I think that is a hard question to answer. The LRR tires on PriusI were also heavy load tires. So, they are kind of difficult to replace with something with the same characteristics, both LRR and heavy load rating. You can find a good number of heavy load tires in PriusI sizing, but they may not necessarily be LRR and vice versa. Although it is preferable to have the LRR tires on PriusI, it is not a necessity. It is however unadvisable to buy a tire that isn't heavy load rated.

Some have said that the Goodyear Integrity that ships on PriusII is LRR, however I'm inclined to believe that it is just an economy tire that Toyota chose to get the cars out the door as cheeply as possible. Price Integrities at TireRack or at your local Goodyear dealer and you will find them to be the least expensive tire you can put on the Prius, save something you can find at Les Schwab.

Lots of Prius drivers have moved up to higher quality Goodyear and Michelin tires with little effect on MPG, indicating to me that the factory tire is not necessarily LRR.

 

I just noticed the Toyota web site now has the prices for the available option packages (for the '06 Prius); I was at the dealer's the other day and his book said only the "EF" (stripper), "HI" and "NL" packages were going to be available (there might have been one more, but it didn't have Vehicle Stability Control - VSC - which I want), and he didn't have prices. But the website lists two or three others, including "HF" and "HG". The latter is interesting to me because it has VSC, but is substantially less expensive than the "HI", which I had thought would be the lowest-cost possibility for getting VSC.

They've also changed the name of the red color, it's now "Barcelona Red" instead of Salsa Red. Does anyone know if the actual color is different?

 

Barcelona red is different from Salsa Red. Salsa red was a dark metallic red. I believe that Barcelona is a bit more natural red, less dark.

Unlike Ford's distribution system which isn't a push system so much as it is a pull system of distribution; Toyota dealers get allocations of vehicles which just come and roll off the car truck into their lot. If you are a Ford/Mercury/Lincoln dealer you have some control over your standard lot stock. You can actually order lot stock to specification. Smaller and rural Ford dealers tend to special order their lot stock. And anyone familiar with Ford product purchasing knows that special ordering a vehicle from them is very easy.

Now, the problem for Prius buyers, and Toyota buyers in general is getting the package they want. Regional distribution systems for Toyota will pick a handful of packages to bring into their region out of all the packages that Toyota makes available for sale. If you go to http://www.toyota.com/prius and you build your own car you will be required to put in a zip code. After doing that you will be presented with the option packages that your region is offering as standard lot stock. This list is shorter than the list of packages that are listed in the printed brouchure.

This doesn't mean you will not be able to get a package that isn't being brought into your region, but it means that you will have to find a dealer that is willing to do an allocation trade and work with regional management to bring in a package which is not normally part of the region's normal allocation stock.

It isn't atypical for a Toyota dealer to do no special ordering but rely on standard allocation and whatever falls off the truck to sell to customers. I think that is a huge disservice to the buying public. Considering that so many Toyota dealers choose to do this to fill orders it kind of nullify's the need for dealers at all. If that is the case, then they just need 3 guys in offices. You pick the car you want from the lot and they close the sale, that is it. Salespeople need to get you exactly what you want in a reasonable time frame, not just wait for it to come from Toyota.

 

I went to www.toyota.com a copule of days ago in order to look at the local options (US) available for the prius hybrid. I'm kinda bummed because we decided that we didn't need the bluetooth and the extra upgrade radio (JBL 9 speakers) while we wanted VSC living in New England. Anyway, to get VSC you have to spend the extra $1500+ and get those other gizmos.

We are on a waiting list, the dealer promised us Nov 1st delivery, but we'd rather wait until Jan 2nd so we can get the better tax break!

Can't wait until we get the new car!

 

BUMMER about the red; I LOVED the Salsa Red, but will probably now have to get black, since I probably won't like Barcelona as much (and hubby will probably hate it - he's particular about reds, and I had just convinced him that Salsa was OK).

Yeah, I did the zip code thing, and was shown the packages I mentioned (including HF, HG and HI), as "available in my area". My dealer says he thinks his info will be updated soon, and that the "new" packages will actually be available to him.

I guess if you want a particular configuration that your local dealer doesn't get, you might find it in a more distant locale. Jurni, check out the website again - things might have changed for your locale, also. We were prepared to go with "HI" (bluetooth, 9 speakers, etc.) but now it looks like we don't have to. If you still don't see the "HG" package, try using my zip (14850). If it's worth it to you, and you can travel to Elmira, NY for your car, you can work with Kent Brown Toyota (stay away from the Ithaca dealer, they charge a premium). You might even be able to find a zip & dealer closer to you (Albany, maybe) that will get "HG".

 

Hello sweetbeet!

Thanks for the info on NY area dealers. We just received a call from the Dealer letting us know that we should be receiving the car in Jan or Feb 06. We are willing to wait and save some more money though WANT the car now!

My Gf is as particular about RED as your husband. We actually decided on the Barcelona Red as we hear the Red will be brighter than the '05 Salsa Red

We also settled on the HF package, as it keeps the cost down. Since Traction control is standard, we think we will be OK with out the VSC.

JeromeP,

Thanks for the tire post. We hope to swap the tires out with a better tire. looks like I'll have some time to poke around this site looking for the best mpg/perfomance ratio

Thanks!

 

Hi All:

___I was in a head to head over at Edmunds this morning and for one post, I looked up the price of an 06 Prius II package # E plus floor mats for the Chicago area. That Prius II came out at $29,381 + TTL. This is getting to be a bit nuts, isn’t it? You can pick up an AH w/ NAVI for less then that let alone a non-hybrid Accord EX-L w/NAVI. Am I off my rocker or is $29.4K + TTL what many are willing to shell out for a loaded up Prius II nowadays? That is a heck of a lot of money!

___Good Luck

___Wayne R. Gerdes

 

That is a bit high, I agree.

AND I went back to "Buyatoyota.com" today, and the package I really want (HG - it has VSC but no fancy mirror, fancy stereo, bluetooth, etc.) is suddenly GONE again! Looks like my dealer's info was right, and I must've caught the website "in progress" or something.

Now I don't know if I should maybe start looking at an HCH... I do love the Prius, but don't really want to shell out close to $30,000 for it.

 

I totally agreee 30K for a prius is crazy talk!

We just got our call from the dealer here in MA that our 2006 prius is in Newark and will arrive at the deler early next week!!! We ened up getting the HF package to keep weight/cost down. Every bit helps when you want to avg 50MPG! Just in time to receive the new tax credit!

 

I actually had to go to Toyota's web site to find out which package was HF. I hope folks start using package numbers again because that is just a lot easier to remember, at least for me. Seems like using package letters was the deal amongst 04 drivers to "be specific" and then the 05ers decided to use the numbers, which made my brain hurt a lot less. And now we are back to the letters. Argh!

Anyway, a fully loaded Prius with leather would weight the most because the leather seating surfaces are going to weigh more than the fabric ones, however the rest of the optional features have negligible weight increases. A few ounces here and there at best. And features like VSC should add no significant weight, aside from a yaw sensor which is absent from the vehicles which don't have VSC. I bet a fully loaded package 8 doesn't weight more than 30 lbs more than a fleet grade stripper. Some of the options in the Prius are nothing more than programming enhancements that occur at the factory and can even be adjusted at the dealership with the THHT.

Yes, you are saving money by going with a lower package and that is fine, but there is no significant weight savings by avoiding options.