I completely agree with this. I live in California and travel to Canada on a monthly basis. Right when I hit Oregon I notice the difference. Most of the time I just turn up the radio a few notches.
If they performed well on the 2010 then they should be fine for the PiP. You should get similar mpg with the PiP as you did with the 2010 when using the hybrid mode. F8L has a very good thread on here about Low Rolling Resistance (LRR) tires for the Prius. Search on here for his thread and see if he does a write-up on the Hydra Edge. Here is the link: Low Rolling Resistance replacement tires: Current List | PriusChat
I have the same problem on my 2014 plugin. After the 15k rotation the noise increased. I doubt if it is balancing or alignment since i see no wear on the tire. It is almost like putting on winter snow tires.
A good riding quiet tire with decent fuel efficiency is the Pirelli Cinturato P7 Plus or the Ecopia EP422. I realize this thread is old but in case it gets brought back up from the dead again....
I will put in a good word for the GY ComforTred. Ran a set on my 2008 just under 80K miles (in 2 years 4 months, mind you) and they were nice and quiet the whole time. Good dry and wet handling. All highway miles. Arizona roads are probably just as bad as anywhere else in the country. They are using that rubberized asphalt most everywhere now which is a dream to drive on. Of course the amount of road noise transmitted to the vehicle frame is affected by tire pressure. I run 42/40 which is good for mpg and not too bad for noise. Any higher and they turn into stagecoach wheels. I've got the same tires on my 2011 and they continue to perform well.
OK! ...but it seems they do not make them any more. So I went with Conti True Contacts. I had the ComforTreds on the rear over 80k miles and they still seemed OK tread, but my wife did have a slipping incident on wet roads (which might not have been the tires fault) but just one day before our appointment to install the new tires.