Took our new v on a camping trip over the Memorial Day weekend and the cargo capacity really impressed! Had a family of 4 with a 6-person tent, 4 sets of air mattresses, sleeping bags, chairs, food, drinks, .... the whole shebang! I was initally worried it wouldn't all fit into the back! Not only did it all fit, I ended up hauling some stuff for my friend who had just bought a new Audi Q5 and was bringing stuff for only 3 people. He was surprised at how much space the v had. We compared the space with both vehicles loaded. It looked like the Q5 had a sloping and narrowing roofline, which made for a more appealing look from the outside .... but seemed to reduce cargo space. The Q5 looks larger from the outside, but has less cargo capacity. Happy to be able to haul more and have much better fuel efficiency!
We just took ours camping, too! We planned on camping with friends for 5 days (ended up being 3 because of the cold and rain) and got everything in just fine. Each time we unpacked and re-packed the car (4 times, due to the various places we went) we got more efficient, and by the end we had it so we could see completely out the back window! We had a 10 person tent, two folding cots, 4 folding chairs, two suitcases, a small cooler, 2 roll-up foam cots, 4 sleeping bags, and other miscellaneous stuff.
I've been trying to figure out if you can actually lock yourself inside a Prius V. With the handle and trunk unlocking features and all...how would that work?
Surely you can hit the lock button after the car is off and this will do the job right? And if so could the car tell that the key was inside and not out...so the outside handle wouldn't unlock it?
markabele- is that really your mileage? If so, 10 more mpg's than my 2009. Of course, before its first ever tune up, mine got 52 mpg. They can't tell me why it's gone down, and they've checked it out several times since then, looking for an explanation. still can't say.
My family went on a camping trip from Montreal, Canada, through the White Mountains in NH and then to Cape Cod MA and back. 2 adults, 2 kids, fully loaded trunk and Thule cargo box on top. The motor had a rough time on hills but overall, I was pleased with my V. We averaged 40 MPG (on about 1000 miles). I was surprised with the number of Prius I saw in the States. They're everywhere! Here in Montreal, it's only starting to pick up, but I've noticed more and more Prius this year.
Campoozmstnz I regularly did road trips through New England (Acadia, White & Green Mountains, Adirondaks, even Jay Peak every winter, up by you) w. my G2, similarly loaded, winter and summer, including the cargo box (a Yakima rocketbox) and could never get to 40MPG (usually about 38 mpg). Hoping the extra room in the "v" will negate the need for the roof-top box, but if I *do* need it, looks like I might actually get better MPG than I did when using it on the G2. Looking forward to confirming. Thanks for the post!
I am starting to wonder if I should have sprung for the V in stead of the Prius liftback....trunk is not bad on mine but from what I am hearing here, I think I might be changing in the near future.
Yeah. we need the box too. Even if there is plenty of room in the V! I never pushed it too much. Cruised at about 65 mph on the highway. I was very satisfied with the mileage, since with my old Elantra I would probably have had to fuel the car about twice as often.
Hey RhO we're getting ready to wrap up our road trip. Four days at Mackerricher SP and loving it! Packed our V similarly to yours except we have two adults, a teen, and two tweens. Amazing how much room this thing has! The upside was I had just enough space to peek through the back window while driving, but only just. I saw a G3 with a safari rack and soft bag on top. I like that setup and am thinking about it for our next trip. Cheers!
Every time we travel we need this cargo box on the roof. Works great. Still returns high 30's. more than double from the van our V replaced. No complaints. Hoping to get a camping trip in this Spring / Summer.
