I agree...I have mentioned the height issue a few times in the past and always seem to get shot down by folks here for some reason...We even had a big discussion regarding grocery bags! To each their own I guess! Edit : I think that discussion is further up in this thread...
No offense here, but maybe as a widower I now buy less groceries than others with larger families. I am willingly obliged to use recyclable grocery bags and have found more often than not that they tip over in the trunk so clearance with my privacy curtain becomes moot. When they do remain vertical, I have been able to pull the curtain across the tops of the bags. Maybe my bags are less full. Of course, by the time I get home, I can find tipped-over bags. I do like the appearance of the black curtain vs the beige one in my 2012 PIP. In addition, it is easier to keep new model straight while stretching it out over goods thanks to "alignment channels" in new design. Bottom line: thanks a ton Toyota for that much better battery range/design; the loss in some storage is "no bigga ting" in my humble opinion. Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
I place my grocery bags leaning backwards on the back seats, or on the floor behind the front seats. Not many times have they tipped over or caused me to worry. Mind you I don't have four people in the car when I do this, so there's plenty of room for the bags.
What has happened to interior space between the Prius generations ? I guess this at least looks like 6' ladder in this gen. 2 Prius too,but there seems to be way more space at the back end of the load area !?
That's my picture. It's a Little Giant 26, and it's most of the way to the glove box with the front seat folded flat backwards against the folded rear seat.
No, I'm just pointing out why there's so much space in the back - because there's almost none in the front. The ladder is too long to fit between the front seat and the hatch so the front seat had to be folded down as well as the back seat. I'm getting my Prime tomorrow. I'll toss the same ladder in it and take the same picture.
Yeah, in my picture the ladder is all the way back. I want it as far away from the touch screen as possible.
That's how I load my 10-ft kayak in my minivan...it almost fits in a Prius. You do have to worry a little about sudden stops..I put the front end of the kayak in box with some padding material, and when I am being best practice safe, I tie it down with bungy straps.
So that follks won't have to scroll to view the two photos.... Yeah the Prime appears to be wide even with the large rear suspension (double wishbone vs. torsion beam). Note that the Gen 3 is a touch taller and wider than the Gen 2 so there were improvements there too. I'm still lamenting the loss of height but the width certainly pushes me towards a "neutral" response to the cargo area. Those wondering what TNGA does can see above how a larger rear suspension can be packed with a giant battery and still somehow be wider than the older Prius with the more compact torsion beam and battery in the trunk. The opening is smaller = less rear window glass = lighter hatchback. That's pretty good. It's not like we needed the door to open that far forward anyway.
anyone has the width measurements for each? i think they are in another thread, but i can't find them. i don't remember there being that much of a difference.
We pretty much do know the total interior volume numbers... Gen2 (with spare tire) 112.3-ft3 (+2.5 ft3 underfloor) Gen3 (with spare tire) 115.3-ft3 (+3.0 ft3 underfloor) PiP (no spare tire) 115.3-ft3 (+~1.0 ft3 underfloor) Gen4 (with spare tire) 117.7-ft3 Gen4 (no spare tire) 120.5-ft3 Prime (no spare tire) 111.5-ft3 What's harder to define is cargo space differences due to variations in methods to define cargo volume. When Gen3 came out, Toyota said Gen3 had 3.0-ft3 more than Gen2. When Gen4 came out, unfortunately Toyota was a bit less open on detailed technical differences between Gen4 vs. Gen3, but it seems to me the the new frame provides almost identical total space Gen3 vs. Gen4 when compared on same basis (with a spare tire and adding in underfloor space in Gen3). One wonders why they did not make Gen4 a little bigger, but that's what we got.
Well keep in mind that with TNGA, it's now a one-size-fits-all-in-the-same-category design now. This may explain why the Camry grew in wheelbase - that TNGA platform is designed for large cars like the Avalon so might as well group the Camry and ES on that platform too. The Prius' TNGA is for compact so it underpins the CH-R and will most likely underpin the next Corolla. (I don't know if Toyota has a TNGA platform for the Avensis-sized cars or whether it will shrink the Avensis to the Corolla class). So because of that, the Prius' chassis is now the underpinning for several vehicles, rather than being its own platform. It's also clear that style/design and performance are 2nd (after fuel economy and low emissions) so the designer appears to take a bit more liberty with coming up with a car that is less utilitarian looking to something that at least looks as expensive or somewhat more expensive than its MSRP suggests. (As much as we owners love the Gen 2 and 3 for its cubby holes and tons of storage space, it is that way because it looks a bit dull and boring because one was trying to maximise space)
The current Camry, Avalon, and ES already share a platform. Unless TNGA's secret to cost cutting is in forcing car models into having the same wheel base and track width, it too should have some ability to stretch dimensions.
i feel like the major difference in the two photos is the change in wheel well intrusion. is that due to the car being wider overall at that point?
I agree Gen4 seems to have high MPG as No. 1 priority, so that explains keeping Gen4 size down to = Gen3. However with low gaso prices in the USA maybe we could have handled a few more ft-3 (priorities maybe different in Japan).
In the process of airport loading our 2010 yesterday, this thread came to mind, snapped a pic: With the prime you fugedabout tonneau cover I guess.