What does Seaside Pearl Really Look Like?

check out the pix of petie's prius.

http://www.priuschat.com/forums/album_pers...php?user_id=593

 

I saw it today for the first time

Yes, it was darker and more distinguished than I thought

It has some grey in it and makes the car look great (my opinion)

Chris

 

I own one, and those photos of Pete's look pretty accurate. It's much better-looking than I expected from the brochures and online swatches. I test-drove one at the local dealer and would not have been interested in the color at all if I hadn't seen it.

 

My Seaside is the first car I've had where I get real compliments on the color. I think it's a distinctive soft shade of blue, especially in sunlight.

 

That seems to be true of most of the "Pearl" colors -- Seaside (blue), Salsa (red), Tideland (grey-green) and Driftwood (champagne gold/tan). They change colors as the ambient light increases.

It's nice -- like you're getting a car with 2 or 3 different colors. (In the case of the Tideland, I find all of them terrific.)

 

My blue Prius is a darker blue than was my blue '89 Honda Civic. I'd have prefered the same color. You get used to it over 15 years. But now I like the darker blue of the Prius better. I, too, get compliments on it.

I have yet to see a single post where anyone said, "I got a color I didn't want, because it was available, and I wish I hadn't." It's kind of like cats: you get a cat you didn't really want, then you fall in love with the cat, then whatever color the cat is becomes your favorite color of cat.

 

I was totally jazzed to get my Seaside 7; I was about to accept another color that I wasn't thrilled about until I found this one. It was my first choice when I first looked at the Prius and, handy enough, the dealer's demo was a Seaside Pearl so there was no mystery.
You are right about the brochure not capturing the real colors. White and Black are about the only colors accurately depicted. Tideland is very badly represented in the brochure as it is more grey than shown. Seaside is shown fairly close to the real color. Of course, looking at a spot the size of a quarter doesn't really show you what a full size car would look like.
Everyone who has seen my car comments on the color. It's very distinguished but also fun and cheery.
I would describe it as a "slate blue", about the color of a glacier fed stream or the sky about an hour after sunset. Some blue cars have a "Tonka Toy" look which is ok on a VW convertible, but the Prius needs something just a bit more serious to highlight the high tech body shape.
You'll love the blue. Of all the colors offered, Seaside and Tideland are the most unusual inasmuch as I've not seen other 2004 cars in these colors.

 

Maybe that's why I like mine so much.

 

I love the Seaside. I think the photos in this thread are very accurate. I have also gotten a lot of compliments on the colour.

Regarding the tan interior -- I was scared of it as I have a German Shepherd Dog who LOVES car rides. After we got home with the car I brought her out to see it and she hopped right in -- shedding coat, slobber, dirty paws and all! I have a little rechargeable Oreck Zipvac with a brush attachment and it got all of the hair, slobber marks and dirt out. I think the material is treated with something to withstand dirt so if you don't let it sit there and get ground in you will be okay.

There is a file in the File Library that gives good information about the fabric and how to keep it clean. It sounds like excellent fabric and I really don't think dirt should be a problem. (I do have my dog's favourite blanket lining the back seat now just to make sure!)

Everything about Seaside is nice!

 

So far, I've had no problems with the tan interior. The fabric looks velvety, but is actually some kind of polyesther and is reputed to be very durable. I applied a very light spray of Scotchguard, but that was probably not necessary. I wanted the tan interior because the grey looked to dark and "star treky". The tan is brighter and cheeier.
A mild solution of soap and water is probably all you'll need for normal cleaning. If you have kids and/or dogs, you might need Scotchguard and a heftier cleaning solution.
Somewhere in this chatline is a post about the material used in the fabric, and a website you can go to for more tips on keeping it up.
The place you are most likely to find dirt, however, is the armrest between the front seats, especially where the material meets the plastic handle just behind the cup holder.

 

I think all the information is on this thread.