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Thoughts after first road trip in the v (roomy, good mileage, poor seat...)

Discussion in 'Prius v Main Forum' started by anewhouse, May 31, 2012.

  1. anewhouse

    anewhouse Active Member

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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
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    Three
    Took the v from central NY to southern MI last weekend (total ~1100 miles) and I thought I'd share some thoughts here.
    First, the reasons we bought the car: space and gas mileage. Both big winners! Had to transport a LazyBoy chair one way on this trip. I was pretty sure it'd fit in the v, but wasn't sure how tightly. Folded the rear seats forward just to be sure, brought the seat part of the chair outside, and plopped it in the back end of the v. Not only did it FIT behind the rear seats, it looked almost lonely back there! I put the rear seats up, and there was still room to pack stuff around the chair. No problem. On the way back (after a baby shower), we transported a twin stroller, a non-collapsible bassinet, numerous bags and boxes of baby clothes and other gifts, a car seat, our own luggage, our small dog, and other assorted debris, still with room to spare. I like packing this car. :)
    Gas mileage was interesting to watch. For a good chunk of the trip out, there was construction, traffic, etc., so we averaged about 60-65mph, and with that, we were getting about 46mpg according to the dash computer. The last couple hours of the trip featured clearer highways, so I averaged about 73mph, during which we got ~43mpg. This was a bit of a pleasant surprise to me - even with a full load at slightly over standard highway speed, I was getting well above the EPA "highway" mileage estimate. (For comparison, I usually average ~43mpg around home, which is primarily hilly rural highways.) The trip out was mostly at night with clear weather, nothing odd there. Even more surprising was the trip home - we were just ahead of the nice stormy cold front, so we had a steady tailwind (10-20mph?) the whole way. Averaged ~73mph for most of the trip, fair amount of traffic so cruise control use was intermittent at best, hot sunny day with AC running the whole trip, and we still averaged 46mpg! Nice. :cool:

    Speaking of which - the AC worked fabulously. It was 90-92 degrees for literally the whole trip home, direct sun the whole time. I just set the climate control to AUTO at 72F, AC on. I was comfortable the whole time. That's a first for me - I usually have to mess with the temperature controls quite frequently to stay comfortable. I'm very impressed.

    Now my only complaint - the driver's seat was simply not very comfortable for me. I haven't had a problem with it on trips up to ~45 minutes, but this extended trip made me really notice it. I think the biggest problem is a lack of thigh support. I wish there were a seat tilt control - if the whole lower portion of the seat could be tilted back about 5-10 degrees, I think it'd be perfect. (I'm not somehow missing this adjustment, am I?) Additional padding in the very front of the seat would help too. Part of the problem may be that this seat was apparently designed for "wider" drivers - the protruding supports on both the back and seat portions were too far apart to provide any support to my thighs or back. As it is, I kept messing with seat height, backrest angle, lumbar support, seat position, and steering wheel position, and just couldn't find a combination that was comfortable. I've NEVER had this problem before - I've done repeated extended-trip driving in a '88 Honda Accord, '93 Chevy conversion van, '98 Toyota Camry, '03 Pontiac Vibe, '08 Scion xD, and all of those offered me good to excellent seat comfort. Pretty disappointed that the v misses in this area for me, since it's so wonderful in just about every other way! Before our next long trip I'll try to make some sort of seat cushion with thicker padding under the forward thigh area; we'll see.

