juggling your tire pressure. If you set it to whats on the door sticker the tire will wear on the out sides to correct this from happening try the 40/38. also if there is a discount tire or goodyear tire go down and purchase the road hazard warranty before you get a flat it was 15.00 dollars a tire but is well worth it!

 

Like others have said, check the tire pressure. The stock tires are lousy too, replacement tires will help.

It doesn't ride great though so dont get your hopes too high...

 

How bad are those bumps on the road?

Prius (or most Toyota's family car) is usually on the 'floaty' side due to its soft-nature of suspension tuning. It's still not a Hovercraft, which can completely shield all the road imperfections though.

 

+1 on that. We have the standard suspension, and it's very soft. I can hear every bump in the road, but I don't feel them.

The OEM tires were bad for road noise. The Micheline tires that we have now are much better, but you can still hear a lot of noise on a rough road surface. This is because the Prius does not have a lot of noise absorbing material. The Prius is inherently quiet, so you don't hear much on a smooth road, but lacking a bunch of insulation, road noise comes through when its there.

Tom