For those of you that have purchased your Prius V, do you find it has a noticeable increase in front passenger room and in cargo space? Have you tried loading it with your dog and luggage for a road trip? I went to see one today. It is hard to judge, it seemed longer and taller but I did not see much difference in width. My husband is a large guy, barely fits in my Gen. 3, not sure the V will be big enough for him and three dogs. Thanks.
Plenty of room, love my new V5. The new seats are great I am 6’5†more than enough room front and back, couldn’t be happier. I love to roll the rear windows down and extract my kids through the huge window openings.
I'm 6'2" and would not own a 3rd Gen Prius. But Prius v would be fine. The difference - v steering wheel is mounted closer to driver than 3rd Gen Prius. 3rd Gen Prius forces me to scoot closer to wheel regardless of telescope setting, then my legs are crowded. Floating bridge console makes things worse. A shame, didn't have to be that way, but that's the way it is in the 3rd Gen. Maybe they'll figure it out in the 4th Gen, maybe they never will with regular Prius. Honda has had the lowly Civic dialed in for years. New Civic hybrid sits much better for me than Prius, but it's a sedan, Insight too small and IMA will go down eventually. Prius has been a disappointment to me for almost 4 years. I see more 3rd Gen Prius on lot at Piercey than Prius v. I hope the v overtakes Prius sales. If there are different interior design teams for Prius and v, I hope it becomes clear to Prius team they've done what not to do - crowd an interior that has limited space with an outlandish 'waterfall' console and put in the skimpiest steering wheel adjustment they could get away with. ... At least there is the v.
Drove mine down to the the district 7 radio control aerobatics competition this weekend in Fresno, it fit my primary and backup planes (68" long each), wings, toolboxes, charging box (another toolbox), suitcase, pro video camera, DSLR case, glue box, transmitter case, transmitter tray, coats, batteries and then some with NO trouble. I've also tested my 2 meter plane and it fits great. This is WHY I bought the v, so it's perfect. Planned license plate: RC TOY BX Peter+
I'm 6'1" and a few more lbs than I really should be... I fit well and comfortably. There is a ton of room. I didn't realize this, but the car is almost a foot longer than my old Matrix. Won't be hurting for cargo space.
I'm still trying to figure out how to get the front seat to fold FORWARD, for the smaller planes I was transporting this weekend I didn't need to, and it is possible to fold it back flat with the headrest removed if/when I need to, but I really would prefer to fold it forward. Do you know how? Peter+
It's fairly large, Yeah. The only V I ever drove belongs to my neighbors but they don't give me a hard time borrowing it sometimes.
Sigh.... My only fear, is that if the Prius v is a-no pun intended-a HUGE success? That will only confirm with Toyota that Americans are primarly large fat sloths, that want bigger and bigger automobiles. Seems like all Japanese products slowly get larger and larger. I want to go see one in person myself. And I think it fills a void in the market. I'm very happy Toyota is offering a larger Prius. But even with the magic of HSD, you'll notice the efficiency drops. I'm about 6"1 and over 200 lbs, and I ride comfortably in a Honda Fit. How much bloody leg room do you guys need?
Well I think it's all cars (not just Japanese) that get larger and larger as the model gets older and older with just a few exceptions. Personally I find the Gen3 the perfect size even though I'm a Fat guy (not sloth). Besides leg room the other problem with small cars and even some larger cars, is always hitting your head when you get in and out. Actually i find it easier to get in and out of my son's Aveo than the new Malibu.
Yeah...sorry about throwing the "sloth" comment in..but I do think that is how much of the rest of the world see's Americans. (Thank Jerry Springer). I may be a odd minority, but I've always liked driving smaller automobiles as opposed to larger. I just like the feel of a smaller vehicle. In my mind, it's like flying a small plane. Barn Storming. Larger vehicles seem like flying a 747....not as much fun.
While I do agree that many American's can stand to lose some weight, I wouldn't go as far to say the Prius v was made primarily to cater to the larger Americans or its success depends on it. I'm only 5'8" and my wife is 5'5", both of us are on the lower end of the average weight spectrum and we both feel the size and dimensions of the Prius v are PERFECT for us and our baby. All you parents out there know how much crap you have to lug around when dealing with a small child. Also, I too am an individual who likes to drive smaller cars... when I had a 2007 Maxima as a rental when my car was in the shop, I HATED IT. It was just so big compared to my IS300. Anyway, compared to other wagons and mini suvs out there, I think the v is still on the compact side, especially given the interior space! Can't wait to find some time with my wife to go test drive and probably purchase one soon!
My problem isn't leg room in small cars. My problem is head room in a lot of small cars. My other problem is cargo capacity as well. It's a much better thing for the environment that I can now choose to purchase a Prius v instead of a less-efficient vehicle like my old Matrix or a small SUV.
Sorry..EVERYONE. The problem sometimes in internet posting and making as I did a dangerous generalization, is that everyone takes that generalization as a personal attack. I'm not calling you or anyone else a "Fat Large Car Driving American Sloth". As I admitted, I like smaller cars. So I have a tendency and prejudice to advocate against the trend of making products larger and larger. But that's just me. I do think a lot of people (not everyone) overvalue the size of a vehicle. Most of the time the space is wasted. For example, you cite cargo space and headroom as a priority for you? My subcompact Honda Fit has amazing headroom and really fantastic cargo space. And at 6'1 and over 200lbs? I don't feel cramped. Just frustrating to me, that again "In General" I witness a lot of people driving huge vehicles...usually alone or with a singular passenger and I think they most often could be using a much smaller vehicle.
RE: the folding front seats... they don't fold forward, they fold flat backwards. You remove the headrest, side the back seat back, then lean the front seatback back. The result isn't exactly a flat surface but I can see using to transport lumber.
