Long Road Trip in Prius v

Drive as you would any other vehicle, figuring you will see 450-480 mile tank duration / range.

 

Took our 2010 Prius from Maryland to Florida two years ago, the car was a champ. We had to stop for bathroom breaks more than gas!

Will be taking our 2012 Prius v from Maryland to Colorado in late May. Really looking forward to the extra space compared to the Prius!

 

Drove from CT to Naples, Florida back in late November. Car did as well as expected and even being packed to the last bit of space and wearing snow tires averaged 42 mpg. Probably the only car In Naples with snow tires on it for awhile.

 

I've taken mine on many trips in the 100 - 350-mile range. Although mostly interstate, my mileage on these trips have all been records. Obviously, I never stop for gas at all in those ranges. Interestingly enough, it didn't seem to matter whether I had just two people, or four people with cargo, about the same mileage. 45 plus mpg on a 650 mile round trip with bowling balls and assorted luggage. I was astounded at the results, given that I rarely went under 70 mph on the journey.

 

There's nothing special you need to do, but you'll probably be taking a lot more stops to stretch since the v ( lowercase v for the Prius v wagon) is nowhere near as comfortable as an Odyssey.


iPhone ?

 

Really? I find it to be the most comfortable road car I've ever driven, including the prior leader, the Grand Caravan.

 

I drove my v couple times from SF to LA.

1) Don't expect more than 40 mpg if you drive faster than 75 mph with 3 passengers and luggage. I got about 37 mpg driving between 75 and 80 mph. But I can't tolerate slow (65 mph) driving on I-5.

2) The ride is decent front and back. No complaint from kids and they can also adjust the seat back.

3) If you need extra cargo room, push the back seat forward if your kids are not big.

4) Not much wind noise at high speed. Road noise depends on the road condition but not too bad.

5) Uphill 'roar' of the engine is very annoying.

 

I have driven from Cincinnati OH straight through to Denver CO several times. It is about 1100 miles and takes about 16 hours with two stops. No problems whatsoever averaging 75-80 MPH. That speed gives about 40-45 MPG depending on the winds.

You should have no problem on that short SD to SF 500 mile trip.

The V will probably not get that MPG though.

 

I had a Camry SE in Florida as a rental, felt like I was in a limo

 

Thanks for the question! I specifically bought the prius v for this commute. I live in the Bay Area but regularly drive to San diego and often need to pull over for a nap in the back (why I got the wagon). I'm excited for my first long trip! Good luck. Post back and let us know how it went!
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After taking our Prius v on a 400 mile road trip up I-35 from Kansas City, I doubt that we will doing anything like that again as long as we have larger vehicles. I can deal with the Prius seats for trips around town but they wear me out when sitting in them for hours. The engine noise on hills is down right unpleasant. We'll stick to our Sienna for road trips.

 

The best accessory you could buy for your Prius is a Scangauge II (ScanGauge - Trip Computer + Digitial Gauges + ScanTools). You can set up 4 car parameters to monitor. My favorites are RPMs, engine temp, instantaneous MPG and SOC (state of charge of the battery).

 

We have taken our Prius on many long trips 1200+ miles from Canada to Vegas area, you have to remember it is a Prius not a cushy minivan. We only did the speed limit during the day and 5 miles per hour less than posted speed during the night, when there was no traffic on the road. We can usually do the trip in less than 26 hours from start to finish. That includes walking our two golden retrievers ever 2-3 hrs. We have never had any issues driving it like a Prius.

 

I've only done 250 mile trips and the only stops are bladder controlled. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again. I did absolutely nothing special, never felt any lack of speed/power. I was cautious on getting up to speed on the get-on ramps. I passed lots of 18 wheelers when appropriate/wanted/needed.

I've done 1,100 miles in a day in a Grand Caravan. And 1,000 the next day. I shudder to think of its mileage. Comfortable it was. I was younger then.

There must be people in Colorado who can speak to high altitude driving and over the pass driving.