Can Prius be our family car?

notetojenn · 06-06-2007, 09:30 AM

Hi-

New poster, here. Looking at the 2007 Prius. I need to know if this car can work as our family car. We have two kids on the way and three labrador retreivers (dogs), each weighing between 65 and 80 lbs (the dogs, not the kids).

We don't often take all three dogs somewhere; usually we only bring one. In a pinch, though, we might sometimes bring all three a short distance.

Here is my (possibly very odd) question. Is it possible for a 80 lb dog to ride in the trunk portion of this car, since it is a hatchback? In a pinch, would it be possible to get three dogs back there? Obviously we have to let the (human) kids have the actual seats, since they need seatbelts.

Thanks!

Jennifer

Tyrin · 06-06-2007, 09:41 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(livegreen @ Jun 6 2007, 08:30 AM) [snapback]456469[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Hi-

New poster, here. Looking at the 2007 Prius. I need to know if this car can work as our family car. We have two kids on the way and three labrador retreivers (dogs), each weighing between 65 and 80 lbs (the dogs, not the kids).

We don't often take all three dogs somewhere; usually we only bring one. In a pinch, though, we might sometimes bring all three a short distance.

Here is my (possibly very odd) question. Is it possible for a 80 lb dog to ride in the trunk portion of this car, since it is a hatchback? In a pinch, would it be possible to get three dogs back there? Obviously we have to let the (human) kids have the actual seats, since they need seatbelts.

Thanks!

Jennifer
[/b]

Hi Jennifer,

I'd say it's definitely possible to get them all in there, at least for a short trip. You could also put one dog in the seat between the kids, if it's well-behaved. There's enough room for three decent sized people across the back.

You could take the dogs to the dealership for a test drive, or drive home during the test and have them jump in...but I think you've got plenty of room for what you're asking.

Good luck!

pyccku · 06-06-2007, 09:44 AM

We have 3 kids (1 in a car seat) and 1medium-sized dog. We are pretty sure the dog can ride in the hatchback - there's plenty of room for him. We just haven't taken him on a trip yet because the car is only a couple of weeks old and the dog sheds like a fiend! Maybe someday once the car isn't so new, I won't mind a few dog hairs.

notetojenn · 06-06-2007, 09:55 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tyrin @ Jun 6 2007, 09:41 AM) [snapback]456479[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Hi Jennifer,

I'd say it's definitely possible to get them all in there, at least for a short trip. You could also put one dog in the seat between the kids, if it's well-behaved. There's enough room for three decent sized people across the back.

You could take the dogs to the dealership for a test drive, or drive home during the test and have them jump in...but I think you've got plenty of room for what you're asking.

Good luck!
[/b]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(pyccku @ Jun 6 2007, 09:44 AM) [snapback]456483[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

We have 3 kids (1 in a car seat) and 1medium-sized dog. We are pretty sure the dog can ride in the hatchback - there's plenty of room for him. We just haven't taken him on a trip yet because the car is only a couple of weeks old and the dog sheds like a fiend! Maybe someday once the car isn't so new, I won't mind a few dog hairs.
[/b]

Thanks for the responses! That was fast.

I don't dare run the car home and let the dogs jump in, and pyccku hit on the issue- the dogs shed like crazy! I'm afraid that if one of them so much as sneezed near the car, the entire thing would be covered in dog hair and the dealer would make us buy the car on the spot.

I'm so excited that this could actually become reality. We had been gearing up to get the Hylander hybrid, but last night we came to the realization that we don't want to drive around a monster car all the time just because maybe a couple of times a year we will need to fit the entire family in the car!

It is scary to get rid of our dog-mobile, though. We are replacing a Honda CRV.

BTW, love the smilies. What fun!

Jennifer

**efusco** · 06-06-2007, 09:59 AM

While I would not try to get all 3 dogs and both kids in the car with the adults in the front it certainly sounds like the Prius would work well for the majority of the circumstances you described.

