Help Please Is the touring version worth the extra money? Can anyone tell the difference in the handling & or how it drives. I thought I wanted a touring version with package 6, but the one I test drove was a regular no nav. The sales person at Tims Toyota wanted me to wait and get the tournig, the salesmanager wanted me to buy what he had on the lot. So now I need your help. Thank you in advance. First things first I need to sell my 2007 Dodge Nitro RT.
TummyMan, FYI there have been two threads recently covering this same topic. One was entitled "Is the Touring Edition worth the price?" The other was entitled "Basic v. Touring". Do a "Search Titles Only" search of the word "Touring" to find these threads. I tried to link both threads for you, but my computer is misbehaving and isn't allowing me to cut and paste. Good luck. P.S. I think the Touring Edition is worth the extra money.
I think the general consensus is that the Touring model is a better drive. There's very few who would choose the standard model (unless MPG is their top priority since the 15" wheels will give a slight edge in mpg over the 16")
Thanks, you are right, after I posted the questions I found a bunch of answers to my questions. I will search better before I ask any more questions. I live in Sedona AZ, on average I see 15 Prius's a day just in Sedona, most are not the touring.
Touring "Premium"? Hey! Another chance for a thread dealing with a Prius Premium. Is there a Touring Premium? Sorry, I've just become a bit tired of all the questions of "Premiums" even though the postings in the threads do give us some great information to deal with the ridiculous assumptions.
At the package 2 level, the difference in price between Standard and Touring is only $895. I understand that it's even less than that at the higher package levels. One thing not mentioned here is that it's not easy to get a Touring Edition, especially at a particular package level that you may have in mind. For example, I went to the Prius price configuration page today, and: Plugged in a New York zipcode, and it wouldn't even allow me to price a Touring Edition. Plugged in a California zipcode, and it only allowed me to price a Touring Edition at the highest package level -- package 6.
I personally liked the ride of the Touring significantly more ... felt more connected to the road and less floaty w/o feeling harsh or rough. To me the small price difference would be worth it, but some feel a dealer is less likely to negotiate on the Touring as well. When/if I decide to finally buy a Prius it will be the Touring if it is still available. I probably won't be in the market until June or July and it will probably depend on what the word is about the new models coming out ... then again I could buy an old model that is (supposedly) glitch free while they work out the kinks for a few years on the new ones. Too many choices ... I will have a Prius someday though!
When I bought my Touring edition in late March, I was told that Toyota is only making about 5% of their Prius production as Touring editions. With that kind of production disparity (if it continues to hold), expect to not be able to find lower optioned Touring editions. It will be more of a margin booster for the dealers. Although with the direction that gas prices are headed, I can't see where dealers are taking many hits to their margins on any Prius they sell (at least in the S.F. Bay Area).
...agreed, I think the cheat sheet my dealer showed me stated that 7% of all Prii manufactured and shipped to the states are Touring, 4% of those are red, 4% of those are light blue, erm...37% of those are silver, etcetra...heh heh. I took a Touring in silver, and wanted the touring based solely on the fact that I was driving a WRX before the Prius, and was looking for a wee bit more performance than the basic could offer. It's certainly NOT a WRX, but well, you get the point, right? All in all I really like the way the Prius handles and feels on the road, it's really more than I expected.
The Prizm I drive now has a full autocross suspension that most people can't tolerate. It can feel like a bucking Bronco on rough roads. But at least I can attack cloverleafs at 90mph during moments of insanity. For what the Prius is, I find the regular model to be perfectly acceptable. Given the lighthearted suspension upgrade on the Touring model, I doubt you will see much improvement over a regular Prius with better tires. With that in mind, I would opt for a regular Prius and apply any money saved towards much better all-season tires and a clear bra. If you still want a suspension upgrade after that, wait until somebody like Tokico or maybe TRD comes out with performance struts (the real deal).
TRD already has performance struts/springs for the Prius, just search for TRD Sportivo Prius and you'll find loads of information about them.
I've seen the Sportivo kit. The struts are probably nice. But can just the struts be ordered/used? Don't the springs lower the car? The Prius is low as it is. As an everyday car, I think it would suck to have it even lower and constantly scraping steep driveway entrances or speed bumps. Never mind the annoyance of having the lowered suspension bottoming out on rough roads.
