What size are those bins? If they're the collapsible plastic ones I'm thinking of, I'm surprised you can do 5 in the Prius, even stacked. The last time I stacked a bit too much in the Prius I ended up scratching my tints as it slid into the glass when hitting a bump.
For my average regular trips, we went from stacking in the Matrix to not stacking here. And we can do the bin swap program now at one of the local grocery stores which means I'm not packing groceries from a cart to my trunk anymore when we do that Makes life simpler with small children for us now. We can still stack in the prius thanks to the hatchback, and we do when necessary. But It's nice to do it less often. I'm only pointing out that sometimes, having a larger flat space does have benefits. It is, for example, easier for us to put stuff in the prius now with the larger space *and* stacking, when we bring a stroller with us somewhere. In the matrix, the stroller had to be put on its side to fit, and this meant we couldn't even stack stuff on top of it, since it was taking up the height space too, and leaving little flat space around it. It was just too awkward a shape for that hatch with the seats up. And the seats are up with the stroller because of the car seats. The previous gen camry, and other mid size sedans are deep enough that the stroller tucks back, and there's still room for things to be put around it and slim stuff to be put on top of it. Not so much a smaller corolla or similarly sized car with a trunk instead of lift back though. A compact SUV would have the same issue with the stroller too, those aren't always deep spaces either, just very tall and wide.
Should also consider the Corolla Cross Hybrid on the smaller side (Matrix), or the Crown Sigma on the larger side - lot more $$$. Don't rule out a newer, slightly used Venza. I think the last few years was AWD & hybrids, 3-4 years back they were options. I think the Crown and Crown Sigma replaced the Avalon & Venza respectively. Hope this helps...
i would judge that it is easier to stack individual products in a grocery cart, than it is to stack them in grocery bags in a hatch with an open back. (bins might be easier to stack if they are the right side. camry will hold a lot of unstacked grocery bags, but is to shallow to stack anything higher than 12" or so.
They may be using the sequential mode where they control shifting. The Camry is not a hatchback and many people like the isolation of a trunk from the passenger area. It is a larger, heavier car with a larger engine. Those getting 40 MPG may have the AWD variant instead of just front wheel drive.
Desperate time call for desperate measures. Today ended up transporting dome 8 foot long boards inside our 2008 Corolla. Fold down the rear seat & rest the wood on the armrest between the front seats.
Camry is undoubtedly a better value. Probably passively safer too, sitting on a larger platform. But Prius comes standard with parking sensors and auto braking even in the lowest trim, essentially making it impossible to bump into other cars / objects / humans in parking lots, which might come handy for some drivers.
Designwise for sure the unique and timeless Prius - for someone who doesnt know better, the Camry could be any Chinese sedan as well BYD Han - Wikipedia XPeng P5 - Wikipedia
It actually suffered an encounter with a 4Runner & lost. I, as the only occupant, suffered no injuries. I am replacing it with the HyCam when it arrives at the dealer. I did look at the new Prius to replace my dearly departed 2017, but found the Camry a better value overall.
Good grief, it was a 4runner. Glad you're okay and hope you enjoy you're new car. If you need extra room in the trunk to stack groceries then the 5th gen Prius will always be just a trade away
I’m a little disappointed in the five Prius. I really like how the Corolla looks in certain colors and the Corolla hybrid is made in Japan.
I figured I'd make an update here since I got to try a 2025 Camry some weeks ago and compared it to my 2023 Prime. I got to test ride a 2024 Prius (HEV) recently and my order of choice would be a debate between a 2025 Camry and 2025 Prius Prime but if it's between the Camry and regular Prius, Camry hands down. The regular Prius felt noisier than the Prime and felt like it spent a lot more time with the engine on. The weirder thing were some of the tiny features. For example during cruise control, when you get the alert you need to touch the steering wheel, you have to move or kind of jerk the steering wheel on the HEV whereas on the PHEV I can just squeeze it. I wasn't crazy impressed with the ventilated seats either but the automatic trunk opening was nice but that's more of an option thing. I don't know how many people got to try both the regular and Prime version of the new Prius. They're very similar but they are some small differences I didn't see noted anywhere.
Some of the differences could relate to trim levels tested. The LE Camry would be noisier than other trim levels, for instance. I chose the Camry XLE for a quieter, better ride. Additional safety features are also available on the XLE. Some people would rather not have a hatchback.
It was more that I wrote a review earlier in this thread based off my experience driving both and comparing them but it was a Prius Prime vs a Camry which was harder to say which felt better. I now got to drive a regular Prius and comparing it to the Camry I drove, the Camry is a much better car overall. Sedan vs hatchback is always a debate but it's one the OP was debating in the first place so seems kind of moot. Especially in this comparison, I feel like it's not a standard hatchback where the hatchback usually has a lot more usable space than a sedan. In my experience, the Camry had more easily usable trunk space than the Prius did. As for trims I agree but I'm comparing a Prius SE, a Prius XLE and a Camry XSE so they're all within the same comparative levels. The difference between the SE and XLE didn't seem like insulation either but that even in HV mode, the SE seemed to spend longer in trying to use the battery. Having to nudge the steering wheel on the XLE was a fair annoyance compared to just squeezing the one on the SE. It's not a difference I've ever seen mentioned online but it also doesn't seem that that many have gotten the chance to drive both cars. For some, just finding either to test drive is a pain.
The Prime does have a larger battery. The ability to store more energy allows longer engine off times. Plus, the engine has a vibration dampener not on the hybrid to make it less noticable.
We eventually figured that difference out over on this thread - but it would have been easier if anyone there had driven both.... Lane Tracking Assist Issue | PriusChat (Summary: US Primes have capacitative touch sensors, non-Primes don't).