Many months ago Toyota announced its plans to expand its Prius line of hybrid cars. That expansion came to fruition recently when the all first of the new Prius models was built, the 2012 Prius V.
The Prius V is really quite similar to the original Prius, only bigger. The Prius V uses that very familiar Prius shape with the hood flowing seamlessly into the windshield line, but on the Prius V you don't get the same sloping rear end.
The Interior
The Prius V, classified as a wagon, is much more versatile, read: bigger, than the original Prius hatchback. The Prius V is a full 6 inches longer than a Prius and the front and rear axles have grown 3 inches apart. It also stands 3.3 inches taller and 1.1 inches wider than its predecessor.
Toyota's new Prius V can most closely be compared to Mazda 2012 Mazda 5, in both size and dimensions.
But all this extra length didn't go to waste. With the seats down the available interior cargo space on the Prius V is an immense 70 percent bigger from 39.6 cubic feet to 67.3 cubic feet. The staggering gain in space is due mostly to a cargo compartment that is 3 inches wider, more than 4 inches longer and a more than a few inches taller, and isn't impeded by an awkwardly sloping roofline.
Even with the rear seats in use the available cargo space went up 59 percent, from 21.6 cubic feet to 34.3 cubic feet. In an Edmunds.com practicality test the Prius V was able to hold 6 carry on sized pieces of luggage, while the Prius only held 4, a big difference for families.
One major selling point of the original Prius, aside from the gas savings obviously, was the generous amount of rear leg room. And the Prius V doesn't disappoint its backseat drivers either. In fact this version build on what the original was lacking. With the more van-like roof line of the Prius V rear passengers gain an extra 4.8 inches of head room and 2.1 inches of shoulder room.
If you don't need the added rear leg room of the Prius V, they are now made to slide forward and backward giving you and extra few inches of cargo space with the seats up when you need it.
The Engine
The only noticeable down-side of the new Prius V is the lack of a bigger engine, or electric motor or bigger battery to make up for the added weight. The Prius V uses the same 1.8-liter Atkinson-cycle gas engine and Hybrid Synergy Drive system as the original, which give the Prius V the same peak horsepower of 184.
The Prius V does however use a much more aggressive final drive gear ratio of 3.70:1, than a regular Prius does, which is what allows the actual measurable of this new version to remain about the same. The Prius V was able to do 0 to 60 in 10.3 seconds and finished the quarter-mile in 17.4 seconds, compared to 10.1 and 17.3 respectively of the 2010 Prius.
The more aggressive gear ratio found in the new Prius V does take a significant chunk out the gas mileage. The new version still manages a fantastic 44 mpg in the city and 42 on the highway, but compared to the nearly 50 combined of the original Prius that is nearly a 16% decrease.
The bottom line is this is the perfect car for people who were interested in the fuel economy of the original Prius but were hesitant to buy because of the lack of overall size and cargo space of the hatchback model. Yes, gas mileage does decrease but that will happen any time the car gets bigger, and let's be honest 42 combined MPG is nothing to complain about.
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