I am on the threshold of purchasing a Prius V 5 my primary concern is can the engine supply enough power up hills fully loaded with sailboard gear behind the front seats and on a rack up top and keep up with traffic? Would like to go without a case on top for now yet will have sailboards up on the racks. Also how are the seats on long drives? thank you
I took a fully loaded Prius V up the mountains to Lake Tahoe recently. Packed with ski equipment and food and all sorts of rubbish for an extended stay. We were not the fastest up the inclines, but we weren't the slowest either! At no point did I feel like we were not going to make it! But I did have to run the revs up... it takes a little getting used to the high revving of the CVT when trying to get up a steep hill while fully loaded. Gas mileage was hurt a little by that and also by the cold temps, but still got high 30s for the uphill section of the trip. Refueled in Tahoe and got comic-book numbers coming down! One other thing to note -- I recently switched my skis from the old straight skis to the shorter curved skis and I could fit 2 sets of adult and 2 sets of kids skis into the trunk of this car with the back seats pushed forward and placing the skis diagonally (YMMV depending on how tall you are I guess). Versatile indeed!
Took our 2013 V Wagon from TX to CO. Experienced same thing going up Wolf Creek Pass. Constant loud whine from engine high revving going up all the way, very concerning, this CVT. Coming down, engine unable to hold back speed in "brake mode", kept applying brakes to slow car. This car does best driving around town.
Well, Wolf Creek Pass is extreme and can be a challenge (up and down) for many types of cars. I wouldn't judge the car solely on that one, rather short, leg of your trip. How'd the car do on the other 20 or hours on the road, especially the mostly flatlands this side of Albuquerque? Comfort? Road/wind noise? Gas Mileage, etc.?
And this is different from any other car how? CVT gives you the best engine RPM for the task at hand. Engine braking isn't supposed to be able to hold the car back on a steep mountain road, nor does it do so on any other car. That's why the car has brakes. The Prius engine braking is leaps and bounds better than the available engine braking on most other cars in its class.
Beware! My opinions of my 2013 Prius V Wagon are subjective and opinionated! I don't mean to offend anyone out there. I am retired and I'm 67. I have driven and flown everything from complex multi-engine aircraft, Diesel Motorhomes to Porsche 911's, BMW's right down to Honda Trail 90's and many in between, but I am not an expert. Therefore Prius lovers, please don't be offended and take this personal and please be nice in your reply's or I'll take my ball and go home! In my humble opinion, this is my experience with highway driving, noise, mileage and comfort. There's a big difference in Prius engine information. You have no idea what the engine speed is other than what you can hear or what the bar graph is displaying. At a constant highway speed of 75 (slow for Texas where some speed limits are 85), fully loaded, level, the engine runs at a high rpm, to keep the CVT engaged at the selected speed and the bar graph is displaying right below the "power mode" most of an 600 mile trip. This kind of "grinds" on me after several hours. Any requirement to increase power for a hill, some wind, or a passing situation requires the engine to speed up to an unknown RPM (high engine noise, power mode). When this happens, it can be an "awakening" if the passenger were dozing. When I drive this CVT, I am reminded of driving a snowmobile or ATV. You hit the throttle the engine roars and you get ready as the transmission engages and the unit speeds up, similar technology, and I suspect from reading test drive reviews, the same is true for other brands of CVT cars and vans. The seats are OK, but have me shifting for a new position. I would not consider my car a "highway car" meaning long trips, it is just too small and light feeling, requiring driver attention, plus an amount of road noise although the road noise is less than the 2005 Subaru Outback I test drove. I would not consider my car a "mountain car", too much engine noise and red line operation of the engine and limited down hill engine hold-back, depending on the grade. Our gas mileage on the interstate was around 34-38, two people, two chihuahuas and loaded with another 200 pounds, plus fuel. So that's why I made the comment in another post. "this car does best when driving around town" where the mileage is 42-46. So this is my wife's car and I get in trouble when I stick my foot in it. My recommendation to myself? Buy a BMW Steve, great city car, great highway car and great mountain car.
Context. That's what was missing from your previous post. Coming off of Porsches and BMW's, it's no wonder the v disappointed. I can tell you, though, coming from 100+ hp Corollas and Civics, the v performs no worse on steep grades. Keep in mind, the v only has 134 hp. If you think the CVT is disconcerting, try a 106 hp Civic with a 4 speed automatic that approaches redline in 3rd gear just to maintain 50 mph going up the Grapevine in California. It achieved upper 20's mpg under my driving. Turn off signatures in Tapatalk Tapatalk
