Cannot Decide - please input your 2$

Since you have a minivan already, I would get the prius hatchback to max out mileage for your daily commute. When you need to replace the minivan, then I would consider the Prius V. Just my opinion if it was me in this situation.

 

I have a standard Prius and have found that it is a remarkably roomy car. You could definitely fit all 5 of you in one for trips around town - the back would be tight, but it could be done. I know that the V has more leg room and is a few inches wider so the back would be roomier, but my guess is that you would take the van on longer trips either way. So either way the Prius would be a commuting and around town car. Given that I'd go with the standard Prius.

 

If we assume 42 mpg and 50 mpg, respectively, for the V and the liftback you are looking at 595 gallons vs 500 gallons for every 25,000 miles driven. ~100 gallons at ~$4 per gallon = $400 dollars per year cost savings in fuel $2380 vs $2000). The blazer would use 1250 gallons = $5000 in gas.

My wife and I are a Prius and Minivan tandem. We have 2 kids (13 and 11) and a golden retriever. However, we can leave the dog at home.....not an option with a 9 month old (LOL). I have a ~70 daily commute and put about 22,000 miles per year on my car.

If I were in your situation, likely I would pull the trigger on the V. It gets very good gas mileage and you have the ability to seat the three kids more comfortably for the times you take the Prius rather than the van.

That being said, I like my leather interior a lot. It is easy to clean and keep clean compared to my wife's cloth interior van. I think odors can get through the cloth and impregnate the foam seating material underneath (her van smells of dog on warm days...ick). I don't let our dog in my car, so I can't prove this to be true. If you could swing a V with leather interior, you'd be golden.

Are you planning on buying new or buying used?

It sounds like you want the Prius liftback. If that is what you want, go ahead and get it. While the V may be the (more) sensible choice, the liftback is a great choice too.

 

Hey value of free advice has gone up from 2 cents to 2 dollars.

Since the key purpose of the car is the long commute and long hours in the commuter vehicle, get the Prius 3/4 with the power seats.

The best mileage by 20% and comfortable seats. Lots of threads here about the uncomfortable seats and for that long a ride if you were one of the many who found the manual seats a literal pain in the butt, you would be hating life. The seats are the same in V and III and V does not offer power seats.

If dollars are an issue, as the Prius3/4 is a lot more than the least expensive Prius you can get, get the dealer to let you test drive for a weekend (local dealer here has that program) and make your commute and back with the family.

Number one to make sure you are comfortable. Number two to see how well family fits for a long drive.

 

You drive solo, so get the Prius liftback for your daily commute. You already have a minivan as the family car.

 

When I first started looking at Prius I was considering the V, too.

But I was not impressed by the way that the "extra space" stacked up and the roughly 20% hit on fuel economy, plus the bigger price tag.

From what I can tell, most of that extra space is vertical, so to claim it you'd have to be stacking stuff higher up. That kind of space isn't much value to me, plus I don't like the thoughts of where piled stuff would go flying in the event of a collision.

The 'V,' being a heavier and less aerodynamic car also felt "sluggish" to me. Its engine and motor are the same as the regular Prius, but being a heavier car it's a bit harder to get moving or stop. For me, agility also figures into the safety of a vehicle. Always better to avoid a collision than survive one.

So I think that you should get the regular Pri and use the van anytime you need to haul a lot of stuff.

Regarding the trim package, I was also choosing between the three and the four. Do you know what the price difference is between the two that you are looking at?

For me, since I was dead-set on the solar roof, the price difference between the 3 and 4 was considerable. The solar roof carries along with it a whole bunch of other expensive "stuff" on the four.

If you are sticking to the basic configuration in each trim package, the price difference between the three and the four is about $2,600. That buys you the Softex heated power adjustable seats with lumbar support (and the auto-on feature on the headlights).

The seats was really the only reason I stuck with the four. I wondered that I might be able to position pillows for long drives to do the lumbar support or try to get comfortable, but decided that I'd rather not fool with throw pillows in a car.

You might try sitting in a four and playing with the seat adjustments, then switching to the three and doing it there, going back and forth until you decide what if anything the seats are worth to you.

This will be my first car with heated seats, which I'm looking forward to trying in the Nebraska winter...

 

I do the same sort of commute you do - 40 miles each way, about 25K miles per year. I was considering a V awhile back, but after driving one, I didn't think I needed that much extra space. I have taken 5 adults for trips into the city in mine (exceeding the 825# load capacity,) and it handled fine in sport mode. The load capacity of the V is 915#, I think, but it doesn't sound like you would encroach on that with smaller passengers. I have heard that the center console is hard to use with a center mounted rear facing child safety seat in the regular Prius.

Also, even though it is the same basic powertrain in the V, it is geared for more torque at about 3.7:1 instead of the 3.3:1, which accounts for some of the mileage loss.

The Prius IV will have 15" wheels, which will save you on mileage over the 16 or 17 of the V as well.

The V handles a bit better since I think it must have a rear sway bar, where the regular Prius has none at all (I added one and front strut tower brace for better handling on mine.)

