1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Prius V Gen 3 (2012) with 2 rear facing car seats

Discussion in 'Prius v Main Forum' started by ShouldIbuy, Oct 12, 2019.

  1. ShouldIbuy

    ShouldIbuy New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2019
    3
    0
    0
    Location:
    detroit, mi
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    The most recent posts I found were at least 5+ years ago and am hoping that with the advancement in car seats that someone might have updated information.

    I am looking into getting a Prius V (instead of a normal Prius) as I have a 90 mile round trip commute every day. We will be expecting twins next year. From similar posts I have seen that it is possible to stick 2 rear facing car seats one behind the driver and the other in the center. Does anyone else have feedback on this?

    As well as what type of car seats you use, and if they can fit into a double stroller?

    I'm thinking of doing the V and losing the extra mpg since there is more cargo space and that will be helpful when having a dbl stroller and luggage for trips.

    Also my husband is 6' and I am 5'4" (I'm typically the driver).
     
  2. Centerpunch

    Centerpunch Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2019
    147
    136
    1
    Location:
    OH / NC
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Four
  3. ShouldIbuy

    ShouldIbuy New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2019
    3
    0
    0
    Location:
    detroit, mi
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    We haven't bought the car seats yet. We first want to decide which car we are going to get.
    I had thought of the RAV4 hybrid as well as many other cars/SUVs, but for the mpg and traffic being between 55-60 all the way to work, I've seen in a lot of forums that at that speed on the highway you can get near 50mpg in the V. That and I've found a few really good used deals on some Prius cars and seeing that with their history they can last up to 300,000 miles (maybe with a batter change) that it may be worth buying a smaller car until we need the additional back leg room.

    I've only seen a few people mention being able to fit 2 rear facing car seats in the Prius V and I'm hoping that I can find a few others, and find out what car seats they used, and if they can also fit in a dbl stroller.
     
  4. Centerpunch

    Centerpunch Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2019
    147
    136
    1
    Location:
    OH / NC
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Four
    If these are your first kids, you will be surprised how much stuff you will want to haul around with them. My wife was driving an Accord 4-door, which we “knew” would be plenty big for the two of us and a couple babies. Wrong!

    We quickly moved to a minivan and never regretted that.

    if you drive 600 miles a week, and gas costs $3, the actual cost difference for fuel is....not huge.

    30mpg = 20 gallons = $60
    40mpg = 15 gallons = $45
    50mpg = 12 gallons = $36

    And of course, newer cars are safer than older ones, and bigger cars are safer than smaller ones.

    I would just say, don’t be fixated on a single quality (in this case, mpg) of a vehicle when making your choice. Don’t choose a car that's too small just to save $9 a week.

    One thing I recommend to folks who aren't sure what type of car they want is to go to Carmax, where they have a huge variety of makes and models, and low-pressure salespeople. You don’t have to buy from them, but it's a great place to help figure out what vehicles might work best for your needs without going to 5 or 6 different dealers.
     
  5. ShouldIbuy

    ShouldIbuy New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 12, 2019
    3
    0
    0
    Location:
    detroit, mi
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    The mpg was a big piece of it, the other reasons I was looking into it was the fact that prius's on average can last up to 300k miles without a lot of maintenance. With maybe 1-2 after market batter swap at about $500 a pop.
    Another reason was that the prius I was looking at was only $13k for 35k-ish miles, 1 owner, clean title, leather seats. So I was thinking that's pretty affordable for the low mileage and how long the car should last.

    Honestly due to the factors above, I believe I am trying to talk myself into the fact that a Prius will work. But in actuality, I probably should just opt in and buy a larger car. What I really wanted was to find one in great shape, higher mileage, but one that would last 1-2 years of commuting for like $2-3k just so that I don't have a car payment and can save up some extra cash. Buut all those tend to be at the very end of their lives and questionably making another 1-2 years.

    Luckily I still have a few months to figure things out, and my husbands car will fit everything fine so we don't have to super stress on it.

    I currently drive a Renegade at 24.5mpg, I hate the thing. Should never have bought it.
     
  6. Centerpunch

    Centerpunch Active Member

    Joined:
    Sep 29, 2019
    147
    136
    1
    Location:
    OH / NC
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Four
    Yes, those Fiat Jeeps are pretty bad.
     
  7. WillDMac

    WillDMac New Member

    Joined:
    Oct 20, 2019
    7
    13
    0
    Location:
    Lodi, CA
    Vehicle:
    2020 Prius Prime
    Model:
    LE
    I currently drive a 2012 v wagon and have two rear facing child seats. Graco 4ever brand. They fit really well and the additional cargo is great. We're at 175K miles and have an offer for $6500 for our v wagon. This started initial thoughts into getting into the 2020 Prime. Leaning towards letting the v wagon go even though we put tires on 6 months ago and replaced the suspension 1 year ago. Really like the idea of going gasless for the majority of our commute with the Prime.