We're a family of 5 ...3 kids (one in a car seat, 2 in boosters). We routinely take our 70lb lab with us as well as our Yorkie (usually sits in my wife's lap) on trips up to about 60 miles. If you remove the floor in the hatch there's a cargo tray that gives about 10" more depth to the hatch area and that's plenty of room for the dog...in a pinch you could get 2 back there with the floor out. I have a chunk of carpet I cut to fit the bottom of the tray so things don't slide around.

You can NOT get a traditional pet guard behind the back seat...don't buy one.

Ah, you mention the HiHy...we have one of those too...there's really not much more room (dog wise) in the back of the '06/'07 HiHy than there is in the Prius...a bit more head room and you can get the pet guard in there, but not a ton more room. The '08 looks like a nice upgrade to the current HiHy and is supposed to have more cargo room and roomier 3rd row seating.

But, put this in your formula. I have 60k miles on my Prius, my wife has 30k on her HiHy....She passed me 2 tanks ago for amount of fuel used. IOW, I drove twice as far on the same amount of gas with the Prius.

tnthub · 06-06-2007, 10:05 AM

If you only realistically take the kids and three dogs a couple of times a year get a rental vehicle. I don't know the exact size of your canines but one would likely be fine, three is another story...

As far as having the power and ride quality when loaded the Prius is fine for a family, great on gas, reliable, and reasonable to insure.

Highly ImPriused · 06-06-2007, 10:09 AM

Just did a family trip over memorial day weekend with my wife, 2 kids (one in a carseat one in a booster seat), and our 85lb lab with all our stuff for the weekend. The lab did fine in the cargo area with the floor in (I stored some of our gear in the lower compartment). There was a pack-n-play and suit case secured with bungee cords next to her and she still had enough room to sit up or lay down.

Dog hair was the only problem. I minimized it by using a plastic floor mat (made my own custom fit out of a large office chair mat), but there was still lots of hair on the fabric on the sides of the cargo area. I still haven't been able to get all of it out. Very little dog hair migrated to the passenger area though, which was nice.

I put the rear headrests up just to provide a little protection against her flying into the passenger area if there was accident. Not sure how much good it would do, but better than nothing I suppose. Luckily we didn't get to test that. She liked to lay her head between the headreests and look at the kids on the way there. She slept soundly on the return trip (2+ hours) after swimming all weekend.

I don't know about 3 dogs that big, but 1 or 2 on short trips should be fine. Just have to be careful their heads are down when closing the hatch.

SomervillePrius · 06-06-2007, 10:09 AM

Hang on!

I agree that you can have one lab behind the rear seat in the prius. It will be comfy space.

I'm a little skeptical that that the prius can fit two adults, two kids (in child seats) and three labs at once. Sure volume wise there will be enough room but the dogs will not be able to move (much) I think.

I'm having a similar dilema. Our family is currently two adults and two shepherds. The shepherds love the prius with the seats down. We're planning to have a kid. For our first kid I'm sure I can have a child seat in the rear and still fold the other seat. This should give enough room for one kid and two shepherds. I think the same setting would work for one kid and three labs.

But once you need to have both seats up I don't think there is enough room in the prius for three dogs! If I where you I would look at the highlander, or consider how often you really need three dogs and two kids in the car (any other combination will work).

notetojenn · 06-06-2007, 10:19 AM

Thanks all!

Let me clarify one point. The only time we would need to get all three dogs in the car with both kids would be when we bring the dogs to be boarded when we travel. The kennel is 10 miles away, and it takes both adults to manage bringing 325 lbs worth of dog to be kenneled. So, probably every three months we would need to cram every one in.

I can't imagine being insane enough to bring two children under the age of one and 325 lbs of dog ANYWHERE other than being kenneled, but it is important that we all be able to squeeze in every so often. If we did travel farther for some crazy reason, we would definetly rent something bigger.

