What made you pick the V over other Pri?

Our 2012 v (wagon) and our 2010 liftback are both running on Michelin Defenders...so it's definitely not the tires.

I'm convinced the 200+ pounds of extra weight the v lugs around is the main instigator. However, I think aerodynamics has a minor role to play as well. If you look under under both vehicles, the v has fewer undercarriage panels than the liftback.

 

I love our Clazzio seat covers.

Here is a link to what they look like in our 2012 v (wagon)

Hi all, new Prius v owner | Page 3 | PriusChat

 

A combination of sheer size and a great deal by way of dealer unfamiliarity did it for me. If I could have found a standard lift back with the advanced tech package at a good price, I might have settled for less room - but I'm very, very glad to have the extra space. The fact that I only had to look for pictures with moonroofs made it easier to find a mislabeled (and hence underpriced) v. I found a lot of standard fives with an unadvertised ATP, but the sweet spot was finding a v 'two' with ATP.

 

I needed the cubic space, but commute to work 30 miles round trip, with a mix of highway and street driving, to my day job. I had a Nissan Sentra which got 32 mpg on the highway and 26 around town, and now I get 48-50 mpg with my mix in the Prius v (warm weather).

In my side gigs, I am an upright double bass player and sound tech. I carry the bass around a lot, and often have speakers, wire boxes, mixer, amps, etc as well. It's a great party trick with the Sentra to pack a complete small PA and an upright bass, but it's claustrophobic and I can't have a passenger.

In the Prius v, I can seat a passenger, bass, and complete PA, or two passengers and the bass with just its amp. The regular Prius could only accommodate one passenger with the bass, since the bass would have to lie flat.

I find it's the aerodynamic difference that hurts the mileage the worst, but I have a ginger accelerator foot and flat terrain, which minimizes the impact of the weight difference (plus, I've got all that cargo). But, since it's that box that gets me the internal storage space, I'll deal. Sometimes the shape of the cargo space is as important as the amount.

 

We finally decided to let go of our 97 Odyssey that we had for 20 years and 220k miles. It was a 1st gen Odyssey which was a station wagon with 4 cylinder engine.The only repairs during those years other than routine maintenance was a few hoses and a radiator replacement. It still had the original exhaust system on it. We knew that we wanted to replace it with a similar small wagon of sorts. My sister had a 12 Prius V. My wife had ridden in it and liked it. She wanted to go to the Toyota lot and look at one of them. Although a Nissan Leaf is not a small wagon, I was curious about an EV and wanted to start our search by test driving a Leaf. We stopped at a nearby Nissan dealer used car lot and asked if they had a used Leaf. The salesman didn't have one on the lot but said that he could call next door to the new car lot and have someone show us one.

As we were walking from the used lot to the new lot, my wife saw this white, 15 Prius V on their used lot. A gal from the new car lot walked up to us and said that she could show us a Leaf. She noticed my wife looking at the Prius V and asked if we were also interested in it. My wife asked if she could park it next to the Leaf so that we could compare them. We did a comparison and although the Prius V is smaller than our old Odyssey, it is considerably bigger than a Leaf. It has more comfortable seats and more leg room. It is much easier getting in and out of the back seat which was important since we regularly go with another couple to the movies. We take turns driving, she and the other gal sit in the back seat. That ease of access to the back seats sold her.

That opened up a whole new world for me because I knew very little about hybrids before we got the V. For months after we got it, I was obsessed to learn everything about it. I moved the ScanGauge from the retired Odyssey to the Prius V. After a while I came to accept the bizarre behavior. You press a Start button and a bunch of lights on the dash light up for an instant but it seems like nothing mechanical really happens other than the faint whirring of an electric pump and then a few seconds later the lights go out and a Ready light pops on and then a few seconds later, the engine starts. I finally got comfortable with all the behind the scenes happenings and learned to just drive it and enjoy the great mileage. We put about 1000 miles / month on our daily driver. The old Odyssey got around 20 in town and 25 on the road and we consistently get 45 per tank on the Prius. No regrets so far.

 

I like my, new to me 2017 V for the seating position. My previous cars I was kinda sorta sitting on the floor. Now that I'm a budding geezer getting in and out was a pain. I was looking for a car/suv/wagon where my knees were lower than my hips when getting in or out. My buddy was getting rid of her low miles ketchup red V and the deal was sealed... Going to 40 mpg from 32 mpg and the extra room was a bonus too.. I don't drive much so I think this buggy is gonna be around for a while...
mitch

 

We also got our Prius v to replace our minivan ( a 2004 Mazda MPV ). We love it! The rear seat room is like night and day compared to our 2010 liftback. I also like that the rear seats slide like a minivan.

However, since the Prius v weighs so much more than our 2010 liftback, and has the same drivetrain, the V definitely doesn't do as well on the MPGs ( low 40s ). In the liftback we get around 50.

 

Me too. Heck, if you take the rear seats out...the thing is literally like a moving van. I removed the rear seats when moving my daughter to college. I was amazed at how much could stuff into it! I also remove the rear seats when my son and I go on our annual long road trip. If I do that, I can even take along a couple of folding bikes along.

Here is a post from a while back that shows the rear seats removed and the bikes we bring along :

Hi all, new Prius v owner | Page 7 | PriusChat

 

We used to have a 2nd gen. It always felt cramped.

The extra room in the v is great.

 

Your profile here says you STILL have a 2005. Please update it.

 

I know it's somewhat unfashionable, but I am a big fan of wagons. When we gave up campering in early 2018 we sold our truck and trailer and went shopping for a secondhand Prius v. We're very pleased with our 2014 - we just passed 100,000 km (60,000 mi) and it has been completely trouble free. I love the space inside and with a couple of roof racks and some homemade lumber carriers we can lug stuff with the best of them.

 

Nice! I love wagons too...especially the v. I liken it to a mini CUV with lower clearance than CUVs have. Our 2012 has been a workhorse..that's for sure. I remove the rear seats for big loads ( like moving our daughter to college and back, etc... ). With the rear seats out there is a HUGE amount of room for hauling.

 

I am sure she appreciates the description.