I had a 2005 Prius which listed the cargo space as 16.1 ft3. behind the rear seats. I just bought a 2018 Prius 3 which lists the cargo space as 24.6 ft3 also behind the rear seats. I can't believe that the 2018 Prius 3 has 50% more cargo space. Does anyone know the reason for the discrepancy?
And how about 27.4 ft3 for Gen4? At the same time Toyota released Gen3, Toyota (and others) also changed to a new method of cargo space quote called "EPA Cargo Space". For liftbacks, the EPA Cargo Space method apparently gives some "creativity" in splitting up the inside volume. Gen3 in truth has +3-ft3 total inside volume more than Gen2, about 1.5-ft3 of that is in the back hatch - which is still very roomy. You will not match Gen3 cargo space except via a v. But do not go by the crazy EPA numbers (for hatchbacks).
When Gen3 first came out in 2010, Toyota gave a real nice slide lecture on YouTube about all the nitty gritty technical differences between Gen2 and Gen3 including cargo space. The cargo space discussion very good but not complete, as they dodged talking about the EPA cargo space quote, so it left a few volume parameters open without explanation. But we had the basic concept for Gen3 like +3-ft vol "right from the horses mouth". For Gen4 we had no equivalent YouTube slide show from Toyota giving so much open info about the design changes. Thus Gen4 vol estimates above are a little less solid. But it looks to me like new TNGA chassis strategy was to provide equal total inside volume Gen3=Gen4 if you look at the bottom line Total Reported Vol + Underfloor Gen3/Gen4 = 118.3/117.7 and a little more if you remove the spare tire. According to my estimates above, Gen4 gives more space to the passengers, which makes sense due to the lower profile of the back hatch, but I don't have that from "the horses mouth". Interestingly, although we can go to Europe and other places to get around the EPA Cargo Space quotes, no other Country seems to report total volume and passenger volume. So in that sense we get more info in the USA space quotes. I see no problem so far with the Total space quote, so those seem accurate, and then you just have to be careful to watch how they split up the total, which probably has to do with window heights etc. in liftbacks.
...yes whereas I would say Gen4 they could have added a few ft3 for USA buyers and that would have helped Prime have more space too. But they were going for max MPG (and sedan appearance) really was the Gen4 strategy, which for Japan is probably what they wanted.
I noticed that a car with a light interior seems more roomy than a car with a black interior and we all know it is in our heads.
In the process of moving with my 2017 Prius starring as "The Pickup Truck," and it is playing the role quite well. Can't believe how much junk this baby can haul in one load. My son noticed, too, how much larger the Gen 4 trunk seems than that of his Gen 3. I ain't complaining about the size of my trunk.
That's mostly because the Gen 4 removes the underfloor bin and puts it as part of the general trunk area. But yeah, a Gen 4 without a spare tire pretty much has the larger trunk in its class.
Can you remove the floor on the Gen.4 like you can the Gen.3? We have a Gen.3 and when we go on a long trip we take out the floor which gives enough extra room for a big suitcase to rest on top of the spare.
It's full of foam, tools and spare tyre (though I think some models forgot the spare). It is conceivable to take that out - but you'd need to put it somewhere else. There is no second cavity underneath for storage.
Gen4 (without spare) cargo space is probably equivalent Gen3 + Underfloor. Gen3 has the spare and the hatch is subdivided with 3-ft3 underneath.
