I am planning a self-driving trip to Japan and need to rent a 7-seater because there are 6 of us. I am considering to rent 7-seater Prius V (they call it Prius Alpha in Japan) because it is not too big but seems to be just enough for us. I watched some videos and know that I can put just one seat down in the third row, so that 6 of us can all sit and leave larger room for our luggages. The question is, do you think the room is enough to put in 3 luggages when putting only one seat down? Say all 3 of them are 28". Thanks in advance.
Luggage should not be impossible. There are 200 liters of cargo area with both seats in use, with one down I bet you have 300 liters. There is also still under floor storage.
Looks good. It looks like when one backseat is down, there is enough room to stack stuff up. Thanks for posting the photos!
Is it possible to reserve a specific vehicle model at a rental company in Japan? My wife and I have rented many vehicles for business and pleasure trips both in the U.S. and Europe and have never been able to reserve a specific vehicle model - only a vehicle category. We usually use Hertz for renting outside the U.S. and I see that Hertz only allows reserving a vehicle category in Japan - not a specific model. The Prius v/Alpha seems small for six people and their luggage even if some are children. I suggest that you reserve something in the "minivan" category which with Hertz in Japan will get you a vehicle about the size of a Toyota Noah which is larger than a Prius Alpha but smaller than an Alphard.
That's about the amount of space in my 3 row Mitsubishi Outlander. The third row is the same folding mechanism as well. It's sad that I had to go to such a large footprint vehicle with high 20's mpg when the Alpha satisfies my people and cargo carrying requirements with much superior fuel economy.
I don't remember seeing any reviews of the 7-passenger Prius+ (Alpha) from the U.K. or European automotive press that I would call positive. Here is one from the U.K. magazine "What Car?" that is kinder than others I've seen: Heck, you can't even use the third row seats while child seats are used in the 2nd row! Buy your Outlanders while you can because Mitsubishi has been on the edge of withdrawing from the U.S. market like Suzuki did.
Yes. Both Toyota-rentacar and Nissan-rentacar can let you choose a very specific model (though not which year). Nissan-rentacar can even let you rent a Leaf, though EV is not yet quite ready for travelers because charging points are not so popular yet. The fact that I am considering Prius Alpha is that it is not too big. I have never driven a minivan, so drive it for the first time in a different country is a bit scary. We are Asians and are shorter and smaller than most western people, and there are two kids and two girls in our group. So I am not too much worry about the space, considering it is just a few days trip, not a long-term purchase.
