My First 1200 Miles In The New Prius

[T4boy]

Got delivery of my Novus grey Prius T4 last Thursday and took it over the channel for a quick drive through France and Germany.

Initial impressions are:

Great Colour, the Novus grey is darker than the Gen II grey and brings out the fine lines really nicely.

The 17 inch alloys make the car much sportier.

Seats: the alcantara seats are very comfortable both front and back for long journeys and the electronic lumbar support on the driver's side an added bonus

Ride and handling: pretty good on the Power mode and I am happy with this (given that I have had 4WD vehicles in the past)

Ride noise: This is the only disadvantage so far, very noisy cabin noise at high speeds

Stereo: Despite the 8 speaker system the ride noise is so loud that the radio has to be cranked up to hear properly. I cannot pair my blackberry with the bluetooth for some reason

I enclose a photo of the colour for those who have not seen it in grey

[wooski]

Got delivery of my Novus grey Prius T4 last Thursday and took it over the channel for a quick drive through France and Germany.

Initial impressions are:

Great Colour, the Novus grey is darker than the Gen II grey and brings out the fine lines really nicely.

The 17 inch alloys make the car much sportier.

Seats: the alcantara seats are very comfortable both front and back for long journeys and the electronic lumbar support on the driver's side an added bonus

Ride and handling: pretty good on the Power mode and I am happy with this (given that I have had 4WD vehicles in the past)

Ride noise: This is the only disadvantage so far, very noisy cabin noise at high speeds

Stereo: Despite the 8 speaker system the ride noise is so loud that the radio has to be cranked up to hear properly. I cannot pair my blackberry with the bluetooth for some reason

I enclose a photo of the colour for those who have not seen it in grey

Nice pic - looks very sharp. Congrats.

[DaronB]

Lovely car health to drive T4Boy! We want to take ours on a good run , France would be great but the flamin ferry company is charging £400 return just from Belfast to Liverpool !!

Its alot of money just to drive around looking at nice scenery , we have plenty of that here , might do a trip round Ireland :D

[hippo]

Hi

i took T4 out on demo road noise was bad i sat in rear on returning to toyota dealer and said road noise is bad . when we got back to show room

the mechanic took it and checked tyre pressure and then we went out again big improvement hardly any road noise seems interesting that you

highlight this issue one is it pressure or two the toyota prius is sold on being much lighter have you compared new for old weight gen 2 to gen 3

gen 3 weigh is more gen 2 kerb weight 1300 kg gross weight 1725 kg gen 3 kerb weight 1370 kg-1420 kg depends on spec gross weight

1805 kg i think mathematics say new gen 3 is heavy car

yours hippo

[Stepppy]

Did they lower or increase the pressure?

[JaysPrius]

Did they lower or increase the pressure?

Be interesting to hear how that compares with the tyre pressure recommended in the hand book.

[wooski]

Did they lower or increase the pressure?

Be interesting to hear how that compares with the tyre pressure recommended in the hand book.

I'm interested in this too. The US guys on priuschat all swear that it's better to increase the pressures to 40 or even higher (44 anyone?)

[T4boy]

I have now switched to the pressures as recommended in the manual and to be perfectly honest the road noise is just as bad. I wonder whether or not this is due to the Michelin tyres as I have had siialr pilot sports before and they are noisier than other makes such as Continental or Dunlop/ Goodyear

[timberwolf]

Did they lower or increase the pressure?

Be interesting to hear how that compares with the tyre pressure recommended in the hand book.

I'm interested in this too. The US guys on priuschat all swear that it's better to increase the pressures to 40 or even higher (44 anyone?)

It's interesting that if you underinflate tyres there can be handling issues, but supposedly there are non at all if you overinflate at least according to those guys? The evidence from those guys is ancedotal, they've been doing it for years and they get lower wear on the tyres and improved mpg, and the only downside was a harsher ride.

[timberwolf]

I have now switched to the pressures as recommended in the manual and to be perfectly honest the road noise is just as bad. I wonder whether or not this is due to the Michelin tyres as I have had siialr pilot sports before and they are noisier than other makes such as Continental or Dunlop/ Goodyear

Do you notice any reduction in noise if you increase the tyre pressure up to the upper limit posted on the door sticker?

What speed does the noise become intrusive?

[nortones2]

Did they lower or increase the pressure?

Be interesting to hear how that compares with the tyre pressure recommended in the hand book.

I'm interested in this too. The US guys on priuschat all swear that it's better to increase the pressures to 40 or even higher (44 anyone?)

It's interesting that if you underinflate tyres there can be handling issues, but supposedly there are non at all if you overinflate at least according to those guys? The evidence from those guys is ancedotal, they've been doing it for years and they get lower wear on the tyres and improved mpg, and the only downside was a harsher ride.

I don't think they corner very hard in the wet! Seems rather unwise to me.