Fast Take: 2013 Toyota Prius v Model Three

The family wagon is finally starting to make a comeback in the United States. With Synergy Drive hybrid technology forging the fuel efficiency innovation path, Toyota continues to refine it’s Prius vehicle lineup. Now in its second year of sale in the United States, the Prius v soldiers on, dutifully schlepping kids, pets and families alike via a more ozone-friendlier vessel.

Reviewer’s Notes

There is always something about a car that isn’t perfect. The Prius v is no different in the “misses” category:

•  I found the steering wheel to be a huge let down. The rubbery buttons to control HVAC and infotainment options have a very low quality feel about them. My palms went numb after 45-minutes of spirited driving from the hard, equally cheap feeling helm. You can solve this problem by  upgrading to the Model Five ($31,090) trim level—there are no model Ones or Fours, go figure—where your wheel and seating surfaces will be covered in Toyota’s artificial leather, SofTex.
• It seems that the hipper, younger set I meet at car shows are rolling up in various vinyl wrapped hot hatches. If you’re one of those people, there’s plenty of it when it comes to the Prius v—just not on the outside. From the door cards to the dashboard, it’s Nerf ball foam wrapped in textured polyethelyne-esque material as far as the eye can see. Your friends will be so jealous that you’ve taken the vinyl wrap craze to the interior.
• Being a five passenger hybrid car from one of the most family-friendly brands around, I didn’t expect any level of sporty performance out of the Prius v. The 1.8-liter Atkinson cycle DOHC inline four cylinder just seems to make a louder droning sound when the accelerator is pressed. At a little over 10-seconds to hit 60-mph, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
• Handling-wise, the Prius lineup is quite vanilla. The electric-assisted steering and low rolling resistance Bridgestone Turanza tires collectively deliver very little feedback from the road beneath. The competing Ford C-Max has Toyota’s wagon beat through the curves.
• The tires squeal when pushed ever so slightly. Basically, if the speed limit is 45-mph around a turn, and you’re doing 50-mph, don’t be surprised to hear the begininings of lateral friction loss against the sidewall.

To Toyota’s credit, there are a lot more “hits” than misses when it comes to a behind-the-wheel experience with the Prius v. It’s the little things that matter, and Toyota seems to be getting a lot of those right.

• With its rakish body, punched in nose and what seems like a skyscraper’s worth of glazing encapsulating the cockpit, the resulting aerodynamics are whisper quiet, with a silky .29 coefficient of drag—that’s .07 lower than a Ferarri Enzo! Realizing this fact all of the sudden made me appreciate the wind slicing shape of the people mover. There is a lot of function in that form.
• The car was delivered to me in a Barcelona Red paint color. Photos don’t do it justice. It’s a great color that would look good on any supercar. If you’re in the market, avoid the ubiquitous white and silver offerings. Besides, we all know red cars are 20% faster than any other color…
• With its small displacement engine, I was able to average 40.6-mpg after 200+ miles of heavy-footed city and highway errand runs. The competing Ford C-Max could only hope to achieve those kind of numbers with my leaded metatarsals.
•  The suspension absorbs the bumps quite well, delivering a Camry-esque smoothness when tooling around town in Eco Mode.
• I love the thought that went into how this car will be used. Finally, a mainstream, family car that has standard, single-press Auto-up/down buttons for all four windows on the driver’s armrest. It makes airing out the car in the oppressive Virginia summer heat a breeze.
• The Entune infotainment system is easy to use, albeit graphics and screen resolution could use some improvement. Hooking up my iPhone 4S via USB and Bluetooth audio took less time than it did to figure out where the LATCH anchors in the rear seat are located (beneath their upholstered zipper flaps).
• The 60/40 rear seat offers a lot of room,  allowing three child seats to be mounted side by side. Adult passengers sitting in the back seat will appreciate the adjustable rake and forward/aft adjustment of the seats. There’s an  abundance of drink holders in the car, with the rear of the center console housing two spaces, and the doors each having a place for a bottled beverage. I counted nine places to store a bottle of water, including in the front passenger area which has a slick push-to-reveal holder mounted in the dash.
• With a cavernous cargo area, I made short work of delivering an oversized antique bassinet to a relative. When up, the rear seats allow 34.3-cubic feet of storage; folded down, 67.3-cubic feet. That beats all of the competition, which is a pretty short list as the only other hybrid wagon in the segment is the Ford C-Max.

Check out this video of Roman and Nathan in the Prius v…