I need to pick up a huge vinyl banner, 8 ft x 60 ft, in two 8'x30' pieces, rolled up. Do you think I'll be able to get it into my Prius and close the hatch?
Sure, as long as you can fold down one side of the rear seat and lay the front passenger seat down so you can place the load diagonally across the cabin. Might have to get it up a bit onto the dash as well. SCH-I535
Took a 16' extension ladder and four people home from the flea market and had the hatch closed, no problem.
As mentioned above, you gotta lay front seat down backwards to allow loading all the way up to the front. Might need to take off neck rest on top of seat. I am wondering if a 10-ft kayak could be squeezed in, but I have not tried, but another guy does it in Prius with a 9+ ft kayak. I put my 10-ft kayak in my minivan, but fold down the seats in the same manner. Safety concern is you don't want to load up to windshield because if you hit a bump you can take out your windshield. Try to secure (tie down) in case of accident or big bump. Here's how it looks in a minivan:
