Next month we're going from MD to ME (~700 mi. each way). There'll be myself and my DH, our 2 DD's (traveling in car seats) and our dog. We got the Prius last month and are debating whether the improved gas milage would be able to offset the potential discomfort/inconvenience of not driving the Sienna. Our Sienna gets ~22 MPG but will fit all our cargo and still have room (we usually are transporting additional passengers--most notably my MiL--which is why we have the Sienna in the first place). If we take the Prius we'll need to use our coffin-sized car top container (which will require the purchase of a rack which we don't have so far) and a rear bike rack on the trunk. So, what do you all think? Thanks for your insight.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Acadiaphile @ Jul 10 2006, 12:24 PM) [snapback]283986[/snapback]</div> We are going on a similar trip later this summer. We decided to go with the van. Sometimes the extra gas is worth it. The cramped quarters would just make the trip too miserable. Plus the cartop carrier would take a bite out of the mileage.
We're a Sienna/Prius family as well, so I understand where you are coming from. That said, given your description of the trip (number of passengers, distance, etc), it probably would be better to take the Sienna. If it were just the two of you, or you could leave the dog at home (or in a kennel), it might make more sense to take the Prius. But given that you have 2 kids, plus the dog, plus all your stuff, it makes more sense to take the van. As n2y2 pointed out, less cramped quarters, nothing up on the roof to reduce gas milleage, potentially more comfortable seats, etc. Much as I love my Prius, I know that for some of the things we do, it's an impractical vehicle.
I agree with devprius - take the Sienna. I think people forget that larger vehicles do still have a place in society. If you have 2 kids and a dog and no stuff, then it might be a different story, but once you add stuff, where's the dog going to sit? I assume it's a small dog? And what exactly does DH and DD stand for?
And what exactly does DH and DD stand for? [/quote] DH=dear husband (or damned husband--it depends on the situation ) DD=dear daughter (see above for alternative meaning )
Wow - surprised at all the other Sienna/Prius combo's - I repeated an 800 mi RT journey last winter - once in my 02 Sienna and once in my 07 Prius. Half the gasoline for the Prius, but more fatiguing for me in the Prius due to highway noise and wind wander on the mostly interstate trip. Prius is great in urban runaround trips and my touring is fun on a twisty 2 lane, but for interstate droning I'd pick my Sienna esp if I needed the room as it sounds like you do.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mr07Touring @ Apr 17 2007, 10:32 PM) [snapback]425102[/snapback]</div> I think this Sienna/Prius phenomenon must be a very common occurance! I have my 2000 Sienna, kids grew up and never go with us now, so we bought a Prius. Actually I was going to trade in the Sienna on the Prius and my younger son threw a fit, his Contemporary Hard Rock Band he is a member of wants to take it on tour! So we have both. Perhaps a new topic should be started asking how many people here went from (or still have) a Sienna?
Well, we traded in our Sienna (and a VW station wagon) for our Prius, making ourselves a one car family. We're a two kid family, but we don't travel with our dog. If we did, I think we'd have kept one of the larger vehicles, or started having a dog sitter. I can't imagine my kids and my dog and our luggage in the Prius for that long. We're leaving this afternoon for the first of two longish road trips during the next month. It'll be our first long trip in the Prius, so we'll see how it goes.
For probably 90% of driving a Prius is more than enough car......for the other 10%, there are such things as Siennas or, in my case, a Tacoma pickup. I recently took a trip from western Montana to Minneapolis, so 1300 miles each way, hauling a significant amount of cargo to my son. I tried but finally realized that the Prius was not going to cut it, so took the truck. I must say, however, that every time I filled up with gas I was wishing I had the Prius as the loaded Taco only got about 21mpg.
We are very similar - 2002 Honda Odyssey and a 2008 #2 Prius. One DW, 3 DDs, and a Greyhound. I recommend the Sienna for your trip. I want to drive the Prius any distance over 10 miles but it is just too crowded with two booster seats and a baby seat in the middle. As it is, the booster seats sit at an angle becuase the baby seat pushes them away. Also, we have a portable DVD player necessary for our sanity that hung between the headrests before DD #3 came along. We don't like having anything like the DVD player right above the baby (in case of a wreck) so we had to get more creative for long trips in the Prius. The kids definitely like the DVD player over any of the alternatives. I am trying to decide if getting a two-screen DVD player would be worth the money. Things would still be crowded but the DVD player would be away from the baby and we would be saving gas.
We're also a Sienna ('04) and Prius ('06) family, and sometimes the Sienna isn't the best choice - it's the only choice. In the last two months I helped our daughter move to Savannah and our son move to New Hampshire, and in both cases, the Sienna - with the rear seats folded down and the middle seats removed - was a Godsend. And for both trips I averaged 26mpg, which really isn't bad considering the size of the vehicle/engine. My wife and I have taken trips to New England in both vehicles, and when it was practical to do so, we took the Prius, and it did great. But when we rented a "housekeeping cottage" on a lake in Maine for two weeks, and we had to take a LOT of stuff, we chose the Sienna.
We're also a Sienna ('05) and Prius ('07) family. We've taken trips using either one (but not both!). I don't know that distance of travel is nearly as important as two other things: The amount of cargo (bulk, weight and inside/outside); and The consecutive hours of confinement. We traveled from Chicago to Central Florida and decided to do it in the Sienna. We had two consecutive days of hard driving, followed by more than one week in Florida, and we wanted to take lots of clothing (it was winter) and toys for play. We also traveled from Chicago to Minneapolis for a weekend this summer. It was a shorter trip (one day each way, as opposed to two, and each day was shorter), but we also carried much less luggage. For this reason, we took the Prius. Next up is 10 days at a beach house. Much shorter travel, but we'll take many more things with us. The Sienna is the right tool for this work. Even though the Prius gets better than twice the mileage, there are other considerations. After all, we did buy the vehicle for a purpose!
Another Sienna, 2008 Prius Pkg2 family with 2 kids and 2 dogs. Take the Sienna. We just took the Sienna instead of the Prius to Disneyland from the SF Bay Area and glad we did. Also waiting for a hybrid minivan from Toyota.
'98 Sienna & '04 Prius We are also a Sienna/Prius family. We actually just bought the Prius to replace our '02 Outback. With three kids, the minivan is a must, but we decided to give up the AWD Outback, which is definitely a trade-off here in VT. We have also wondered about long-distance travel in the Prius v. Sienna, but anyone that has ridden with three kids on a long trip would be more than happy to pony up the extra dough for some peace and quiet! That said, we still may anesthetize them with a few DVDs... BB
