Amazing a 9.5 foot Kayak slides right in , slide the front seat full forward, drop the the back all the way down and voila - a 62 mpg kayak carrier. No lifting to the car top. easy in and out, no straps, how simple can it get.
Actually you can the kayak is slanted toward the back since the front seat is higher than the back deck. It rides remarkable smooth. The 1 disadvantage is you loose the passenger side mirror sight line. But that's it. And you keep the great mileage, and the back deck closes down fine and nothing rubs against anything else inside. Shown is a 9 ft Otter by Old Town but I had a 9.5 ft in there and it fit just as well.
No, I consistently get over 60 mpg in the summer, typically runs 62-65 mpg observed, drop 2 mpg for actual. And no increase in wind resistance, yes no passengers allowed, but the kayak fits only 1 anyway....
I couldn't find any examples of kayaks, but how about a 9 foot surfboard? I would imagine a 9 foot kayak would fit as well since the Volt's rear hatchback area is slightly larger than a gen 2 Prius (with the rear seats folded down) but a gen 3 may be a bit larger than gen 2.
Nice, though the Op's kayak was 9.5.. any room left at the back end? Your board is almost straight so you might get a few inches going at an angle. Also seems you used a bit of the dash area.. so a kayak might not fit..
You can also carry a 27 foot and a 31 foot rowing shell on the roof. And inside you can fit the wing riggers from the shells, two sets of 9'6" oars, two people, a dog, and luggage. No problem. Don't remember what the mpg was but it must have been >50mpg or I would have been upset and remembered. Attached shows it with just the bigger shell on the roof.
I should have been more clear that it's not my surfboard. I snarfed those photos from a ChevroletVoltage.com blog post. They didn't have any photos with the hatch closed but they said it could be closed. Chevrolet VoltAge - Sometimes Size Matters
Well, here in Hawaii it's "summer" all year long... and we're getting only 51/52 mpg actual. Must be all the dang traffic that we've suddenly gained notoriety for by taking the top spot in a recent study.
