Why did you buy a v and not a Prius Liftback?

Space. Never considered the liftback though my son has one and his positive experience was an influencer. It was time to update from the 9 year old CRV. I have hauled Xmas trees to the dump and wife and 3 grandkids to the pool, regularly take 50 mile trips and sometimes 300 mile ones. Costco is a matter of 5 boxes of frozen stuff and lots of other stuff.

Every car is a compromise.

I'm 6' and 200-210 lbs. Long waisted enough so I sit even with my 6'5" son. I fit. Since the seat isn't infinitely adjustable, make sure you fit by taking a long test drive. I've posted here on what I consider the best and worst features. Others have commented. You might want to read that thread.

 

I had the liftback and when it came time to do it again, I chose the v. The liftback was suitable for 80% of my needs but when I needed a larger vehicle, it was tight. In fact if the v was available when I got my liftback in 2010, I likely would have bought it then. The v is a bit wider but the seats are nearly the same, and legroom is the same too. There is more headroom so you can raise the seat higher which will allow you stretch your legs a bit more, but you may still need the seat extenders to be comfortable. If I were you, I would choose comfort over function.

 

Space and the higher seating position. And the space.

 

Because my v can hold our two BIG dogs.

 

I was pretty cramped in my Gen2

For me the v is worth the 5 MPG drop


I drive pretty spay legged so I would not have liked the flying buttress.

 

The extra room you get in the v is quite substantial, and not just in the storage area, but also in the cabin. If you're already adept at pulse n' glide and other hypermiling techniques or aren't a leadfoot, you can easily drive the v to some extremely impressive mileage figures. I traded up from a C to the v, and I'm already pleased with the mileage I'm getting, even before I've started to train my brain for the new weight. My thinking is, if you can get all that extra functionality and room without paying a huge price in mileage difference, why not go for it? The most dramatic improvement you get is simply from jumping on the Prius family bandwagon, and the v is a fully-vetted member.

The ride quality, commanding seating position, the overall cabin feel, and the utility are hard to beat.

 

I just re-read your post and noted that you said you don't necessarily need the extra space. I'll say that aside from the storage space, the main differences are the ride quality, the up-front cabin comfort and practicality of layout/storage, and the practicality of how things are organized in the rear. Aside from that, visibility is really quite good as well, something that the Liftback hasn't always been praised for.

You should definitely spend as much time as possible test driving.

 

I found the v more suitable for these reasons:

- more utility
- more space (I'm 6'3")
- smoother ride quality
- more visibility
- better looks

I realize some may be personal preferences but it was a no brainer for me.




iPhone ?

 

also needed the space, however I was never attracted to the other prius, if not for the v I would never have bought one

 

Harold,

I will go the other way: we choose the Liftback and not the V.

For us, the higher payment (± $40 / month back then) was not justified.

Add to that worst fuel economy and not as pretty (my taste) and the choice was easy.

By the way, I'm 5'11", 250 pounds and we have 2 kids (3 and 6).

The Liftback cargo suits our need 99% of time, we needed to install a Thule roof box only once to go out of town during x-mas.

My 2 cents

 

I chose the v for my family, I really did not think that much after seeing the space in the v. We have two kids and this is our only car, so we needed something that would be able to haul things like 2x4s or plywood back from Home Depot, handle our camping trips which means a ton of stuff to pack, and is still good on gas milage for everyday driving in nyc. I wasnt exactly happy about the loss in mpg and slightly higher price but its not a huge deal when you consider how much more space and versatility you get. And comparing it to other cars that can haul around that much stuff, the price of my v was a steal!

 

Space is the main reason. I found the following advantage with v also.

1) More stable
2) Gauge cluster (clearer and more colors)
3) Higher seating position
4) The open area center console instead of the bridge in liftback

 

90% of the decision for me was that I simply like the "station wagon" form factor better. I didn't even test drive a regular Prius. I also like having as much "utility" given the size of the car (for the sake of comparison, the v replaced a Honda Fit).

Given my usage (it's mostly a commuter car), I probably could have gotten along just fine with a regular Prius and saved some money or gotten a higher trim level. You can, after all, fit quite a bit of stuff in the regular Prius. But like I said, I just like that station wagon shape better, and of course the extra space is quite handy to have for when I'm moving furniture or taking a road trip. I was able to get a tall bureau and a twin headboard in at the same time; I would have had to make 2 trips (1 hour round trip to the furniture store), or bring 2 cars if I didn't have the v.

 

I traded my Gen3 for the UK Prius+ (US Prius v) for the quiet drive and the more comfortable, better quality interior. The road noise on the Gen3 (liftback) at anything above 30 mph was driving me nuts.

 

I did it for the space. And the great gas mileage.
Also, I didn't like the liftback because of the weird console between driver and passenger.
The space in the back also seemed a little tight, even with the liftback.
Cost was not an issue, since it was only a few hundred more for the "V".
And even though gas mileage is not as good with the "V" compared to the liftback, it's well worth the extra space.
Very "V"!!

 

Because we already had a Gen II liftback and needed the space for 2 kids and 3 dogs. After owning 4 SUV's and a diesel truck, it seemed like the best choice. Still need a giant cargo box for traveling, but the v has never returned less than 38 MPG. Beats the 14-17 we used to get.

 

We chose the v2 for ride comfort and space when on a trip. The difference in fuel economy was not a factor.

 

Don't get too caught up on mpg. Anything over 40mpg is great.

I would suggest calculating your average annual mileage then divide by 40mpg and then by 50mpg and see what your actual savings would be. For low annual mileage the money saved with the Liftback mpg will be pretty small. For 15,000 miles you would only save about $270 with the Liftback vs. the v.