Tideland, your assessment is exactly what I got when I saw them. I didn't sit in the prius, but I opened the front and back doors. I felt it was bigger than my Jetta, but not by a landslide. However, I didn't open the rear hatch. When it gets closer to time to buy, I'll go by the dealership and test drive one just for the heck of it... it's the least I can do since I've been researching the prius since like forever. lol It seems as though the RAV4 and CR-V don't get 29 MPG as advertised. I've been reading post in edmunds and find that people are getting 19-27mpg with these mini-SUVs. This is a shock to me because my Jetta is advertised to get about 20-29mpg, and it actually gets about 27-30mpg. Somehow I expected the same for the mini-SUV. If I can't get but about 23mpg from the RAV4 and CR-V, I may re-consider my purchase options again.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(clintd555 @ Feb 3 2007, 09:07 AM) [snapback]384816[/snapback]</div> It depends on your driving style, the 4 cyl 2wd RAV4 is rated 24/30 -- I'd think you'd see within 5% to 10% of those number if you didn't drive it too aggressively, but a lot of that depends on too many factors to consider here. Just for comparison, the Matrix is rated 29/34.
It'll depend how the drivers drive and whether it's mostly highway or not. Just note that it is very very tempting to dip the throttle on the RAV4 V6. The Matrix has a large rear hatch but underfloor storage is tight (just whatever's around the spare tyre and a small box behind the rear seats that's good for long torches (flashlights) and other elongated items. The front passenger's seatback folds forward and has a plastic back/tray to act as a desk. The seating is nice though. You sit high up and it's extremely easy to get in and out because of the H-point (that's where your hip means the seat). However, that may be a bad thing for shorter drivers who'll have their legs dangling towards the pedal. A couple of things I don't like about the Matrix include the really small door armrests, no centre headrest (Corolla has it), exposed wires near the mirror (for the maplights).
