2012 Toyota Prius v Video Review - Interior Cargo Space

Interior Cargo Space
The driver's seat has to retain the possibility of movement to adjust to the driver...
you have to be very careful of that.....

 

Thanks for the video. You guys are funny

I think consumers will be making a choice of whether they want the added flexibility of the hatchback for the occasional massive box or the standard trunk with its secure compartment. I used to pooh poo trunks, but they do assure cargo is secure, never to fly around the cabin in an accident. I was looking at a Camry the other day - plenty of seat room for 5. Big trunk with low load floor. I can see why they are so attractive, and they are.
In 2010, Camry, Accord, Altima, Civic, Corolla, Fusion and CR-V are all in top 10 sales list. Other three are full size pickups.

I guess some people like the 4WD option of Rav4 and CR-V, but Prius v will bring a good fight against those two. Plus you just about double the FE.

Prius cargo room behind rear seats up is kinda small, so this v is a great improvement. I wonder if it would be better to lower the load floor just a tad in the future if that's even possible with the battery back there. Just a thought.

anyrate, thanks again!

 

Amazing.

 

What I really love about my Gen 3 is that with both rear seats folded down, there are no gaps between the seat backs and the trunk floor. It becomes a flat deck. I like it because I have the seats down full time and it's just so damn convenient to throw anything back there and not worry about it "falling thru the cracks." And loading a hockey bag with wheels is a snap.

Actually, what is the purpose of the sliding the rear seats forward? To bring shorter passenger closer to the front? I just think it opens up a gap behind the seat that will inevitably trap non-secure items in the trunk.

I'll see if the V is at my dealers because I really wanna appreciate its size.

 

the HUD head up display seems a 'gimmic' and not popular apparently in Britain at least, but as a high mileage driver it really is great and soon becomes a must have, thank goodness it was standard on 111 gen hatches, it is apparently deleted from the V and European 7 seat versions - the Plus, which is a great pity. media reviewers not accustomed to HUD, probably having a brief introduction for the first time to such kit have no vision! or appreciation how useful and added safety such systems have as eyes are not distracted from viewing what's up ahead. In my humble opinion it should be restored as standard kit. Professional drivers/sales reps, taxi people should lobby for it on what ever vehicle they drive. Prius in pursuit of driving economy ought to keep the admittedly expensive kit, too complicated and prohibitive as a specified option as initially driving folk do not appreciate the advantages it offers, so would not opt for it, shame. I didn't either until i hired one for a week. but getting two V's (well one will be the Plus with seven seats) add a plug in after-market conversion to boost EV range and I've found an after-market HUD online so I shall be a happy man.
Once i acquired a Prius I smiled every day, jumped at chances of going out just for a drive, now that I am a silver haired retiree, over a year i found i racked up over 350k miles, seen most places in the Europe and still smiling..battery still as powerful as delivery day...three years on, still original. no time for an alcholic drink, where can i be found, if awake, behind the wheel, if asleep behind the wheel, in the V i guess one shall find me asleep but in the back. The V is the Prius it should have been in the first place, but the coupe look of the hatch is still a good looker, especially in red. the spoiler bar on the original (classic) sedan is claimed to obscure rear vision! look more often and it isn't a problem, and i keep rear vehicles at night no closer than their headlights being blocked by it....less tiring on the eyes, even with auto dipping rear view mirrors. Hybrid driving uses smart skills that have to be learned as they are akin to driving lessons from scratch. previous experience counts for little. to reach maximum fuel efficient motion at brisk travel times, not dull, but satisfying rememberthey way to drive these twin power sources is totally - almost totally alien to all the previous experiences a driver has gotten used to. For example: belt down hill, cruise/coast up hill to a point where the car slows too much below desired cruising speed before slowly pressing the throttle again, on the straight frequently ease off, sometimes completely the gas peddle - perhaps a quick boost to speed just before lifting off, so road speed gradually drops (prolonged with low resistance tires) and you will astound yourself, arriving relaxed more gas still in the tank and checking the watch, not delayed much, after long trips, keep up with traffic flows is more than possible , no honks from rear traffic impatient etc.. try it broaden your smiles as you learn it is child's play to regularly exceed the listed fuel consumption stats. And some. but think differently how you use that gas peddle, read the road better than you had, no matter how well you do now. just because you can afford the fuel, do not waste it, it can be saved, so do so. it helps the pocket book no end, believe me. You can do it. You are half way there by choosing a Toyota Prius range vehicle. SMART choice, now develop SMART driving. ( use the electric drive to advantage 'torgue it' to get up to speed then ease back....it is cheaper than the convention of accelerating slowly to avoid fuel burn unnecessarily|). Oh A2B times, especially in urban are almost identical...i might be a wrinkly ancient but i drive like the bat out of hell, a keen rapido motorist..and lots of speeding tickets to prove it, Priuses criuse too quietly, too smoothly, complaining heck no, love it, but often wish i had the audio buzzer when reaching the speed limit..if only it was adjustable like the cruise control..oh! as for pedestrian avoidance.. i used to use a penny whistle in towns/passing crowds/schools etc.. people thought i was a football coach with a whistle on a lanyard but then i discovered the after=market engine noise synthesizer so when i hit the horn a have a choice of regular beep (too loud for repeated use edging past people) or the jet sounds of a Boeing. for example, even a Huey chopper they turn, look and shift like a rocket! problem solved, but must be under driver control as buyers/drivers of Toyota Hybrids are, by definition SMART people so appreciate arriving home late not disturbing neighbors, their pets, or yours. drives through country allowing birds and creatures to come up close, fearless and great photo opportunities.. yeh! never heard it mentioned, but green lovers are a natural to be at one with nature. one can up close to wild animals without startling them. Priusite

