PriusChat's 2012 Prius v In-Depth Review and First Drive

Discussion in 'Prius v Main Forum' started by Danny, May 23, 2011.

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    Danny Admin/Founder

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    A new story entry has been added:

    [drupal=923]PriusChat's 2012 Prius v In-Depth Review and First Drive[/drupal]

    Danny, May 23, 2011
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    zeke013 New Member

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    zeke013, May 23, 2011
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    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Current Prius is 0.25 Cd so Prius v is 0.04 greater.
    usbseawolf2000, May 23, 2011
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    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    wow, very nice in-depth article. danny, i think your conclusions about higher sales maybe right on!
    DaveinOlyWA, May 23, 2011
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    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    Just finished reading the entire review. Wow, that's a lot of information packed in it. It covers more than all of the other reviews combined.
    usbseawolf2000, May 23, 2011
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    macmaster05 Senor Member

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    I'm really happy. Big :thumb: for Toyota to admit what worked in the Gen II and bring that back in the v. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come.
    macmaster05, May 23, 2011
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    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North

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    Great review! Thanks for touching on all the points! Sounds like the initial disappointment ("poor" fuel economy or "slow" acceleration) aren't as bad as you made it out to be (38mpg after you've flogged it around? Here, the Camry Hybrid is rated at 41mpg. Not too far off and you're only giving up 2-3" of width to the Camry and gaining 4x the cargo area).

    Edit: Danny, do you sit higher in the Prius v?
    Tideland Prius, May 23, 2011
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    Sergiospl New Member

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    I think it is going to sell very well, even if gas prices dip. I looked at the Volvo XC60 FWD as a close competitor and others from Fueleconomy.gov website for EPA mileage ratings. The Prius v doubles the combined mileage of the XC60 front wheel drive. Awesome!

    2011 Volvo XC60 FWD
    Estimated New EPA MPG
    Regular Gasoline
    18 City
    21 Combined
    25 Hwy

    2011 Volkswagen Jetta SportWagen
    Diesel
    29 City
    33 Combined
    39 Hwy

    2011 Ford Escape Hybrid FWD
    Regular Gasoline
    34 City
    32 Combined
    31 Hwy

    2012 Prius v
    Regular Gasoline
    44 City
    42 Combined
    40 Hwy

    These days, car manufacturers only advertise their highway mileage which almost nobody will get, unless you live on the side of the highway on the ramp.
    Sergiospl, May 24, 2011
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    FrankD New Member

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    Very nice article! I admit I'm more impressed then I was when it was first announced. One minor thing I'm a tad bummed about is that for the one feature I really insist on, the bluetooth phone, I would have to buy the very top of the line. I have this feature in my 2007 Prius level 3. For me that level 3 was perfect, everything I wanted and nothing I did not want. Oh well......I'm still very tempted with this PriusV....!

    Glad to see the back up screen is standard now....not like the 2010. I'm interested in hearing more about any solar package, remote A/C, etc...

    Frank
    FrankD, May 24, 2011
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    Danny Admin/Founder

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    Thank you for pointing that out, I'm not sure why I wrote 0.23. Corrected!
    Danny, May 24, 2011
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    Danny Admin/Founder

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    Yes, the seats sit a little bit higher for easier in/out.

    Hi Frank - Bluetooth is actually standard now and is a part of the "Display Audio" system that comes with the Prius v Two. There won't be any solar package or remote A/C system offered with the Prius v, at least not for the first couple of model years. I personally find the remote A/C worthless unless Toyota is able to extend the range on the key fob. Turning on the A/C when I'm 3 feet away from the car doesn't help me much.
    Danny, May 24, 2011
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    That_Prius_Car I should be a Prius expert.

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    Thanks so much! Really good review! I'm so happy that the new energy monitor is back.
    That_Prius_Car, May 24, 2011
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    mikewithaprius New Member

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    "The Prius v models are named (numbered?) to try and correspond with the 3rd Gen Prius model packaging...Prius v Two...Prius v Three...Prius v Five."

    Oh sweet Jesus, Toyota.

    Great review, sounds like with that mileage in those conditions 50 mpg could easily be achieved in non-highway driving.
    mikewithaprius, May 24, 2011
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    Scummer Eh?

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    Once my Odyssey breaks down, I think this will be a good replacement. Of course, after 260k miles I really wonder if it ever breaks down. :rockon:
    Scummer, May 24, 2011
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    mikewithaprius New Member

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    Whoa, just thought of something I forgot to ask before. Did I read that right, the Gen III has no indication of instant mpg anywhere? Is it only 1- or 5-minute bars and then trip average?
    mikewithaprius, May 24, 2011
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    marzprius New Member

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    Great write up on a very exciting new version of the Prius. It's going to be so v-ersitle, I'm just concerned it will take away a % of RAV sales.

    I wish they had a clear "glide" indicator in the line of sight, instead of the EV light. We need to stop encouraging the misperception of riding the battery for better mpg. I know we can use the Energy Monitor for that purpose, but it's out of the line of sight, just like my '06.
    marzprius, May 24, 2011
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    Airbalancer New Member

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    Any word on Canadian package

    Time for usless info

    Prius V 1983 Caravan
    Wheel Base 109.4 112
    Length 181.7 175.9
    width 69.5 69.5
    hight 62 64.4

    Sorry do not have metric (really) measurement:D
    Airbalancer, May 24, 2011
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    krelborne New Member

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    There's an instantaneous MPG readout. It's a 0-100 bar with little granularity. You can see it in this pic. I'm not sure what the review meant by "instant MPG (Finally!)". Perhaps that's just saying that a more precise digital number is better? I could agree with that.
    krelborne, May 24, 2011
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    mikewithaprius New Member

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    That's really an excellent point. I was driving with a co-worker the other day in her Prius. I didn't want to stop the conversation just to talk about driving technique, but she thought it was great when she got to "that spot", that spot being the yellow arrows. The battery display would drop a bar like nothing since she thought driving with heavy EV is the way to go. I have a Scangauge so no biggy, but true for most people the glide should be encouraged without extra instrumentation.
    mikewithaprius, May 24, 2011
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    ToyotaSoCal New Member

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    Great posting! You can create your own in-depth review of the Prius v on June 4th in Long Beach:

    Test drive the new Plug-in Prius (PHV) and Prius v in Long Beach on Saturday, June 4th at the Toyota So Cal Auto Drive Event.


    When: Saturday, June 4th from 10am-5pm
    Where: The Pike lawns overlooking Rainbow Harbor in Long Beach
    How Much: FREE to attend and test drive, and attendees to the show will receive 90 mins of free parking!
    We hope to see you there!
    -Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. Los Angeles Region
    ToyotaSoCal, May 24, 2011
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