There's a new Prius in town

We recently bought the new 2012 Prius v Five. Not to be confused with a regular Prius with the Technical Package 5. The Prius v is a stretched out version of the much loved Prius. After driving the car for about a month now, we definitely love it. We were trying to decide between a Ford Escape Hybrid, a Jetta Wagon Diesel, and the Prius v Hybrid. There are probably many of you like us. We wanted more cargo space than a car offered, but we still wanted great gas mileage. I would describe the cargo space of the Prius v as a combination between the Wagon and the Escape. We needed something that would be tall enough for our chocolate lab mix, and it definitely is.

Why did we choose the Prius v? It came down to several things, but one of them was the interior of the Technical Package 5. The interior is something called SoftTex, and is low-VOC, and this was important to me. The air in new cars is extremely polluted because of all of the synthetic materials, and I didn’t want munchkin to have to breathe that in constantly. It was also tall enough for the beast. The inside of the cargo space measures about 36 inches, which was way taller than the 30-31 inches in the Jetta Wagon, but I feel like the Prius is also longer than the Ford Escape. The seats in the Prius v are definitely more comfortable than those in the Escape or the Wagon in my opinion. The back seat moves forward and backward, and reclines, so it is extra comfortable for traveling adults.

What do I love? Pandora streaming through the speakers, and opening the doors, and starting the car without  getting my keys out of my diaper bag. There are a few things that I would change if I were to have any say so in the 2013 model. We REALLY love the safety features that Volvos are famous for. I also love the fact that some of their interiors are Oeko-Tex certified, a step above low-VOC interiors. Some Volvos have a blind-spot warning system that alerts you if there is someone in your blind spot. I thought this was pretty cool. It is a shame that diesel isn’t even an option in the U.S., because they had a lot of good things going for them. Anyway, I would make the interior Oeko-tex certified, and add the blind spot warning system. I would also add an AC outlet in the rear seat like so many cars are doing these days. Lastly, I would also make the car automatically unlock when you put your hand on either of the back doors. Currently if you touch either of the front doors with your hand while the keys are in your pocket, the car will unlock, but as a mother, I always go for the back door first because I am putting the munchkin in.(minor details!)

Oh, and as far as gas mileage goes, we drove down to Savannah and back, and averaged 40 mpg. Around town, I average 48 mpg, although this would probably be higher, if I wasn’t always sitting in parking lots with the car running, waiting for Terra to wake up!

With a down payment, we are able to make most of our car payment with the money we save in gas from not driving our truck, so it has really worked out for us. The only other thing I would say is that many people complain about not being able to see out of the rear window in the regular Prius, but that isn't a problem in the Prius v! Happy car hunting!

Let me know if you have any other questions about the car, I would love to help!