Gen III (IV) Road trip from FL to DC to CO (3,100 miles). Heavy load, speed generally 75-80mph. 50 mpg. The Prius had 1,100 miles on it before trip. Front tire pressure: 51, rear tire pressure: 48. Last year, same trip with 2007 Gen II about 44 mpg. There was nothing wrong with my Gen II Prius (86K miles), I loved it and had no intention to replace it but the dealer made me “A Deal I Could Not Refuse.†With great surprise (I had not been in a Gen III before the actual delivery of the 2010) I am amazed at the substantial improvement in the Prius (perhaps dash/instruments exception). The same load last year in the Gen II set the rear of the car within 1 inch of touching the rear wheels, the Gen III does not appear to sit down at all. My Mercedes SL55 is comparatively a crude car when comparing any of the electronics to the Prius – although the top goes down and it does sound good! Obviously, if I did not drive the Prius on any trip longer than about 5 miles, I could not own the SL55 – it MAY attain 11 mpg on the highway, but it does have 519 HP! Any questions?
Any questions? Yes, what are you trying to say here, notwithstanding the comments about the SL55? Not too sure what you meant by "The same load last year in the Gen II set the rear of the car within 1 inch of touching the rear wheels, the Gen III does not appear to sit down at all." Are you indicating that the Gen III was better or worse on the mileage? All I see here is a description of the trip that you took in both the Gen 2 and 3, and that you got about 6 mpg better this year than last. What questions did you want/expect us to have?
wow, tire pressures at 51F/48R? Goodness, I thought the max cold psi was 44 for the stock Yokahomas tires.
The OEM tires on my Gen II were kept at 51/49 and were replaced at 51,000 miles. Argueably, they had another 5-7K left on them. My experience on other cars I have owned has never resulted in long lasting tires.
What are your OEM tires? Yokahomas S33D, Goodyear Assurance or Bridgestone EP? If they were the Yokahomas, I might increase mine from 40/38 since your long trip didn't result in some type of tire blow out.
Odd post. Nice to hear about the II vs III info, although light on info. So what - about your Mercedes? Just want to brag to a Forum that could care less? Notice I did not mention my Jaguar.
The tires on the Gen III are Yokahomas AVIDS33. I do not recall what the originial tires on the Gen II were.
Thanks, G2 were Goodyear Integrities. Some G3 came with Birdgestone EP20 and Goodyear Assurance something tires, some only. Good post.
thanks m, interesting test results. i suppose there must have been some variables but it sounds like the III is a definate improvement in hwy mpg and suspension. what about things like comfort, room, noise, power, ride quality, etc.?
