Kept the Sequoia, bought a Prius

:welcome:Keep in mind that larger wheels should have a negative impact on fuel economy. Also, if you happen to choose tires that have higher rolling resistance than the OEM tires, that'll hurt your fuel economy too.

I'm not into changing wheels but if I were, I'd keep what you have until the OEM tires are worn out.

 

Congrats on your new Prius and welcome to the forum. I have a friend with 6 kids, so from from their experience, 8 seats is critical. Now, that's on thing the Prius can;t do yet: carry 8. (Maybe the new V?)

 

(Only if you put them in the back and cover them with a blanket so you don't get arrested.)

 

Congrats--enjoy.

 

Interesting co-incidence.

We also bought a new Prius this weekend. We also have a Sequoia. We carpool so we have to fit up to 7 kids in our vehicle, and I like the tow capacity to tow my Jeep. The 13 mpg in the winter really hurts though.

They look funny sitting next to each other in the driveway, the Prius looks like a toy.

 

Congrats on your new Prius and welcome to PriusChat.

Now there's a sight to behold: A Sequoia with 7 kids, towing a Jeep. In an ideal world, the Jeep would have an 18 foot boat attached with bicycle racks on the back of that! lol....thinking of the look...

Enjoy the high mileage, great technology, low-emissions and lousy tow capacity!

 

Kind of an interesting thread.

I know Toyota's hope/belief with the Prius v is that there is a great market of people awaiting a larger hybrid "Prius" vehicle. ...and maybe so....

But hearing things like, I bought a Prius BUT we are keeping the Sequoia, would make me nervous if I was Toyota.

I still think people are more interested in the total...50mpg of a Prius....
and separately the utility of a Mini-Van like product.

Just wondering if the OP, or others, ever considered combining the attributes and looking at a Prius v?

If not? Why not?

 

I'm not interested in a larger Prius-type vehicle simply because I don't want the added operating expense, insurance of another or bigger vehicle, and am not interested in hauling people or stuff. If I need to haul, I'll rent something or have it delivered. If I need to haul people, we can go in two cars or however many. My 4-5 person Prius is a perfect size to accomodate people, light hauling and ease of manuevering about town and on the highway. Even if the car delivered the same or better MPGs as I'm getting now, I don't think I'd be interested.

Now with all that said, I'm at the senior end of the demographic. My kids are raised. We don't haul the baseball team anymore and I'm in a down-size mode. The young family demographic, or the business folks with delivery needs may find a Prius V type vehicle quite appealing.

I'm curious as to Toyota's demographic for their Prius V. It can't be me.

 

No we would not. We bought our Prius to be a commuter car. It can fit the four of us in our family, plus enough cargo room for day trips and errands. My wife and I have almost opposite work schedules so we are able to do 70% of our driving with only one vehicle.

The Sequoia is used for car pooling a couple times a week. Helps us save a 20 mile round trip to our kid's school twice a day. It is also used for family vacations. We spent one vacation tent camping in Wyoming and Yellowstone. A Prius v would not be able to hold that much cargo. We recently acquired a popup camper and have plans to spend spring break visiting Carlsbad National Park. The Sequoia makes long drives very easy and enjoyable. And living in Colorado, the 5.7l engine climbs the mountain passes effortlessly.

Do I think Toyota is worried about people like me? No I think Toyota views the Sequoia as a mistake, the wrong vehicle produced at the wrong time. I don't think they will ever come out with a full size SUV again. I am curious to see if they will go back to the smaller 7/8 size Sequoia.

 

V seats 5 for North American market.

I've mentioned before I have a minivan and a Prius and will not be replacing that van with a V because it offers nothing to me. I would like a Highlander Hybrid because of its third row. 28 mpg sure isn't what the V will be getting, though. It's just a shame it lacks that third row.

I'm not really sure who it is to be honest with you. It's so much like the Prius that I just cannot imagine it increasing Prius sales by a significant number as people who want a Prius will just choose between the normal one and the V. I guess it may help sales a bit due to its space but I still think the third row would be a major boon for it and really make it attractive.

 

I've read other threads about potential Prius buyers needing to fit two car seats and an adult in the back. I assume the Prius V will fit this family market.

 

I don't think this would make them nervous. That's two cars they've sold to one family. If they said " we bought the prius but we're keeping the Tahoe" then they might be more nervous. The nerves will come if they start hearing stuff like "we wanted a prius v but we needed 7 seats so we bought a __________ instead"

 

I live in central PA and my commute takes me on some backroads out in the boonies. There's a house perched on a hill I pass that has an immaculate, always freshly washed dark grey Gen 3 in a car port next to the house. Parked in the drive is camouflaged Hummer usually covered in mud. I've got to think that's an interesting family.