Carrying capacity / speakers

Looking at several options for vehicles online and the C3 has my attention. I travel a bit for work, mostly city driving, and the Prius would definitely save me a bit of money it seems -- right now I've got a 2007 Saturn Sky so I'm looking for something more fuel efficient and trying to keep with a smaller car but with more cargo capacity (which, compared to the Sky, would be "anything").

The biggest thing I will need to be able to transport on occasion will be a pair of JBL PRX635 speakers, which are 37"x17"x17" and about 60 pounds each. I cannot find any exact dimensions of the cargo area of the Prius with the seats down. Does it sound like a pair of these will fit? I don't think weight will be a problem since we wouldn't have people in the back seat, and the speakers together weigh less than an average person. I just don't want to bother seeking one to test drive if it can't fit these.

Thanks!

 

Sort of. I run sound for other rebel rockers. While I love my Sky, it can't do the two things I need it to do -- either tow a trailer or carry a secondary speaker setup. Most shows use our main sound rig but we have a second, smaller one for corporate events, weddings, DJ work, etc. For these types of events, rather than bring out an entire trailer of gear, it's easy enough for me to load two speakers, two stands, and whatever DJ equipment is needed into the car and do it myself. This also allows us to book two shows simultaneously -- we can run for bands using the equipment in the trailer and DJ with the other one. Right now I've got to use a van to bring that small amount of equipment out, and at ~15mpg, it makes some of the more distant events cost more than they're worth. That's the other benefit of the Prius, obviously.

Right now I'm making the decision between the C3, Kia Soul, Scion xD, Dodge Caliber, and Nissan JUKE. All similar format cars aiming for a similar demographic, but each one has their own edge -- the C3 on fuel, the Soul on height of load-in deck, the Scion on price, the Dodge on other features, and the Juke on interior looks/design. Each one also has their own downside; the C3's horsepower, the Soul's looks, the Scion's lack of anything fun, the Dodge's "rental quality" interior, and the Juke's fuel economy.

Hey Toyota, toss together a Prius with the cabin tech of a 2013 Dart, the rear end accessibility of a Soul, the Chill Zone gimmick from the Caliber, and the price of the Scion.

 

One of the standout features of the Caliber is that above the glove box there's a cooled area (I'm guessing it's just an AC vent that is switchable from the main system) which holds four 20-oz bottles. I love that idea and wish more car manufacturers would implement something like that; especially with the Sky, since it's a convertible, it'd be great to always have a cold bottle of water in the car when you're stuck in traffic with the top down.

The Caliber has a lot of nice features that aren't found in others near its class -- the stereo has an integrated 40 GB hard drive for storing music, the Chill Zone, 32 MPG, speakers built into the hatch for tailgating, illuminated cupholders (some sites say heated/cooled cupholders but I'm not sure), touchscreen nav center console, etc. But it's a very hard interior and the car seems horribly underpowered for its size -- 155 hp beats the Prius but it's still not enough to make me want to tow a trailer or carry a few hundred pounds of gear in the back, and it appears to be the last model year without any changes since about 2008 with regards to the interior's quality. I'm a car tech fan and want something that'll "wow" me whenever possible.

 

That concerned me for a minute, but the 535s are a little bit larger -- 42 x 17.25 x 18.25 and 75 pounds, versus 36.3 x 16.7 x 16.3 and 60 pounds. I'm hoping that if you fit the two of them in "awkwardly", maybe these ones will be a little easier.

Going out to look at one today if I can find a dealer with one in stock. I can't bring the speakers with me because they won't fit in my Sky at all. But I'll be able to eyeball it at least, and bring a tape measurer. As much as I like what I see of the Prius, a vehicle that can't support these won't do me any better than the situation I'm in right now.

 

Well just to follow up --

The speakers may have fit by about a quarter inch, but overall, it was too tight of a fit for me to deal with, and it was a giant pain to get the speakers back out because of the tight fit. Since this was a primary goal of switching vehicles, we opted against the Prius C... for now.

Ended up purchasing a Nissan Juke. The Prius may still be on the list for the girlfriend's car, though...

Thanks for your help, everyone!