The rear hatch features 971 L (34.3 cu. ft.) of cargo space. Slide the rear seats forward and storage space grows to 1,138 L (40.2 cu. ft.). A privacy shade is offered that easily connects to the sides of the vehicle and the headrests of the backseats to keep prying eyes away from your belongings stored in the hatch. With the rear seats folded, cargo space expands to a relatively massive 1,906 L (67.3 cu. ft.).
    2012 Toyota Prius V Touring + Technology Package. Click image to enlarge |
Our tester came with the optional P215/50R17-inch tires on 10-spoke 17-inch aerodynamically shaped wheels (lesser Prius Vs make do with P205/60R16-inch tires). Every detail on this vehicle has been tuned to maximize fuel efficiency; for example, even the center caps on the wheels have been aerodynamically shaped. With a medium profile height of 50, the 17-inch tires offer a nice compliant ride that absorbs surface cracks in the road. The all-season tires are geared towards efficiency and low rolling resistance so it’s best not to hustle this vehicle around your favourite highway on-ramp.
The Prius V’s 6.1-inch screen displays the back-up camera whenever the vehicle is put into Reverse. The Touring + Technology Package features Advanced Parking Guidance System (APGS), which is Toyota-speak for parking assist. After several attempts with the parking system, we found that by the time a parking space was selected using the touch-screen arrows, you could have already parked the car yourself. In daylight the system worked flawlessly, but at night it becomes harder gauging where the parking spot should be on the screen. Due to my poor parking space selection onscreen, the Prius V almost parked itself into a curb and a Dodge Ram on two different occasions. An important item to remember when using APGS is to keep your foot lightly pressed on the brake pedal to control the vehicle’s speed. In my first few attempts, I neglected this step and had the Prius V trying to park itself somewhere around warp factor five. Also accessible through the multi-talented touch-screen is the handy maintenance monitoring, where you can keep track of all service performed on the vehicle as well as any upcoming services that are required. It is a nice touch that I am sure will spread to more cars in the future.
Speaking of maintenance, maintaining highway speeds with the Prius V can be achieved without much drama. I was quite surprised at how responsive the powertrain was around town. However, things can be a little scary when trying to merge into the HOV lane on Ontario’s Highway 403 during rush hour on my commute to Toronto. Struggling to get to 100 km/h from a dead stop or a crawl while other carpoolers are barrelling down on you is a bit hard on the nerves. If you do the math, the Prius V’s power-to-weight ratio would be like a Hyundai Tucson powered by a Hyundai Accent engine.
Another item of some confusion was the gas gauge on the Prius V, which we found a bit strange. After 578 km of driving on a full tank, the low fuel light was on and I had an estimated range of only 18 km. I filled up the tank with 31.5 litres; even though the gas gauge read full, I didn’t think the tank was that small. The computer read an average fuel consumption of 6.1 L/100 km during my trip but my own calculations produced an estimate of 5.4 L/100 km; something didn’t add up. I checked in the owner’s manual and sure enough the Prius V gas tank is rated at 45 litres, so I was short 13.5 litres according to how much I added to the tank. Why was the car reading full? Why was my estimated fuel range 611 km if I am short 13.5 litres?