    Other thoughts:
    -Other than the seat comfort, the ride was pleasant - not too bumpy, not too squishy, road noise was fairly quiet, no weird squeaks or rattles.
    -My wife appreciates the width of the passenger compartment - there's room for her to sit cross-legged without interfering with my shifting or driving (our Scion was a little narrow for this)
    -Stereo was fine (listened to an audiobook).
    -GPS is OK but not great (my wife reports that even after some time to get used to the built-in system, the menus are a little convoluted, and it's still not quite as easy or intuitive as our TomTom).
    -Mild emergency handling is more than adequate (swerved sharply to avoid a big cardboard box in my lane).
    -I don't remember seeing any other v's (maybe OH and MI aren't big v markets?), but last week before we left, I saw three c's in one day.
    -I found visibility more than adequate. The big windows are great almost all the way around. There is a bit of a blind spot when looking back over my left shoulder, but that seems to be covered by the side mirror. Between a glance in the mirror and a glance over my shoulder, I feel like I can see everything I need to.

    Overall, I'd give it about a grade of about 90% as a road trip car. If the driver's seat were more comfortable, it'd be a solid 99%! But with some creativity, I think I can come up with a home-made improvement to the factory seat, so that's not a deal-breaker.
    Andy
     
    Chazz8 and Rh0 like this.
  2. ProximalSuns

    ProximalSuns Senior Member

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    Same seat, same problem on the Prius III. The power seat totally fixes it. Not offered at all on the V and a $4,000 option package on the Prius III which I would have paid for had I known the seats were uncomfortable.

    Good luck on the fix. I tried some add on seat cushions but none seemed to work. As you note, it seems like the seat is too short under the thighs and none of the seat cushions fix that problem.
     
  3. mmmdowning

    mmmdowning Junior Member

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    Location:
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    Vehicle:
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    Model:
    Five
    I just traded my 2010 Prius IV for the 2012 V this past week end. I love the changes and I love the drivers seat, more comfort then the 2010. I drive 120 miles a day and in the 2012 V I'm not hurting. It took a few drives to adjust things just right. Like you said the gps is taking a little to get used to but better then the 2010. I'm really enjoying how quite the V is. I hope you can get the seat issue resolved.
     
  4. MadHungarian

    MadHungarian Member

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    Vehicle:
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    Two
    The Prius curse reappears! The taller you are, the more you curse the seat. My '05 Prius was even worse. Owners of the 2nd gen. cars discussed the problem at great length, tried to put washers over the front mounting points to raise the front of the seat, considerd various cushions, etc. I haven't looked at the 3rd gen. liftback forum, but I bet it is discussed there as well. As hard as it is to believe, the height adjustment on our cars is a big improvement, but not a cure. I'm considering a set of rails that allow the seat to move further back. The people who design/test Prius seats must all have 26" inseams!
     
  5. Skoorbmax

    Skoorbmax Senior Member

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    My back is hurting today. I was wondering why this is and then I realized it's because I took the Prius today instead of our other car. Literally just 45 minutes on the seat and I can feel it the rest of the day. I have complained about the seat in this car before, though. It's an absolute piece of garbage and the worst seat of a car I've owned in many years. I don't have the power version of it. Bottom seat angle is not the issue for me, it's lumbar support--the seat has none at all.
     
  6. ProximalSuns

    ProximalSuns Senior Member

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    Don't know about that, I'm close to average 5.7, 155 lb, probably low end of average. So who the heck did they design the seat for? All they need to do is sit someone in the Prius power seat. Adjust it for comfort and then make the seats like that.
     
  7. Rhizzlebop

    Rhizzlebop Member

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    Guys, I really was all about the v and it was mainly the drivers seat that now has me focused on the 2012 hycam. The seat was hurting my bottom within 30 minutes of leaving town and within 2 hours my back was aching.
    The only way I could make the acceptably comfortable, was to buy a memory foam seat cushion from walmart and used it on the drive home and the rest of the week. That made it pretty much fine, but I couldn't wrap my brain around 30K in a car and I need to fix the seat.

    The camry has no such issues. You just can't put a recliner in the back, but the seat fits the body perfectly.
     
  8. samyul

    samyul Junior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
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    Three
    Never fails. You're like a broken record, only more annoying. Anytime someone complains about the v, your solution is for them to get the Prius III. Give it a rest. Your act is tired.
     
    swg likes this.