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

Isnt it too heavy to be really efficient, drag coefficient and all... T-D/W = E ??

 

Pruis v is getting a reported 40+MPG. there is no mini-van or small SUV that is anywhere near that neighborhood

 

I love your review. I'm a newbie and purchased my first Prius. I bought the Prius V three and love it. I traded a Honda Odyssey Touring that only got 17 miles per gallon on average. The savings on gas alone is worth the price tag. I bought mine for $25498 which was below invoice and got an additional $2500 on my trade, then any other dealer would give me. So people should shop around. Many dealers were only willing to give me $500 off the sticker price , which was $28,400. with the blizzard pearl paint. The shop that did my tint was so impressed with the interior space. Its just as large as a Honda CRV in my opinion.

 

Like Shannon, I was getting hosed on my trade-in but I never found a dealer that would give me what I wanted so I sold it privately.

Congrats on your new car.

 

This is one of my biggest beefs with the car (which I really mostly like).

Has anyone figured out how to mod it with an "OEM" looking dome-light?

Perhaps purchasing the parts for the regular dome light and somehow integrating it in the cargo compartment? I'm afraid to cut in to the headliner without knowing exactly what's behind it (like the antenna wires?) and what kind of space there is...

You really can't see at all at night. The tiny map light is almost on the floor, and gets completely blocked if you use the cargo compartment for, you know, cargo

 

Whew. Lotsa data and stats and minuta here. My summary: we drove 44k on a 2010 Prius II. Fine car. Averaged probably 45 mpg, most of the time 48-51. These were calculations from gas receipts and odometer.
NOW: the Pv 2012: on the I 95 corridor blasting 71 mph average, we got 42 mpg. There's not much hybrid action when you're pushing lotsa wind on a long flat.
Thru the hills and varied terrain of PA and NY and NH and ME we averaged 49 to 51.
But the fuel doesn't tell the story: the Pv is leaps and bounds beyond the 2010 in terms of ride and ergonomics. We actually went to the Ford dealer's (the website said CMax "available" so I said gotta check it out) to find NADA (meaning nothing) in their car lot--car was NOT available--to drive a comparable. So I can't compare it to anything but a Prius 2012.

The Pv has a solid feel in those wild hills of PA or on the turnpikes of NY. The seats are vastly improved over the 2010. The controls are sweet, intuitive, handy. Yes I did have to break out the manual, but for the most part all made sense.

If I have to criticize: cruise control is too locked in to absolute speed maintain, so it drives as I never would: gas pedal on On ON when going up an incline. And the CVT or some component in there allows very noisy strong accelleration that diminishes driving pleasure.

One further commendation: the electric mode seems more emphatic than the 2010: NOT pushing the EV button, the car still pulled us out of Rockport city marina up the hill and thru town, ghosting electric super quiet. The computer seems more disposed to allowing electric only in more situations, and it's a noticeable quiet ride.

Nicely done, ToyotaEngineers.

 

Thanks for the very informative, information-packed review. I'm in the early stages of thinking about my next car, a process which generally lasts a couple of years. I drive a 2007 RAV4 V6 4WD Limited. I like the car, but I'm not driving it as much as I anticipated -- I have less than 45K miles on the car now -- and not using it as a "ski car", as I intended. (Long story; not worth boring anyone with.) This year, I bought a 2012 Camry Hybrid XLE for my wife and we both love it. We're averaging nearly 41 mpg over 5,250 miles. So now I'm thinking about replacing the RAV -- in which I'm averaging 22 mpg in mixed driving -- with a hybrid that offers comparable utility. The Prius v looks promising. I was especially encouraged by your appraisals of the v's power and ride. I love my RAV4's power (268 horses when I them). I love the Camry hybrid's combined 200 hp. So I've wondered whether I'd be satisfied with the v's combined 134 hp. I will rent one for a few days to find out whether it's sufficient for me. One thing I've never liked much about the RAV is the ride. So I'm glad to hear that the Prius v rides well. I'm hoping it rides better than the RAV (wouldn't be hard). Again, I'll find out when I rent one.

I'm still more than a year away from doing anything in any case. I'd love to see Toyota boost the Prius v's power, making it comparable to the new Camry hybrid. Maybe by the 2014 or 2015 model years? (Are you listening, Toyota?)

Update: 1.16.13
I've heard rumors of a RAV4 hybrid to come (from a salesman). I would really like to see that on the market. In the meantime, I've improved my ICE RAV4's mileage by as much as 20 percent by monitoring "engine load" instead of chasing real-time mpg. For example, today on a mostly uphill, two-mile trip from our health club to our house, I got 17 mpg where I'd formerly been getting 14 mpg. In mixed driving on surface streets and freeway, I've been getting 25-26 mpg where I was lucky to get 21-22 mpg. My RAV doesn't have a computer, but I got around that by mating my Bluetooth Garmin GPS with a gizmo that plugs into the OBDII port and sends data to the GPS where it's displayed. One of the displays has virtual gauges, including an engine-load gauge. I've found that I can increase mpg by holding the engine load down to 50 percent or less in level driving and keeping it to around 75-80 percent when going uphill.

 

Please let us know once you figure out how to raise your Prius v and also if there are significant changes as far as ride comfort, etc. thanks

 

what is the difference between the V and 5 model, 2013

 

The Prius v is a "wagon" and larger version of Prius. A Model Five (not 5) is a trim level for the Prius Liftback or a Prius v. So you can have a Prius v Five and a Prius Five.

V (uppercase) is no longer used except to designate a trim level on a 2010 model Prius Liftback.

 

I've just traded my 2010 G3 T-Spirit for a 6 month old 2012 Prius+ (the UK equivalent of the Prius v) T-Spirit purely for the extra comfort and quiet.
I absolutely loved the technology and cheap running costs of my 2010 G3 but the drone from the road was driving me nuts on long trips.
I test drove a 2013 G3 T-Spirit with 17" wheels, which was supposed to be quieter, apparently due to Toyota putting more spot welds on the body to improve stiffness and allowing the suspension to be softened, but it was no different. I also tried a 2012 Plug-in with the 15" wheels and that was no better.
I then spotted the Prius+ (v) in the showroom and took it out for a drive, I could not believe the difference, the seats are more comfortable, the ride is softer but handling was just as good and the road noise has all but disappeared. Even though I didn't really need 7 seats I was sold and bought it and although I have lost the intelligent park assist and Nav arrows on the HUD, the only thing I miss from the G3 are the guide lines on the reversing camera.
On the Nav I have gained speed camera alerts, speed limit indication and speed limit exceeded warnings (spoken and indicated on the map).
Here in the UK we get 7 seats as standard and a Lithium Ion Battery positioned between the front seats, so where you have a huge centre console bin we have a 1" deep tray. We only have 2 levels of trim, the T4 is the lower and the T-Spirit is the higher spec model. The only difference is the T-Spirit has Nav, JBL edge 8 speaker audio, Bluetooth connectivity & leather seats. All models have twin panoramic sunroofs, cruise control, auto wipers, electrically folding mirrors, USB connectivity etc. SWMBO was not amused, so I told her she can sit in the 3rd row seats LOL.

 

Just got a 2013 Prius V wagon (Japanese import). One of the best things is that the "umbrella tray" in the rear cargo space is deep enough that it can take a wheelchair with the wheels attached and it stows upright and secure without needing any ties/ropes. That was a big reason why didn't get the Aqua hatch. Wish more cars had that sort of clever thinking!
Oh and the car drives nicely and plenty of room for the kids.