Indeed the extra inch of width probably makes seating three in the back much more comfortable. The width of the v is closer to the width of the honda CR-V than to the original prius, and while one inch might not sound like much there's a big difference between how crowded it feels when my wife and me and my brother are in the back of my parents prius vs the back of my parent's CR-V. The added cargo space would also be nice for packing more luggage on long road trips. When the phev versions are available used for under 15k I'll consider it as an option. As a two car family I feel we should have one larger car for road trips and a smaller car (civic) for commuting. There are cheaper cars to own (looking at TCO) than a prius, but none that are cheaper and have more space. This same statement will now likely apply to the V.
What sunroof? It's suppose to only have a dual "resin" panoramic roof. Remember this is the Prius v, as in versatile, not the Prius V as in 5.
I'm a lot more excited by the RAV4 EV. I'm always underwhelmed when I see tiny cars get less than 50MPG. I had a Honda Civic HX that got nearly 50MPG, with a lot of hyper-miler attention to detail. Pulse and coast, traffic timing, quick parking, you name it. Every trick I could come up with, and then some. So when I see brand new cars that are EVEN SMALLER than my Honda was, getting LESS than 50MPG, I have to conclude that they're just phoning it in. The big 'innovation' in these internal combustion cars for the decade are all in dashboard toys, but absolutely nothing in the drivetrain. This van? I suppose it's OK mileage for a minivan. Even the regular PRIUS seems to be stuck, too. I can get close to 60MPG on the freeway with the Prius, but I've settled for 55, overall. The MPG should have been increasing over the years. These things should get 60 or 70 MPG when 'normal' people drive them. Even the [future] plugin version is a bit underwhelming. But screw it, gimme the RAV4 EV. I TOTALLY want that. It gets (division by zero) MPG. I'll find a way to add more batteries if I want more range. Maybe epoxy some solar panels to the roof, and tow a long trailer of solar panels. Whatever. Drown the oil company executives in gasoline and light them on fire.
I am not a member of the young active family demographic that Toyota claims it is targeting. We would like to move from an AWD Sienna that averages 17mpg and think the Prius V might be an excellent solution. Living in Michigan we will probably miss the AWD during the winter. But an average of 40 mpg is a huge improvement. We test drove the traditional Prius and were concerned about adapting to the smaller cabin for toting grandkids and pets. Perhaps Toyota can come up with another few mpg for the V in later years but I will be very happy to carry 5 at 42 mpg city. As for not offering seating for 7, would that further reduce the mpg figures for the V? It seems to me several vehicles today squeez more seating into existing cabin sizes at the cost of safety and comfort. We have friends that love their Tahoe but they are always sitting in the front seats and we are in the 3rd row -- not so comfortable back there or getting back there.
Phitter, I'm with you. I drive a 2000 Dodge Caravan that gets 18 MPG in the summer (15 in winter) in almost all city driving. We have no kids but I'm a golfer and we do have a dog, so the Prius v is very appealing to me when I decide to replace the Caravan. My wife drives a Kia Rondo but that only gets about 20 MPG too, so 42 MPG in the city looks great to me at this point.
Fuzzy, are we talking about camping trips? and the regular Prius with 22cu.ft does not have enough space? sorry for being underwhelmed! I had done 4 weeks/2-up X-country trip on motorcycle, camping with exception of 2 nights. Storage space at disposal? whooping 30gal/4cu.ft.
Once you've learned to pack small and light, say for backpacking or cycling, any car seems huge and tank-like in comparison. Our Prius has taken the four of us and all our camping gear across the country and back. We didn't have quite all the comforts of home, and it was a bit cramped, but it's certainly possible.
Let me guess -- your travel companion doesn't put up a fuss when you refuse to take the camping stuff and the hiking stuff and the biking stuff and the nordic ski stuff and the alpine ski stuff and half the month's food supply. And isn't quick to point out point passing vehicles (usually young lone males) carrying that and a kayak too.
This is not confirmed yet, but rumor says the wheel PCD is 114.3mm. 205/60R16 16×6.5J 5holes PCD114.3mm offset39mm 215/50R17 17×7J 5holes PCD114.3mm offset45mm We cannot use Gen2/Gen3 wheels (PCD 100mm) on the Prius v. Ken@Japan
seems to me you are saying Camry does not make sense as there is Yaris sedan that also seats 5? In Europe, most small MPV's come with 5 seats. Toyota is one of the rare manufacturers that have 7 seat small MPV.
I don`t know why you say that. The big company's in Europe have all a 7 seater version of their MPV: Opel Zafira, VW Toulan, Renault GrandScenic etc etc And new video's of the Japanese Prius V:
