I'll admit it. I was skeptical of the Prius Family concept. Over the years, the Prius nameplate has attracted an insanely loyal, albeit non-traditional, customer and enthusiast base. Would Toyota ruin all that goodwill by producing a Prius on steroids that gets <gasp> under 50 MPG? Not so; the Prius v wagon has been a resounding success. In the 3 months since it hit the market, it has easily exceeded Toyota's sales projections, just as I said it would in my glowing review back in May 2011.

While at the Prius v media preview last week, we took the opportunity to shoot some HD video to show off the various aspects of the Prius v. In this video we breakdown the flexible and fantastic interior cargo space that the 2012 Prius v offers. With up to 67.3 cu. ft of cargo space available, the Prius v is larger than 80% of small SUVs.

As a former 2006 and current 2010 Prius owner, I've come to appreciate and depend upon the versatility that the Prius' hatchback design provides. But recent road trips with our new baby daughter, our dog, and all of the extra space-taking items had me looking at options outside of the Prius. Then in January, Toyota revealed the 2012 Prius v (pronounced vee), the first addition to the growing Prius family. More cargo space? Check. More passenger space? Check check. 44 City / 40 Highway MPG? Checkmate. The Prius v specs show a lot of promise and is a potential game-changer for families who had been previously forced to move to an SUV. But does the Prius v deliver on that promise? Is it able to live up to or improve upon the Prius experience? Find out by reading the full review below.

The Prius v is scheduled to hit the Japanese roadways in April, a few months earlier than here in the US, but thankfully that means we can read about the first driving impressions from various journalists who were invited to Japan to drive the car. Below are a few excerpts and links to some quick reviews, and we'll continue to update this story as more reviews hit the web.

Edmunds Inside Line

Danny and Russell are joined by Tony Schaefer and Jason Holder. Danny discusses his mutli-day test of the new Honda CR-Z hybrid, the 2012 Ford Focus, Volt MPG in charge sustain mode, the EPA and E15, Brammo's new Enertia plus and much, much more.

Host: Russell Frost, Danny Cooper

Panelists: Tony Schaefer, Jason Holder

Episode #: 38

Time:1:27:53

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That's right, the Home of the Honda Rant has been provided a Honda CR-Z to test for the next few days. So far I've only had the chance to put about 7 miles on it, but I will give it props for being fun to drive so far in Sport mode. Eco mode is kinda meh, though.

Full report to come soon!

Russell Frost (the better half of the What Drives Us podcast hosting team) recently spent some time in the Prius PHV Plug-In prototype that Toyota has out testing in various parts of the world. In order to convey his thoughts, Russell put together a great video review of the Prius PHV with footage shot in and around his town of Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

The fact that Toyota has invested the time and engineering to develop a plug-in version of the much-loved Prius is fantastic. That they will be performing long-term, real-world tests with fleets over the next year is impressive. That they gave me one to drive around for a week is downright silly and careless. Oh well, two out of three ain't bad.

Adding an EV (electric only) mode to the 2010 Prius has been quite a tease for 3rd Generation owners over the last year. You get in your Prius, press the EV button, and the computer goes "beep beep", telling you that the car isn't ready to jump into EV mode because the engine isn't warmed up yet. Once the engine warms up, you press the button again - "beep beep!" This time either your Prius' battery State of Charge (SOC) isn't high enough, you're accelerating too hard, or you are driving faster than 24 miles per hour.

I was starting to feel ike a deadbeat dad. Due to a couple mishaps I brought upon myself, my 2010 Winter Grey Prius had been sitting on the lot at Jim Barkley Toyota in Asheville, NC for a whole week. It was disoriented, cold and alone, locked up in an unfamiliar dealership lot. My Prius probably thought that no one wanted to drive it, that no one cared about it enough to take it home. But tonight was the night. I finally picked up my brand spankin' new 2010.