Cargo capacity for '06 Prius

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pjaymac @ Apr 19 2006, 12:07 AM) [snapback]241946[/snapback]</div>

There are two reasons why we sold our CRV:

#1 Our 2002 CRV did not have side curtain airbags. The CRV does have side airbags to protect the torso, but as many IIHS tests have shown, side curtain airbags make a life and death difference for side impacts. I'm big on safety and even considered getting a Volvo until I read post after post about reliability problems.

#2 Having 2 SUVs didn't make sense. At the time, we had a 2002 CRV and a 2002 Sequoia. Although the 2002 Sequoia is a gas hog, it does do a lot of things very well. The Prius is our summer car and the Sequoia is our winter car. They complement each other well.


We've had our 2004 Prius for about one month so far and have been completely satisfied. Consumer Reports latest car satisfaction survey has the Prius at #1 with 95% saying they would definitely buy another. We knew going into this that the Prius was never intended to be a cargo mover. What sold us on the Prius are the following:

-Remarkable gas mileage (Gas hit $2.82 yesterday!)

-Uncanny amount of interior space for front and rear passengers. I'm 6'2" and sit very comortably in the Prius. Can't say that about the Honda Civic Hybrid! Although the CRV rear seat is spacious, the front seats have very little legroom and I always felt smooshed like a sardine.

-This is the car of the future. Voice recognition, GPS navigation, LCD Touchscreen, Bluetooth... the list goes on and on. Very cool.


I'm not sure what your needs are so I can't advise you on whether a Prius makes sense. If you absolutely love your CRV, you might want to wait for the new redesigned 2007 CRV that comes out this fall/Xmas.

 

RE: "With the rear seats down, the cargo room expands quite a bit in the Prius. However, the low roofline doesn't make the cargo space very usable, IMO."

Howdy,

We are planning on buying a Prius but have concerns about cargo area too. The Prius will replace a Chevy Colorado pickup truck with a topper over the truck bed. We'll need room for two dogs (70 & 50lbs), plus two people, their briefcases and sundries on daily commutes of 50+ miles round-trip. We will also need to use the Prius during the day to make deliveries of sometimes very bulky computer equipment. So basically we need a two-seater vehicle with a cavernous cargo area.

Our question is, are the rear seats removable and has anyone tried this? If so, what is underneath? We understand the battery is below the rear seat. Is it safely covered?

Many thanks to anyone who can enlighten us on this topic!

Best,
KFWTD

 

I did a comparison with my friend's Toyoto Corolla. Our cars seem to be about the same length overall, but I have a "shorter" trunk and larger volume taken up by the front and back seats. However, the trunk size isn't all that bad. Since it's a hatchback, you just need to stack things up high. The compartment under the trun also fits all my everyday junk. I have a medium sizrd foldable dog crate, an extra cargo mat (just in case I need to pull the chair down and stuff things), and all the little cleaning supplies for the car and a roll of paper towels - they all fit inside that compartment really well.

You always have an option to pull down the back seats if you want to store stuff. The front passenger seat can also recline all the way - I haven't tried it yet, but I imagine I can even buy a long book shelf and load it up in my car.

 

We traded in an '04 CR-V EX for our '06 Prius. We have an '04 Sienna we use for carpooling (when we have more than three people), hauling stuff, etc. But we wanted to get a hybrid for two reasons: (1) ability to use HOV lanes in Northern Virginia when it's just me or me and my wife, and (2) the great gas mileage.

We traded in the CR-V for many reasons, including not-so-great gas mileage (approx. 20 mpg combined for the two years we owned it), the front seats killed my back (the Sienna is very comfortable, and the Prius - although not as comfortable as the Sienna - is, for my back, much better than the CR-V), and we were one of the unlucky CR-V owners who came close to an engine fire. The dealer botched the first oil change, and we had an oil leak and smoke, but I caught it before it broke into flames. Never really trusted the CR-V after that.

Cargo space - the CR-V has more room when compared to the Prius with the rear seats up in both and with the rear seats folded in both. There's a lot of flat space in the Prius - a surprising amount, to me - but the roof does slope down quite a bit after the front seats, so there's not as much overall cargo space. The CR-V, although a small SUV, has a good amount of space for cargo.

If your priorities are first cargo space and then gas mileage, maybe the Escape Hybrid? If your priorities are first gas mileage and then cargo space, the Prius does offer a lot of room ... just not as much as the CR-V.

And the Prius is a ball to drive!

 

:huh: Hi automatic1stdown

QUOTE: "The hidden storage underneath the floor is nice, but the CRV has this too and is waterproof."

Are you saying that the Prius storage area is *NOT* waterproof..??

 

Thank you for the feedback on removing the rear seats.