Efusco, thank you much for that picture. It was very useful. It tells me that it would be possible to have two car seats and one dog in a doggy-seatbelt and perhaps get two in the back for a very, very short trip.

SomervillePrius got me thinking...the back seat is a split row, correct? Is it possible to get two car seats on the side with the middle seat still up (leaving two passenger seat up, with one seat folded? (does that make sense?)

Sorry for any misspellings...they usually drive me crazy when other people don't use the spell check, but I can't seem to get it to work!

Every comment has been helpful. Thank you!

Jennifer

SomervillePrius · 06-06-2007, 10:36 AM

Ok,

A 10 mile ride loaded with all 5 kids shouldn't be a problem and the alternative is to make a separate kennel run...

To me it seems like the Prius is a right sized car for you.

Robert
p.s for spell check use firefox 2.0 www.getfirefox.com ... it has spell check built in!

06-06-2007, 09:59 AM	#5
efusco Troll Slayer Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Nixa, MO Posts: 14,056 My Car: 2004 Prius Package: #9 Nominated 1 Time in 1 Post TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 24	While I would not try to get all 3 dogs and both kids in the car with the adults in the front it certainly sounds like the Prius would work well for the majority of the circumstances you described. We're a family of 5 ...3 kids (one in a car seat, 2 in boosters). We routinely take our 70lb lab with us as well as our Yorkie (usually sits in my wife's lap) on trips up to about 60 miles. If you remove the floor in the hatch there's a cargo tray that gives about 10" more depth to the hatch area and that's plenty of room for the dog...in a pinch you could get 2 back there with the floor out. I have a chunk of carpet I cut to fit the bottom of the tray so things don't slide around. You can NOT get a traditional pet guard behind the back seat...don't buy one. Ah, you mention the HiHy...we have one of those too...there's really not much more room (dog wise) in the back of the '06/'07 HiHy than there is in the Prius...a bit more head room and you can get the pet guard in there, but not a ton more room. The '08 looks like a nice upgrade to the current HiHy and is supposed to have more cargo room and roomier 3rd row seating. But, put this in your formula. I have 60k miles on my Prius, my wife has 30k on her HiHy....She passed me 2 tanks ago for amount of fuel used. IOW, I drove twice as far on the same amount of gas with the Prius. __________________ Evan E. Fusco, MD Seaside 04BC9/OEM EVb/NAV & auto-BT/XM Radio, CAN-View, Shark Fin, BT Stiff. Plate, Skid Plate & Strut Support

06-06-2007, 10:09 AM	#7
Highly ImPriused Impressive Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Western NY Posts: 233 My Car: 2007 Prius Package: #1 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Just did a family trip over memorial day weekend with my wife, 2 kids (one in a carseat one in a booster seat), and our 85lb lab with all our stuff for the weekend. The lab did fine in the cargo area with the floor in (I stored some of our gear in the lower compartment). There was a pack-n-play and suit case secured with bungee cords next to her and she still had enough room to sit up or lay down. Dog hair was the only problem. I minimized it by using a plastic floor mat (made my own custom fit out of a large office chair mat), but there was still lots of hair on the fabric on the sides of the cargo area. I still haven't been able to get all of it out. Very little dog hair migrated to the passenger area though, which was nice. I put the rear headrests up just to provide a little protection against her flying into the passenger area if there was accident. Not sure how much good it would do, but better than nothing I suppose. Luckily we didn't get to test that. She liked to lay her head between the headreests and look at the kids on the way there. She slept soundly on the return trip (2+ hours) after swimming all weekend. I don't know about 3 dogs that big, but 1 or 2 on short trips should be fine. Just have to be careful their heads are down when closing the hatch. __________________ The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man. - George Bernard Shaw

