I am thinking of buying a Prius 2008 model. I want to know if a car- seat and 2 passengers can fit at the back easily? In other words, 3 passengers can sit comfortably for long trips? Besides, back spaces for 2006 and 2008 are same or 2008 is little more spacious? Thanks.
Easily--depends upon how big those other two back seat passengers are. I have a family of 5 and I got my Prius just a few months before my daughter was born and she's now 7 1/2 years old so went through the entire rear-facing, then front-facing and now the booster seat stage. My boys are now 12, so they're starting to be a bit more cramped on longer trips back there, but it's still our daily family driver and they do quite well and have plenty of room.
The 2006 and 2009 are both second generation Priuses and are the same size. From: New Cars, Used Cars, Car Reviews and Pricing - Edmunds.com Rear dimensions for a 2009 Rear Hip 51.6â€, Head 37.3â€, Leg 38.6â€, Shoulder 52.9â€. These dimensions are with a half of an inch the ones on my 2011 third generation Prius, with the exception of the leg room. I have had my friends and their daughter ride in the back with the car seat in the middle and them on both outsides. They said they were comfortable and had enough room. If you need a larger Prius look into the 2012 Prius v it is larger than the 2nd and 3rd generation Priuses.
How does the center console on the Gen II Prius open? I know in my Gen III, the middle passenger can get their knees knocked by the sliding / tilting lid of the console. For one short jaunt, I had my father-in-law, brother-in-law (both large guys over 500 lb. together), and my brother-in-law's granddaughter sandwiched between them. It wasn't a pretty sight.
If the 2 other passengers are kids or teens then yes - easily. If you have 4 adults + baby seat then it depends on how big the two passengers in the back are. But if this full car situation is a rare event then you'll be fine. I run my Prius as a cab and the Prius will happily carry 2 in the back, 3 larger adults at a push (depending on their size of course). Easy way to find out is take your child seat along with your spouse/si and all sit in the back. I always sit in the back first when looking for a new cab.
I have a family of five and recently gave up my Suburban for my new Prius. There is no better vehicle for long trips with three kids in the back than a Suburban. My kids are older now and drive themselves. I love my new Prius but can not see the five of us driving anywhere than across the street. Two in the back seat is comfortable for a long trip, three... no way!!!
I had a '93 Suburban and 6 children. I was consulting at the Chrysler Proving Grounds when they had their 25th anniversary open house. Employees and contractors could bring their families, tour the facilities, and drive on all the test roads, including the high speed banked oval. (You had to keep it below 100 MPH and on the bottom half of the track on the oval. The Viper was recently launched and they were giving high speed rides up top - one person at a time with a 4+ hour wait.) Anyway, aside from going around the banked oval at 80 and 90 MPH with no hands on the wheel, I drove the frame twist road. I had a good laugh looking in the rearview mirror and seeing 6 kids swinging back and forth. After a catered lunch, the kids wanted us to go back out on the test roads. Um, no...
I have three kids, ages 9, 9, and 12. I often drive with the three in the back, but for long trips there's nothing better than our Honda Odyssey minivan. When I bought Prius, I nearly bought a Camry. My kids greatly preferred its larger backseat. I bought Prius because it's primary role is commuter car; I have a long daily commute. In addition, we have the Odyssey minivan, which we used on this week's 800 mile vacation trip (SF-LA roundtrip). The kids were very comfy, although mileage was only 23 MPG. The kids would have been miserable in the Prius for 800 miles.
The Volvo V70 isn't going anywhere. I was bought cause it was the only car* that could fit three kiddyseats side-by-side. I've had BMW X5 owners gaze through my windows in amazement. Two kiddy-seats have been replaced by Volvo's integrated boosterseats. And although I really love my recently acquired Prius, it can't match that. Strangely the Prius does give more legroom and allow me to sit on my knees while buckling up the smallest in the middle-kiddyseat which I can't do in the Volvo, but actually sitting IN both cars, my head touches the roof in the Prius, but not in the Volvo... Curvature of the roof I guess. (6'3" with possibly a relatively long upper body). * only car in my second hand price range, which includes taking into account roadtax, and preferred safety rating