 

There's talk of European governments introducing laws to enforce manufacturers to equip hybrids with a permanent synthesised sound of what! a juicy V8 without owner being given a choice option to suit the mood of driver or occasion. i can think of many variables even human voice authotively 'now here this, now here this' , 'stand clear stand clear', to 'get the fffff out of my way burp!', even a favorite celeb's sensual tones of 'please move over darling' each repeat louder the the one before! oh! 'umm umm ogh yah umm UMM' certainly would turn peoples heads in your direction. add your suggestions, there endless... Priusite's pure presence alert system.

 

while I am at it, not forgetting law enforcement/ crowd management announcements..then there's fresh possibilities to creep up on crimes in progress! stake outs in unmarked Priuses. A fleet of these would save the community considerable savings in fuel and maintenance..particularly in regular marked up patrol scenarios where high visibility is the intention A friend of mine is a heart surgeon and plans to equip the V as a rapid response vehicle to reach patients in a hurry and save the time calling for ambulance services if needed, simply lay em out flat and zoom off to a trauma center. it's smooth suspension and quiet motor calms stressed patients.not to mention reduced operational costs to the providers. Cabbies in Europe already love the Prius hatch, the V and or plus will be worshipped by the trade, (hopefully offered by Toyota together in all markets - police/medical versions equipped with the magnificent HUD, it is as important as blue tooth for mobile connectivity and traffic safety) well Guys and Dolls go to it. pass the word. Priusite

 

Agh one last message... for now! In reverse it beeps like bus/delivery truck in the cabin, but no bleeps can be heard outside behind the vehicle.where the sound is needed and auto hazard lights automatically engage for The hard of hearing! TELL TOYOTA it needs to be added as basic kit. it would save lives of little ones, usually a family member when driver, mum dad or relative are in a rush, preoccupied, thinking they know where everyone is or (should be). If buses and vans/trucks have it, surely Prius People can have it? Hybrid have no noise or smelly exhaust at start uo to alert humans in the way so there should be no delay on this one.. more families might line up to take their next car and not have rush a kid to hospital! The only time, when backing up does the Prius really need to be a NO HUSH MACHINE. Did you forget to clunk click in a hybrid! i bet many have, so why not link movement of the car denied until driver, and others if in it are strapped in before the vehicle can move! logical I've seen automatic breath testers that prevent starting if liquor levels are too high to command full attention of the driver! So how about the rear external buzzer. Kids would love the family car sounding like a F16 or Formula 1/NASCAR racer but not so loud ..help teach them too to be warned to keep clear when hey hear it. What you reckon Prius People? Priusite

 

What's the rear seat capacity for forward facing child seats? Full seats and/or booster seats?

 

Nice Video. Did you explain about the fuel usage of this car?

 

I am not sure of the exact capacity but we have a massive Graco MyRide 65 forward facing seat and it fits with large amounts of room to spare. Also had a rear facing massive graco snug ride 35 in there and my wife was able to sit in the passenger seat with it behind her and stretch her legs almost all the way out...She is about 5 foot 4. She could not recline with the rear facing seat all that much but with the front facing one she can. The rear seat has almost as much room as the ran 4 with possible more legroom. We were going to get either a ran or new crv, but have up awd for 45mpg. It sure was worth it.

