Things I Can't Say

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Can a Minivan Mom Become a Prius Mom?


prius review

Prius v. minivan

I embraced being a minivan mom. I was so excited to get one: it seemed like the easiest solution since we had three kids still in carseats. I’ve been a minivan mom for about three years now and didn’t really have any thoughts of ever driving something else, not for a long time.

But, as part of TWIN(Toyota Women’s Influencer Network), I was given a Toyota Prius C Three to drive for a week. And surprisingly, I actually really liked it! Some of the pros/cons are more about a smaller car than specific to the Prius, but I’ll still share my thoughts with you.

PROS

  • The gas mileage. I didn’t really think there would be that much of a difference when driving a hybrid if all I was doing was going from home to school #1 to school #2 to home to school #2 to home to school #1 to home to soccer, with a few stops like to the grocery store along the way. But I averaged about 49 MPG in the Prius. That made me want to sob, thinking about how much I put into the minivan.
  • Size. The size made it feel like I was driving a zippy car. While I’d driven in other Prius vehicles before, the Prius C feels different than the others. More sporty. And definitely more sporty than a minivan. And I’m forever complaining about the parking spaces at school and how tight they are. Wasn’t an issue with the Prius.
  • Entune. Very cool feature. Especially if you are like me and usually have a hard time keeping your hands off your phone while you are driving, even though you know better.

IT’S A DRAW

  • Trunk space. Plenty can fit in the Prius trunk, as you can see. But if we were to go on a long roadtrip, there’s no way we could fit luggage for all 5 of us in there. Though, in order for it all to fit in our minivan on a long trip, we have part of the third row folded down.
toyota prius

CONS

  • More for a small family. All three of my boys are still in booster seats. Getting them to fit was a real challenge and then they were on top of each other, which leads to fighting. We do better if there can be some space between our boys. I’ve joked that we need a vehicle with four rows so they each have their own. So, going to just a front and backseat was a challenge.
  • Doors. My boys are not used to having to watch for cars beside them when they open a door, so I kept warning them to be careful and cringing, thinking either the Prius or the car beside us or both would end up with a dent(for the record: no dents occurred). Also, they aren’t used to shutting the doors with anything other than a button. So they’d either use too much force and it would slam or not enough and the door wouldn’t be closed. Something they could learn, obviously, but it stuck out as an issue during the short time we had it.

MY VERDICT

If I were in my early 20s again and had no children, this would be MY car. I’d love it- and I’d even want it in the habanero color, too. It stands out- we got so many comments about the car every where we went. School drop-offs took longer because the teachers had to comment on it. I think the preschool director wanted to take it from me.

Or even if I had only one or two kids- I’d probably really want to swap out my minivan for the Prius C. Even Hubs liked driving it around, though he could have done with a different color.

But for our family of five, we’ll stick with our minivan. At least for a while. Though I will be crying at the gas pump.

What type of car do you drive?

Disclosure: I was selected for participation in the TWIN community through a program with Clever Girls Collective. I did not receive any compensation for writing this post, or payment in exchange for participating. The opinions expressed herein are mine, and do not reflect the views of Toyota.

 

 

Comments

  1. After driving a Suburban for about 4 years, I couldn’t imagine going to something so small!  LOL  Dh drives a Buick Regal, so I do drive that sometimes and I like it.  It’s nice to be in a smaller car now and again (especially for parking issues!), but I don’t know that I could go Prius small.

    • The Prius V isn’t quite as small, though I don’t like it as much as the C. I doubt I’ll ever really go too small- not til my kids are out of the house!

  3. I’m a minivan mom too…at least when I’m only driving around a few of the kids. For everyone, you know we have a 12-passenger van and you don’t even want to hear how bad the mileage is in that one!
    Sandy

  4. Very cool. I think about a different vehicle ever once in a while, but we are a family of five, too. Minivans are easier at this stage in life. But I am taking note of other vehicles. One day I may switch. 😉

    • The minivan is easier. But oh, that gas mileage was so nice! I think maybe Hubs should trade in his car for a Prius.

  5. Hi! Ive been reading your blog for a while now. You’re a good writer:)
    I am driving a 2000 Toyota Camry. I have a 10 yo son and it is serving its purpose well. Although of course I would love to have that prius in pink or green, maybe:)
    We are a toyota family and my husband, being a scientist but self proclaimed mechanic during weekends ( i have a feeling he bought my car just so he could tinker with it) love to repair toyotas because he said it was a very friendly car for the mechanics. it was built that way. Unlike the other brands.

  6. I drive a Dodge Journey. I love it. We have an optional third row, which is great because I have the option to say my car is too small!! JK. Anyway, it’s a cross between an SUV and minivan, gets bad gas mileage (the same as the minvan, which is prolly better than an SUV), but has everything else you could want.

    It would be awesome to get better mileage, but right now, I still need the space for my little family.

  7. I see those all around town and they’re great but there is no way that I could ever fit my 4 kids in there! And if they have all their school stuff and I have some groceries…. hmm… not happening!
    I would like something with better gas mileage though!

  9. I love the idea of a hybrid….but I just don’t think I can go back to a smaller car….once in a while I drive the hubs’ second restaurant car, which is a pretty cool Scion, and I just feel so closed in and low to the ground….I hate it…oh, and it doesn’t have satellite radio which apparently I can’t live without now

    • My minivan doesn’t have satellite radio but Hubs’s car does and the Prius did, too. I really want it! 

      Though actually, I think mine has the capability, we just haven’t gotten it.

  10. I do love our minivan, Shell, but I’m with you – the gas craziness needs to stop. Maybe we’ll scale down once the kids are out of carseats. Then again, my husband likes the space for hauling things, and I like feeling taller on the road, so maybe it will be harder to relinquish the minivan someday than I imagine!

  11. When we did our car trade in last winter. We ended up with another Sienna, but instead of our Rav-4 we got a Corrolla. I used to drive the mini-van all the time, but once we got the small sedan I started driving that all the time since I have to drive so much for work. I thought I was going to hate it, but I actually love it now.

    Mostly for the mileage and also for the parking space. I love being able to zip into ANY space.

    • I do love that about parking spaces. Especially at school- those are SO narrow and yet pretty much everyone drive a minivan or suv.

  12. When i get a car again, I’d love a prius. I just think it’s so stylish, sexy, and well i love that it’s so environmentally friendly. But in the meantime, it’s the two-foot express for me. Great review and how awesome that you got to try out this car!

  13. Our van seems to get similar mileage to our old car but it was also an old car.  Gas mileage has me thinking that car #2 (right now we share one) will be a hybrid smaller car for either me to drive when we just have two kids or Chris to drive to work.

  14. I drive a {tiny to me} French car that is about the same size as the Prius. What amazed me was the size of the trunk compared to the size of the vehicle. We only have two boys now so it’s the perfect size – I don’t know what I would do if we ever had a third.