Driven: 2012 Toyota Prius V

If you want to save yourself the time of reading our entire well-considered first drive review of the all new Prius V, let us sum it up for you right here in the opening paragraph. The only thing truly surprising about the new Prius wagon is that it has taken Toyota this long to offer it for sale. That’s not a comment on the Japanese automaker’s recent, understandable production flow problems, mind you, but a statement as to the natural, intuitive goodness of adding this variant to the highly successful Prius line. For those who seek out the values associated with Toyota’s headlining hybrid—economy, safety, and ease of use—the Prius V is a fundamentally flawless vehicle.

To explain why the V is such homerun idea for the larger Prius family, we must first explain what the car is, and is not. Prius V is a lot roomier than the current five-door hatchback that we all know, and affords its extra space primarily to the people and things that occupy the back section of the vehicle. The taller (up 3.3 inches), wider (up 1.1 inches) V offers an especially nice second row experience, with inches gained in every dimension of the rear seating save legroom (which effectively stays the same). We adjusted the front seat for a proper six-foot, five-inch driving position, and were still comfortably able to slide another six-foot, five-inch body in the seat behind. Thusly positioned in the back, your tester’s 98th percentile head was just able to fit under the roof with a straight-backed seating position, so we can confidently say that most normal-sized humans won’t have a problem. The Prius V has more than enough space for kiddies or golf buddies.