New Green Cars 2012: Toyota Prius v
Toyota has introduced a number of new green cars for 2012, from the Toyota Camry Hybrid to a pair of new Prii, and it’s one of the latter—the Toyota Prius v—that gets the nod here; something else it gets? EPA ratings of 44 mpg city/40 mpg highway/42 mpg combined.
But drivers already knew they could count on the Prius family for fuel-economy. What the Prius v brings to the table with its $26,500 MSRP is a healthy appetite for extra gear, with 34.3 cubic feet of cargo space behind the rear seats, 40.2 cubic feet with the second row pulled forward and a healthy 67.3 cubic feet with the 60/40 split rear seats folded. To put that into perspective, the Chevy Equinox only supplies up to 63.7 cubic feet of cargo volume.
The Prius v also can score green points with its available SofTex seat material. It’s rugged, easy to clean and comfortable, and manufacturing it creates about 99 percent fewer volatile organic compounds than traditional synthetic leathers.