06-06-2007, 10:09 AM	#8
SomervillePrius Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Somerville, MA Posts: 946 My Car: 2006 Prius Package: #9 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Hang on! I agree that you can have one lab behind the rear seat in the prius. It will be comfy space. I'm a little skeptical that that the prius can fit two adults, two kids (in child seats) and three labs at once. Sure volume wise there will be enough room but the dogs will not be able to move (much) I think. I'm having a similar dilema. Our family is currently two adults and two shepherds. The shepherds love the prius with the seats down. We're planning to have a kid. For our first kid I'm sure I can have a child seat in the rear and still fold the other seat. This should give enough room for one kid and two shepherds. I think the same setting would work for one kid and three labs. But once you need to have both seats up I don't think there is enough room in the prius for three dogs! If I where you I would look at the highlander, or consider how often you really need three dogs and two kids in the car (any other combination will work). __________________ help start a revolution! Demand PLUG IN Hybrids to be built today!

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06-06-2007, 09:30 AM	#1
notetojenn Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 13 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Hi- New poster, here. Looking at the 2007 Prius. I need to know if this car can work as our family car. We have two kids on the way and three labrador retreivers (dogs), each weighing between 65 and 80 lbs (the dogs, not the kids). We don't often take all three dogs somewhere; usually we only bring one. In a pinch, though, we might sometimes bring all three a short distance. Here is my (possibly very odd) question. Is it possible for a 80 lb dog to ride in the trunk portion of this car, since it is a hatchback? In a pinch, would it be possible to get three dogs back there? Obviously we have to let the (human) kids have the actual seats, since they need seatbelts. Thanks! Jennifer

06-06-2007, 09:44 AM	#3
pyccku Happy Prius Driver Join Date: May 2007 Location: Surprise, AZ Posts: 225 My Car: 2007 Prius Package: #2 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	We have 3 kids (1 in a car seat) and 1medium-sized dog. We are pretty sure the dog can ride in the hatchback - there's plenty of room for him. We just haven't taken him on a trip yet because the car is only a couple of weeks old and the dog sheds like a fiend! Maybe someday once the car isn't so new, I won't mind a few dog hairs.

06-06-2007, 10:05 AM	#6
tnthub Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 463 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	If you only realistically take the kids and three dogs a couple of times a year get a rental vehicle. I don't know the exact size of your canines but one would likely be fine, three is another story... As far as having the power and ride quality when loaded the Prius is fine for a family, great on gas, reliable, and reasonable to insure.

06-06-2007, 10:19 AM	#9
notetojenn Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 13 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Thanks all! Let me clarify one point. The only time we would need to get all three dogs in the car with both kids would be when we bring the dogs to be boarded when we travel. The kennel is 10 miles away, and it takes both adults to manage bringing 325 lbs worth of dog to be kenneled. So, probably every three months we would need to cram every one in. I can't imagine being insane enough to bring two children under the age of one and 325 lbs of dog ANYWHERE other than being kenneled, but it is important that we all be able to squeeze in every so often. If we did travel farther for some crazy reason, we would definetly rent something bigger. Efusco, thank you much for that picture. It was very useful. It tells me that it would be possible to have two car seats and one dog in a doggy-seatbelt and perhaps get two in the back for a very, very short trip. SomervillePrius got me thinking...the back seat is a split row, correct? Is it possible to get two car seats on the side with the middle seat still up (leaving two passenger seat up, with one seat folded? (does that make sense?) Sorry for any misspellings...they usually drive me crazy when other people don't use the spell check, but I can't seem to get it to work! Every comment has been helpful. Thank you! Jennifer

06-06-2007, 10:36 AM	#10
SomervillePrius Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Somerville, MA Posts: 946 My Car: 2006 Prius Package: #9 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Ok, A 10 mile ride loaded with all 5 kids shouldn't be a problem and the alternative is to make a separate kennel run... To me it seems like the Prius is a right sized car for you. Robert p.s for spell check use firefox 2.0 www.getfirefox.com ... it has spell check built in!