Back from a 3000 mile trip

Well we recently returned from a 3000 mile trip with my fiancee's 2010 Prius. It turned over 100,000 miles on they trip to join my 2010 Prius in the 100K+ club, lol. I have been on many trips using many different forms of transportation. I must say this trip was one of the best I have ever been on and driving a Prius factored into it being such a good trip.
So let me put into context why this wasn't an ordinary trip. The trip started with myself, my fiancee and my 3 kids along with enough luggage for 9 days for all of us. We also had 3 coolers with drinks and snacks. In addition, my kids each brought along a backpack that looked like they would explode from being so full. They kept their backpacks at their feet in the back. My kids aren't little anymore either. The youngest is 4'9" and oldest is 5'2". The compartment under the rear storage area was intentionally left empty to used for storage of souvenirs on the way back. The first day was 770 miles with stops every 3 to 4 hours. I did all the driving the first day. The next day we went 280 miles to a Toyota dealer in Albany, NY where we picked up a Prius rental. I must say, renting a car from a dealer is much simpler and easier than a rental car place. It also allowed us to know for sure we were getting the make and model of car we requested. I will definitely do that again! From their my fiancee picked up her 3 large boys and we proceed to the Cape Cod area with her driving her Prius with her 3 boys and me driving the rental Prius with my 3 kids. We did several days of sightseeing and visiting family. Upon returning the rental 6 days later I had driven it 970 miles. My fiancee had dropped off her boys before we returned the rental so it was back to the 5 of us in her Prius. In addition to the 3 kids and 3 backpacks in the back seat there was the addition of a 4th backpack..... Oh I forgot to mention the DVD case for the DVD players hanging from the back of the front seats. They also had 2 Nitendo DSs in cases and 2 tablets in cases, along with blankets and neck pillows. The return trip was also split into 2 days, with 330 miles the first day and the last day being 690 miles.

So with all that said I have never been more comfortable driving on a long trip as I was driving the Prius. I like how it performs in heavy traffic and the seat fits me well. My kids, even with all the stuff in the back seat with them, were able to be comfortable. On every other trip I have taken we couldn't go more than 2 hours between stops. On this trip 3 to 4 hours wasn't a problem. Yes, I have had cars with more "road feel" but that "road feel" also wears you out quicker. Do some cars have seats with more adjustments, well yes. But I've had many cars that had lots of seat adjustments but I couldn't drive many of them more than an hour because my back would be hurting so bad. And yes, I have been forced to trade off cars and vans due to seats that I could never get comfortable in, so a seat that fits me is a big deal.
I hear plenty of people complaining about this or that about their Prius, but I must say, this trip for us would not have been possible any other way. The saving on time, (not needing to stop as often) and saving on money for gas were both big factors in allowing this trip to be fun and successful.
Our most recent similar trip was with our Suburban pulling a camper. We went about 2000 miles on that trip, but weren't able to go much over 400 mile a day. We also spent over $900 on gas for that trip. This trip, even with 2 cars part of the time and going 3000 miles instead of 2000 we only spent about $300 on gas. The trip with the camper was also a good trip but the Suburban and camper wouldn't have worked for a this trip because too much time would have been spent getting to where were were going, about 1300 miles from home. Instead of being on the beach by 3pm the second day we would arrived late on the 3rd day.

The one thing I will say that since my kids are still young and growing we may need to move up to a Prius V in the next year or two if we plan to take another trip like this again. However it might we worth renting Prius V from a local dealer and use rental cars for the entire trip.