2010 Prius: More than Mercedes, BMW, Cadillac or Acura? Yep!!

2010 Prius: Bigger than a Breadbox (and a Mercedes, BMW, Cadillac or Acura)? Yep!!

I’m sure you have people say to you something along the lines of: “Cute little car. I’m sure it gets decent gas mileage, but I really need more room than I’d have in that dinky thing.â€

Sometimes it almost sets me off, because I feel there is abundant space inside my Prius. I had heard somewhere that the Prius has more rear-seat head room and leg room than a C-Class Mercedes. I liked that so much that I just started saying it to people. Well, there’s a danger in simply repeating things you’ve heard (or hoped you’d heard!). So, I thought I would sit down and compare the interior and exterior dimensions of the Prius, as well as certain EPA characteristics such as size, MPGs and carbon footprint, to certain upscale (or uppity) sedans.



For purposes of this comparison, I used information provided by Polk and U.S. EPA, as well as the latest information on the 2010 provided by Toyota. I chose to compare the 2010 Prius to four other cars:

1. 2009 Mercedes-Benz C-Class C300 4MATIC Luxury Sedan
2. 2009 BMW 3 Series Sedan 328xi
3. 2009 Cadillac CTS 3.6L SIDI
4. Acura TL 5-Spd AT w/Technology Package

I don’t need to remind anyone that each of these other cars is quite a bit more expensive than the Prius. Still, I didn’t choose to compare the Prius to cars that were truly far outside the physical size of the Prius or double the price. The other cars have MSRPs (without extra options) ranging from $36,425 to $39,445. I’ve prepared a simple spreadsheet with some of these comparisons, and it is attached to this post.

How did the 2010 Prius compare? I always thought it was head and shoulders above the competition, but I have to admit now that it is only head-above and leg-longer than the competition. The Prius stands higher than all the others, and it has similar head room to the BMW and Acura. The Caddy has a half-inch advantage in front head room, while the Mercedes has more than one inch less front head room than the Prius. The Prius and the Acura barely surpass the Cadillac for front leg room, but the Prius a good inch more than the German competitors.

This 2010 Prius takes a back seat to nobody! In terms of the back seat space, the Prius has more headroom than the others (though just barely “ahead†of the BMW). For back seat leg room, only the Acura has more – 0.2 inches more, that is. The Prius has nearly 3 inches more leg room than the Mercedes.

OK. The Prius just can’t have more room everywhere – right? That’s right. Even though the overall passenger volume far exceeds the German cars, it is on par with the Cadillac and the Acura. The 2009 was slightly smaller than the Caddy and Acura, but I expect the 5 cu. Ft. increase in overall volume in the Prius will push it ahead of the others. The real squeeze in the Prius is at the hips and shoulders. Though the front shoulder room and hip room in the Prius is greater than that in the Mercedes and BMW, it lags behind the Cadillac and the Acura: one-half inch to the Caddy and about 2 inches less than the Acura. The back seat is much narrower, though, in the Prius. It is 2 inches narrower at the shoulders and between about 3 inches narrower at the hips than the other cars. So, with 3 passengers in the back seat, each of the 3 in the Prius must give up an inch of space when compared to the passengers in the other cars.

How about luggage space? I was hoping we’d get there. Cargo volume (under the tonneau) shows the Prius at 2 cubic feet ahead of the Mercedes and BMW, but only one cubic foot better than the Cadillac and Acura models. Overall luggage volume, as measured by EPA standards, shows the Prius far out in front of the others: 21.6 cubic feet, compared to a range of 12 to 14 for the others.

So, in the end, can I still proudly claim I have more space inside my car than you’ll get in a C-Class Mercedes? No doubt but that I can. The Prius has more Head, Shoulder, Hip and Leg room in the front seats than does the Mercedes. It also has more Head and Leg room in the back seat. What I didn’t know is that I could add the BMW 3 Series to my boast. And if I want to carry it a bit further, I would add that my Prius has more head room and leg room and cargo space than the others, also.

Oh: Did I forget to mention the Prius costs two-thirds of the other birds? And, in case you’re wondering, at 50 MPG, the 2010 Prius gets two and one-half times the fuel economy of any of the others.

EDIT: I've added an updated spreadsheet incorporating comparisons to the Honda Pilot and the Lexus LS 460 L. See later posts for more information.

The small print: For those who are apologists for any of these cars, please understand I am not "picking" on any one of them. I did not spend a whole lot of time looking for other cars for sake of this comparison. Some other makes or models could look better or worse when compared to the 2010 Prius. Let me know what you find out.

1050

 

Re: 2010 Prius: Bigger than a bread box!

Thanks, Bill! My apologies to folks who don't have Excel or a format that can read the spreadsheet. Acrobat really makes it work well.

 

Donee:

I've added a new spreadsheet with the Honda Pilot added (2WD version). What may interest you is that the Pilot is the one vehicle in this comparison that has more head room than the 2010 Prius. In fact, it has about one inch more head room in the front seats. It has about two inches additional head room in the second row.

Even so, the Prius has more leg room in front -- more than an inch greater than the Pilot. The Pilot is the only vehicle that beats out the Prius in back seat leg room, however.

It is no surprise the Pilot also has more shoulder room and hip room -- than any of the other competitors. Perhaps it also is no surprise the Pilot has the worst fuel economy and this highest carbon footprint of any of these vehicles.

It isn't quite the "luxury" drive of the non-Prius competitors, so the price comes in where expected: higher than the Prius but less (ever so slightly) than the others.

 

I don't disagree that the other cars are similarly-sized to the Prius -- that's the whole point of my post. The perception of size has a lot to do with the notion the Prius is an "economy" car. This is seen as an "econo-box" statement that the car must be lightweight, tiny and underpowered.

The point of the post is to provide information to Prius owners and others about the relative interior sizes of these various automobiles. We can use this information to disabuse the assumptions made by people who would reject the Prius out-of-hand because it is an "econo-box."

Actually, I was expecting a bit more "outrage" from people who would object to comparing the Prius to a "real" automobile coming from Germany. Clearly, the Prius is not a luxury sedan. Still, it has so many advanced features and appointments, that it compares favorably in many ways to these other cars. At the same time, the Prius is not designed to be a sports sedan, and it doesn't have the suspension, the high-performance engine or the wood panelling of the high-brow motor car.

All-in-all, I'd like people to see that they can buy a Prius as a family car, not a commuter "econo-box."

 

Forget? No. I just didn't think of it. I was focused on sedans, because I am aiming at people who are looking to buy four-door sedans. You bring up a good point, however, and I may want to compare the Prius to some of the European sports wagons. At least they offer size and cargo options.

Now you're hitting on something. How many buyers of sport sedans buy them to drive like they are rally racers? Not many.

On the other hand, I believe there are many people looking for a way to get a car with better fuel economy at a better price, but they are unwilling to give up either creature comforts or space. The 2010 is aimed squarely at these buyers. That is why you'll see thae 2010 includes a comfortable driver's seat, a better stereo system and a telescoping steering column. The same people also want their cars to look a bit faster, if not "more aggressive." That is what is behind the new styling and the optional 17" wheels.

You are correct about the different priorities. I see the 2010 Prius as a car that will bring buyers from Mercedes, BMW & Cadillac for just those reasons. Many current Prius owners had such cars before, but the main reason they came to the Prius was not price or creature comforts, its was performance: Fuel Economy and Cleaner Exhaust.