In any event, the seats and amenities are comfortable enough in the regular Prius, even without the electric seats (which weigh considerably more.) I have taken 600 mile trips in mine with no discomfort from the seats. Doing another one in August this year.

The main problem I have in the regular Prius over the V is the wind and road noise. It is much higher than in the V, which was very comfortable on my test drive in that regard. My 78 year old mom loved getting in and out of it as opposed to the regular Prius since it is higher, but I am not sure if that is an issue with you.

Good luck with that. All in all, not the worst problem to have.

Anyway, that was probably about 18$ worth.

 

If it were my decision, I'd get the Prius Four and plan on using it for commuting and running 1-2 other people (kids) around to various events. Use the van for whole family outings. Any Prius you get would be too cramped for space for 5.

 

If it were me....
I'd get a G3-Two.
This is MY $0.02, and this advice is predicated on your blasting through most of 100K miles before you get your car paid off if you're a typical 48 month finance type purchase.
I'm also 'presuming' that you're about to trade in a high mileage car for this purchase (don't do it...if I'm right!)

OK...so I don't remember what the delta is between a 2 and a 4, but again...I 'presume' that we're talking about most of five kilobucks.
We're also talking about a 7-mpg delta between the regular Prius and the station wagon (source: Fuelly.com) which is about $1400 over a 100.000-mile life cycle. This cost is in addition to whatever they up-charge for the extra interior space of the V which, IIRC, allows you to seat 5 pax (if three of them are really good friends)…..just like a G3.

Sooner or later all of those thousands will add up into some serious cabbage, especially since you have an eleven year old that’s going to be college shopping in 6-7 years if you’re lucky.

Your call.

 

's why I'm driving almost 900 miles to Billings, Montana to pick up my Pri four.

I managed to talk the local dealer down $500 off MSRP, but by then I was so stinkin' mad over the whole process I plopped down a deposit for a car in Billings so I could get $1600+ off MSRP.

We're going to make a mini-vacation of it and see Mount Rushmore, Devil's Tower, and whatever other interesting sites we can work in without going crazy!

 

I think I remember responding to this.....

I can't remember what I recommended.

Whatever I said last time?

Do the opposite.

Good Luck.

 

Just a suggestion, I examined the Prius V and finally went with a Camry XLS Hybird.

The ultimate price out the door was similar using the Internet to make the purchase.

The 2012 HyCam gets similar miles per gallon.
The hybrid user interface is more Apple like in the Camry, my wife just gets in it and drives without concerning herself with minute by minute MPG.

The HyCam is far more Lexas like in comfort with lots more room for real people.

The HyCam has more sound proofing with the added high end mats.

My wife feels safer in the HyCam, but I believe that may be an illusion.

We don't not have to put up with the red neck road turds who hate Prius and HYBRIDS in general just for political reasons, most have no clue we are a hybrid with the exact same toyota hybrid technology.

Our real world ECO on trips and total MPG currently exceeds the EPA estimates which I find difficult to believe. This puts the HyCam for us closer to the lighter Prius which we passed on.


Posted from iPad 4G.

BTW has anyone else noticed the option to display iPad audio and video on the nav 7 inch screen when connected by USB? It appears in Media options.

 

My wife and I both like the visibility out the rear of a hatchback but a real world experience has soured us on hatchbacks for life.

I bought an electric generator just before a major storm here in Atlanta at Lowes. I drove to a nearby Sams in Marietta GA. I was inside only for a few minutes before returning to the car only to see the back window was smashed out and the hatch released from the inside. The Generator of course was stolen by Atlanta's suburban drug users.

I sincerely hope they got a hernia in lugging that heavy item that down the street.

Bottom line in some areas of the country a Prius hatchback is not safe the smash and grab if you have anything significant in it.

The conventional trunk of the HyCam adds considerably to the out of sight factor in preventing this type of opportunistic crime.

We have a gas war today here in S metro Atlanta, gas is $3.23 a gallon. My bet this isn't going to last long, gas is going to jump again in the next few months.

 

OMG.

That is horrible!

But then again, it wasn't truly your hatchback's fault that there are human criminals out there! (And perhaps you should have covered your recent purchase in a dirty, disgusting blanket to make it look like anything but a brand-new generator!)

For my part, I am soured on hybrid Camry XLEs. We spent seven hours over the course of two days purchasing one, and then it never left our driveway to go anywhere *except* back to the dealership again.

It was dead the next morning, making everyone late to classes and work and requiring hours of effort to get it back to the dealership for diagnosis (and I got a parking ticket to boot). And the dealership blew off my suggestion that it was a real problem and returned it to us the same day, saying everything was fine.

The following morning it was dead again, creating many more problems in the middle of a busy week (and this time, typically stoic me was almost in tears from the frustration and anger). The dealership was kind enough to cancel the contract this time after they figured out it was actually a pretty serious problem.

So it's the Prius HB for me! (And for MrmudmanRV, when he wakes up and sees the light! )