 

First time on this forum... considering to purchase Prius V. Test drove, and took cargo measurements as it is important to put two dog crates side by side. Without the wheel base, I could put two mudium crates that I use now. A friend suggested to build a platform over the wheel base as the horizontal measurement would be longer (many dog people use this technique).

Can someone who has the Prius V give me the hieight of the cargo area, and the height above the wheel base (the bumps on the both side). I need to know if the crates would fit above the platform that I am planning to make.
1 crate size is 21W x 30D x 21H
Thanks!!!!

 

I went outside to take measurements but ran into a problem. There are too many curves for me to be able to be precise. The inside roof curves from side to side, and also curves from front to back.

So I took another approach - I found that 42" W (2 crates) only overlaps the bumps by about 1 1/2" each side.

However, due to the front to back curve, it appears that you don't get enough 21" height to cover 30" deep.

Putting the rear seats down would give you plenty of room, but I figure that you need to use those seats, or you wouldn't be trying to fit the platform over the bumps.

I looked around the house for a cardboard box around that size, to confirm that it wouldn't fit, but I didn't find one.

 

Thank you do much! I really appreciate it. I was wondering about the curbed interior after looking at the photos. Wish Toyota had studied about dogs. Do you mean I can put two crates with the width of 19 1/2 without having the foundation? It would be sad if I have to sacrifice the backseats. Wish Toyota thought about pet owners when they designed Prius V. Thank you very very much for taking your time to measure the cargo area!!

 

I have learned so much, and been helped by so many people on this forum and others, that I am glad to be able to give back a little.

Excluding the humps, the floor area from the end of the carpet to the back seats is 35" (36" in the center, due to a slight curve at the hatch end).

The width is 39, so yes, 2 crates each 19.5" would fit side by side.

To get a height of at least 21", you can't use the first 10" of floor area near the hatch (darn curves again). Additionally, at the other end, near the back seats, on the non-driver side of the car, there is a seat belt opening on the roof that will also take away some of the floor area because you would be blocking the seat belt - about 8" x 5". If you didn't have anyone sitting in that seat (I believe that belt is for the middle seat), then you could block it with the crate).

Now for some possibly good news. When I said I measured "to the back seats", I really only measured to the end of the carpet. There is a space between the end of the carpet (and the foundation it is on) and the back seats - even with the back seats fully back. With the seats in the least angled recline position, you can't use this space. However, the v has one of the largest back seat leg spaces I have seen. With the front seats pretty far back, and leaving just enough leg room for the rear seat passengers, the rear seats can be slid far enough up to allow you to use that 3".

I realize that only gives you 28" deep, but if you are considering 19.5" W crates, perhaps you could consider 28" D crates.

If that is a possibility, then please, only use my measurements to determine if a trip to the dealer to do your own measurements makes sense.

Good luck!!

 

Thank you, thank you! The information is really helpful - I thought the simple dimention w x L would work to determine if the two crate would work, but obviously it is more than that!! Thank you for giving me the detailed information. It is disappointing to know that the interior design works against us. But it is far better to know it before purchasing the car. Crates only comes with about 4 sizes, so if I decide on Prius V, I may have to use a part of backseat. It is a huge dilenma as this is the great car and great MPG. But with Subaru Outback, you can put the two crates side by side by building the platform, and MPG is not bad (not like Prius though...) and it is AWD. Have to think, and think, and think.
Thank you again!!!

 

Took one of the crates (larger one) to the dealership and put it in the cargo area. As Grapes and Waterlemons said, it was very tricky because there were so mnay curbs. Even the wheelbase itself has its own double curbs (bump). Because of these curbs, putting anoher smaller crate on the platform above the wheelbase would not work heghtwise. Worse yet, when you flatten the 2nd row seats, they would not get completely flatten - there was a noticeable inclines there. If I need to put the crate on, I need to build some kind of platform to keep the surface 180 degree flat. Only way to have two crates in the back is to go with custom crates. Very disappointed... as it is such a nice car!

 

What would be nice is if someone could do a side by side with the Prius v and a regular Prius. I'm debating whether to go with the v for the cargo space or the plug in for the carpool lane, and if the difference in cargo space is negligible, it would help swing things towards the plug in.

 

It isn't negligible but much of it is height. It depends on what you need and what your priorities are. For us, we needed to occasionally carry tall stuff in the back and the hatch didn't allow it. And we were willing to accept the not insignificant hit on fuel mileage.