A few weeks ago we took the family on our first small road trip in our 2012 Prius v, (3, Clear Sky). We were so pleased how comfortable the car was on the trip that we are still talking about it. We got the car in April and love it, but so far almost all of our driving has been within 20 miles from our home in Chicago. My wife did sneak the car away once for a trip to Iowa City. She loved it, but I was stuck driving a rental. When my wife offered to let my daughter bring a friend, I really questioned putting 5 and luggage for a 3 day trip in the v. My daughter (a 14 y/o) agreed to sit in the middle seat. The bags fit fine behind the rear seat, not blocking the drivers rear view. I love the way the car handled on the highway, and our mileage was well into the 40+ mpg range, even doing 65 - 70 mph. We didn't fill up until outside of Chicago (gas in the city is about $4.30/Gal). We did the round trip on one tank with gas to spare. The whole trip, there were no complaints. Our last car was a Mazda MPV, comfortable, but it couldn't seat 5 unless you folded down the rear seat and lose almost all your cargo space. It also got only 20 MPG highway. The air conditioning in the Prius v was very comfortable for both front and back seat. My wife even volunteered to sit in back so my son could ride up front. No complaints from anyone. I look forward to our next road trip.
We will be taking our Prius v/5 ATP to FL this winter. Good to hear the Prius v is a good road trip car. I have been amazed how well it handles compared to my wife's old '09 Prius on the local highways. It's like night and day.
I am making a long road trip in my '12V in December. Have never taken it on the open road, all driving up to now has been city. Are there any suggestions, tips, etc., that one should know about the V on extended trips. Thanks, JJ
Be sure you know how to jump start the car so that you don't have to count on someone else's knowledge. That could include carrying the lightest duty jumper cables you can find probably stored under the front seat for access since the hatch will not open with a discharged 12v battery. Several threads on the subject here.
You mentioned at the end, " Several threads on the subject here". Did you intend to list some links, if so, nothing came through.
Hey, my previous vehicle is a Mazda MPV, and I now own a "v." I still have my MPV. I've made two road trips, already and will do another this week. For its day, the MPV had very good mileage for a vehicle that size. It was basically an enlarged Mazda 929 upscale sedan. In that era most SUV's got about half that or just a little more. I now use the MPV for short tripls of 6 miles or so around the neighborhood. Short trips, especially in the Winter are really bad for a car, because it never total warms up.
Actually I was trying to encourage an element of self reliance, especially useful if a certain presidential candidate had prevailed. Being able to use forum search engines is a useful skill. I searched using the term "jump". Try this one.
