Bigger v means longer to cool cabin!

how many more sq. feet than hatchback? same size a/c system and fan? mine throws so much frigid air it feels like it would work fine in a much larger car. but i'm not in a hot climate.

 

i saw my first cmax today. cute but looked really tiny.

 

Is the airflow really that bad? There are actually vents under the front seats for the rear passengers, no idea how good they are as i've never ridden back there.
Most of my riding is alone but occasionally have had a car load of 4 adults and no complaints from the back seats, maybe they were just being polite.
I leave Climate control on auto and set to a comfortable temperature. I have noticed I have to dial the temperature lower with more people in the car to maintain same comfort as single driver setting, no biggie, just turn the dial.
Only car I have to compare to is my previous Honda Fit. That car had a large interior space(for its class), lots of glass and a weak AC system, so I did notice with the Fit it was hard to keep it warm in the winter and AC could not keep up on the hottest days of the summer. My new v despite the larger interior space has no such issue keeping warm at -30*c and cooling nicely at +28*c.(hottest and coolest days i've seen yet)
As always YMMV.

 

Compared to my old 10' Prius IV, I've notice my new v cools down very quickly. I believe the hvac system in the v has been uprated from the liftback. The fan seems to move a higher volume of air.

 

Toyota should add the solar roof option to the v like on the liftback ATP. Having the vents blowing air through when sitting in a hot parking lot would make a big difference to cool down time I think. Even my v as it is with tinted rear windows sitting in 68f temperatures outside gets pretty hot! If I could have the solar roof option and power seats on my v without all the other doodads it would be the perfect car.

 

Pretty sure those floor vents are for air from the front floor vents, as in heated air or any air directed to the floor. You can get some cool air from them in the "bi-level" mode too.

The outflow air vents for the entire cabin are in the back by the rear door on both sides, so setting the "re-circ" to off should blow cool air all the way to the back. One of the real shortcomings of the v's A/C system is it's default re-circ setting, which cuts off air to the rear of the cabin.

 

in the 90's here and no complaints

 

Hills kill mpg. You'll always expend more energy on the climb than you get back on the descent. I Live at 870ft above sea level and descend to sea level on a daily basis. I try not to make more than 1 or 2 trips in a day as climbing back up that same hill uses alot of fuel. Average week driving around Vancouver is 42mpg(indicated) in the summer. 90% city/urban driving, freeway max speed between 40-50mph.

Took a trip down to Bellingham today, pretty flat most all the way, averaged 51mpg(indicated) there and back. Flat land makes a huge difference! I never went faster than 60mph on the I5 either and surprisingly didn't get run over.

 

Yes, SUVs and mini-wagons take longer to cool down. More cubic feet, more glass.

Happened the same with my CRV. Where my Porsche cooled immediately with so many fewer cubic feet to cool. Move to a mini-van and there is a reason for dual a/c units.

 

My own experience is that hilly territory for a Prius means better mpg!

 

This is almost thread necromancy, but oh well.

Different driving style is needed for hills vs. flat terrain. Both can net good results or poor results. But once a hill becomes large, i.e. a mountain, your mileage will suffer.

I have a 2000ft+ elevation change between house and city. I get 18mpg-ish going up the "hill" as we call it, but it is a mountain in the Rocky Mountains. Going down, infinite because the engine is off. But about 1/3rd of the way down the battery is completely full. Much much much more energy expelled to go up the hill than recaptured going down.

 

My v cools SO much better than my former V6 RAV 4 that I don't have anything but raves for its performance.

 

And more glass means more heat transfer.