Prius or Prius V

I'd go with the Prius V. I have a  Prius and I love it for my commute. It literally  pays for itself in the gas I save every month BUT I do sometimes wish it had more space, especially when we take longer trips. It can comfortably fit 2 car seats or 1 car seat and a backseat passenger. 3 people in back is pretty tight but it can be done if necessary. The trunk is good size considering the overall size of the car. I often have a jogging stroller and a tricycle or scooter back there and I still have room for groceries. Gas mileage is great, it parks easily anywhere, easy to maintain and it's cheaper than the V. However, I now also have a large dog, my son has a new bigger bike and I'm kinda wishing I had that V. If you're thinking of having more than 1 child eventually then I'd definitely get the V. 

I had an older model Prius and upgraded to a 2015 Prius plug-in. You plug it in every day and it holds only a 12 mile charge. After the charge is used up, it switches into regular hybrid mode. Currently the regular hybrid car does not give you the HOV sticker to cross the Bay Bridge, but when we bought the plug-in, we qualified for the sticker.  (Check before you buy to see if the plug-in still qualifies.) That sticker has saved us so many hours of commute time on the rare occasions that we need to cross the bridge during rush hour. I mainly drive the car to tool around town running errands so the 12 mile charge is enough for me to go out, get groceries, and come back without once using gas. I also like that unlike an all-electric car, I don't have to worry about running out of batteries as my car also uses gas. I have loved every Prius I have owned, so you can't go wrong there.

Here's the bad: The back seat really is quite small. Car seats nowadays are so huge, so we can only fit the car seat on a passenger side seat, even though they say the middle is safer, and still fit an adult in the back. If you put a car seat in the middle, nobody else can sit on the sides, it is too tight. We have comfortably fit two car seats in the back, but no adult can squeeze in between them. The trunk is large enough for car trips since we only have one child. We contemplated getting a great big car when we first started having kids, but opted for a small one instead. It worked out for us because unfortunately we were only able to have one (awesome) child, so we all fit really well.

When it came time to shop for a second car, we looked at the Prius V. It did not look that much bigger than our Prius, except the trunk was a little longer. AND the trunk did not have an auto-close feature, which most other SUV/Minivan/Stationwagons have nowadays. And for the larger size, the Prius V did not have any additional useful features like 4 wheel drive, etc. It felt like a budget stationwagon and it wasn't really that economical for fuel. We eventually chose a Subaru Outback, which has 4 wheel drive, a wide back seat, a huge trunk, AND that useful auto close feature on the hatch. It uses a lot of gas, which is it's ONLY downside. It really is a great car.

I love love love our Prius V! I feel like it’s almost a minivan but without the bulk and gas costs. It’s surprisingly roomy overhead, with a great amount of legroom in the back, and I love that the back seats recline and can also be adjusted like you could in a minivan. Our kid is 6 and we didn’t have the V when she was a baby, but I can imagine that the amount of room in the back would be useful for infant car seats and lots of baby gear. The “trunk” area isn’t fantastically roomy, but it is bigger than a Prius trunk, and the flexibility of moving the back seat is what has been the most helpful for us. To me the visibility through the back window is so much better than a Prius. We bought our V 1-year used but in great condition and with low mileage, so we saved a lot there. The gas savings may not be as good as a Prius, but it’s still much better than what we were getting with a full-size regular car.

I would go for the Prius V. I have a Prius and my parents have a Prius V. I often borrow my parents’ car when I need to move something larger or go on long trips. I love my Prius but with two kids now, I do wish I had more space. With my Prius and two car seats, a third person can no longer sit in the middle seat. In the Prius V, a person can still use the middle seat with two car seats. One other plus of the Prius V is that the floor in the back is not carpeted so it is so much easier to clean when you have spills. The back seats also recline which was nice for long trips (pre-car seat).

I can just fit my side-by-side double stroller into the trunk of my Prius so it can fit large items but I do have to think strategically if I plan to bring several large items like an ice chest in addition to a stroller and several suitcases. (Hence borrowing the Prius V for long trips.) With one kid, a regular Prius was great. If you plan on more kids, I would recommend the Prius V.

Prius V! We've had one since 2014 and it's almost perfect for us. What sealed the deal was when it was totaled in October. My husband was driving (alone, fortunately) and was t-boned. The entire driver's side caved in (even crumpled the roof) and the rear axle was bent. The thing is, he didn't even know he'd been in a serious accident until he got out and looked. The interior of the car--not just the airbags, but the console and the seats, shifted to accommodate the impact and he wasn't even bruised--no effects on his body at all. With the insurance money, we went out and got the exact same car again. Feeling very safe. 

Also, we find it very roomy. Much more spacious, especially in the cargo area, than any other wagon or compact suv that we looked at. Our reference points were an early 2000s Subaru Forester, an early 2000s Prius, and an old Toyota Corolla -- compared to those, the Prius V is a mansion. Has twice as much space as the rental Jeep Renegade we had while replacing the Prius last fall. Plenty of room in the back for our 60-lb dog to ride comfortably alongside all our luggage on roadtrips. And with the seats down, you can buy almost anything at IKEA. :)

...And I say "almost perfect" because push button ignition is ridiculous and I don't like the touchscreen controls in our 2015--don't work well, are not intuitive. Don't like the gear selector--it's in a weird location and order of gears is counterintuitive.