We were able to look at a friend's Prius last night. It appears there is a velcro strip along the back bottom edge of the seat back, and a way to possibly remove the seat backs without removing the seat bottoms or cutting any fabric. (It doesn't look like removing the seat bottoms would add much space anyway.) As you note, the battery is behind them, not beneath, in a sturdy metal protective box. We were impressed -- nice design!

For carrying bulky cargo, just getting the seat backs out would help a lot. On the other hand, putting a hammock-style dog-sling between front and seat backs actually looks like it would still provide plenty of room for two big dogs, with the bonus of separating them from the hatch compartment where groceries and such are hauled.

Getting a Highlander is out of the question. The Prius mileage and emissions stats blow pretty much everything else out of the water (as per http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/byclass.htm ). We're willing to make sacrifices in hauling capacity because we're doing this pickup-to-Prius conversion for Green reasons. (Reading "The Weather Makers" was a transforming experience. The hot tub has also been decommissioned, as well as the garage fridge, and we've switched to green power and begun design on solar thermal panels for water and space heating.)

Good idea about the dry run on the dealer's lot, but I'm not sure they'd let us experimentally fill a brand-new Prius with our typical daily cargo of big hairy dogs etc.!

Thanks again,
KFWTD

RE:
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ May 2 2006, 05:42 PM) [snapback]248817[/snapback]</div>

 

my 2 cents on cargo space --> for a car it has plenty; with the rear seats folded it holds my bike w/o removing front wheel; when I have more than 2 people in car and want to carry bikes I just use my 2" receiver hitch I transferred from my '05 to my '06 Prius. I can then carry 4/5 people and 4 bikes. I find the car and storage very versatile

 

pjaymac, I'm not understanding your reasoning here. According to the above post, PRICE is why you choice the CR-V. You just said it'll take 3 years of ownership to break even with the cost of the CR-V. So this means you're planning on keeping it LESS than 3 years? If you keep that CR-V more than 3 years, than after the 3 year mark, the Prius would have been CHEAPER than the CR-V.

I'm not one to critize someone for not buying a Prius, I don't have one and I haven't even decided if I'm going to buy one yet, but just reading your reason for not buying just doesn't add up. If it's the size of the CR-V vs the Prius, then I understand.

And you're right, the CR-V does get EXCELLENT mileage for a SUV. I haven't even explored the possibility of getting a SUV, but if I did, the CR-V will be at the top of the list. Too bad they don't make a Hybrid CR-V.

 

Here's a pic of the PA system equipment I just loaded into the Prius.

I'm providing sound-reinforcement for a small concert in a couple of days, and I realized I hadn't ever tried to load the gear into the Prius! (Last time was over a year ago, when I had the Volvo SUV.)

It fits, with a couple of those plastic tubs on the passenger seat. The Tascam digital recorder atop the plastic tubs will ride on the passenger floor; I had to remove it from its rack cabinet so it would fit.



PS: This ain't nothin' compared to the photo on Pink Floyd's 1969 "Ummagumma" album cover.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pjaymac @ May 3 2006, 11:26 PM) [snapback]249535[/snapback]</div>

There is one thing this gentleman forgot to figure into his bottom line.. Maintenance.

- The CR-V will require motor oil change more frequently than the Prius, almost 2x as frequently. That's because unlike the Prius, the CR-V's gasoline engine is running all the time the car's running.

- The CR-V will require transmission fluid change more frequently than the Prius because it's a conventional 5-speed tranny with clutches and multiple fixed-gear ratios. Prius Hybrid Synergy Drive on the other hand is very simple (one PSD assembly, no clutches), will go 60,000+ miles before the first tranny fluid change.

- The CR-V will require brake jobs much more frequently (~40,000 miles seems average). The Prius uses regenerative braking, which means the brake pads lasts 100,000+ miles.

The savings in the first 3 years, accounting for maintenance, is actually much lower-- Less than $1000.

 

Oil changes won't be that different; I change the Prius oil every 5000 miles.

As for trans fluid changes, typically most cars don't need that till 20k or 30k miles, so that's not a big factor.

Brakes, on the other hand, will probably need new pads every 20k or so, and new disc rotors every 30-40k. Depends on how you drive and brake. The brakes are the biggest factor; fluid changes are not as big.

 

I took a little road trip this last weekend and was able to fit the following:

-one small guitar amp about 15in x 12in x 6 in
-three bass guitars in soft cases (aka gig bags)
-three hardshell guitar cases shaped like guitars
-three rectangular hardshell bass cases
-three rectangular hardshell guitar cases
-two lap steel guitars
-camera
-camcorder
-bag o' clothes n' toiletries
-hung up 5 shirts
-2 CD cases
-me!

Cheers, J Dog