My car came from the factory [un-ordered] rear bumper applique. It is a thin sheet of plastic that cover the upper portion of the bumper. It is essentially worthless. I often load a disabled persons scooter into the rear of the car. I lean the front of the scooter onto the rear deck and lift the scooter by its rear and push it into the Prius. Without additional protection this would be an execllent way to scratch the hell out of the rear bumper since the applique does not cover the entire bumper. What I did is purchase a floor mat at Costco for $15.00. The mats come in green or gray; I bought a gray one. The mat fits into the rear of the car perfectly. When it comes time to load the scooter or anything else into the car I pull the floor mat out of the car and let it overhang the rear bumper. With the mat in place there is no possibility of scratching the bumper. Arizona Charlie
The standard Bumper Applique is a thin plastic film, like Mylar. It's tougher than you think, but really wouldnt' stand up to hard abuse. It's mainly just to prevent accidents when loading the occasional box or suitcase. They do make thicker Rubber ones for other vehicles (adhesive backed), and I think I remember someone taking a Sienna one and cutting it down to fit the Prius.
Check out the Matrix bumper protector, I put on on my car and it really offer a lot more protection. I easily removed the original applique and the installation was simple. http://www.brandsport.com/toy-pt278-02021.html
