i might buy a prius prime but want your opinion

Welcome to PC.

PP should work for your situation if the cargo space limitation is not a problem. I have seen many people do a long trip often with roof rack and seems to be OK. One thing to remember is that it does not come with a spare tire, so if you have to carry a spare tire for your long trip, that has to be taken into consideration for the cargo space.

As for the charging outside, it shouldn't be a problem at all where you are. Quebec weather and temperature are very close to mine in Northern New England. I do all of my charging outside on my driveway using OEM 120v ESVE. It should be just as easy to do on the road at a campground or Airbnb as long as you are allowed to use the 120v outlet. You will see a reduced (down to 50%) EV range during colder months and the engine tends to start more frequently, but that is what the PHEV is supposed to do.

For use of cartop carrier, I never installed it on mine, but some people have complained about noise while others have overcome that problem. It depends on the type of rack you install. And no matter what type you use, having rooftop cargo will reduce the mpg on the road, but still should be better than most cars on the roads.

You might read this thread to see what people have stuffed into PPs.
All the stuff I've loaded into my Prime's cargo area

This thread may also be useful for roof rack use:
Another Roof Rack/Cargo Box Thread - Yay!

 

I bought the factory roof rack and it is both affordable and very well designed. I added a hitch also so I can run a roof box and carry bikes in the back. Ours lives outside and does fine, you can remote start it to warm up while you are shoveling. It seems to do well in the snow so far with winter tires, the little 15 inch tires are affordable. We drive a lot with a but over half on electric, last tank for me was 600 miles on 7 us gallons, so over 80 mpg US.

 

Welcome!
Our longest trip in our Prime so far was over 6,000 miles. And we recently took a 4,000+ mile trip. But just the two of us and no camping. People make a big deal out of the reduction in cargo space in the Prime, but the only time I found it to be any kind of an issue was when I had to unbox a new gas grill to get it into my Prime when it probably would have just fit in my wife's regular Prius in the box. That box was about one inch too high to go into my hatch opening. One kid and camping gear will really add to the load so I'm sure you'll need a rack and rooftop carrier.

On our trips, we only got to plug in a couple times. Even so, we got over 55 mpg with the car full of stuff in addition to the two of us. If you get the chance to plug in overnight, that's a bonus but don't worry if it's not available. And for pity's sake, don't pay for commercial charging. Those prices are crazy.

I can't think of a better road trip car. It's very comfortable, runs almost for free, and has more cargo room than most cars that are way bigger and less frugal.

 

Toyota is offering $1500 cash back for a new PP, yet dealers are marking the price up over MSRP due to short supply of new vehicles. What's up with that?

 

One is offered nationally by Toyota, not usually a predatory company - the other is dealer behavior - usually a predatory company

What we are seeing here is as it was described in 1759 by Adam smith as the invisible hand of the market or, as we know it now, supply and demand - price usually increases with scarcity - decreases when there is surplus

Toyota wants long term customers and so is treating us right or engaging in practices to go head to head with other car manufactures , the dealer knows there is no loyalty and will take you for as much as they can - simple concept - however, most of us will remember those dealers that are gouging and not go back later (I hope anyway)

 

Prices are up with that.

Actually, Toyota jacked up the prices by $4,000 in comparison to last year if you consider the last year's rebates. So, you are paying $10,000 more than last year with the dealer markups, as opposed to dealer discounts (in addition to factory rebates) last year. Moreover, the $4,502 federal tax credit is going away after March 31 (reduced in half for the first six months); so, it will become even more expensive. In addition, CA CVRP went away, and the SCE rebate went away, and the new rebate that substituted it was already reduced in half. So, it is a lot more expensive than last year.

OP, stop talking about it and buy it if you can! It is a great car! I recommend the Limited trim. If you can't afford it, skip the XLE and go with the LE, as the mid-trim doesn't offer anything. I am so glad to have my 2021 Prius Prime Limited Blue Magnetism!

 

Hi OP, a family of three, if you want to carry a spare, you can still stuff the wheel behind the passenger seat. OR, you can get a Thule Cargo Roof Basket like me, and your wheel plus some other gear can be strapped to the top. I think for three, you'd be fine. For four adults with all our hiking gear, we were crammed travelling from Seattle to Glacier National Park (but we had a ton of gear.)

I have the factory crossbars and I don't find this setup noisy.