I'm thinking of getting a Prius v wagon to make my bicycling life easier. I can load two bikes with luggage and gear into my Gen 2, with the seats down and the bikes lying flat on top of each other. I'm wondering if the cargo area of the v wagon is tall enough to take our bikes supported in a vertical position? I could see carrying a lot more luggage if I could do that. Does anybody know how tall the cargo space is with the rear seats folded? I could not find that in the Prius v eBrochure that I downloaded from the Toyota site.
Why do your bikes need to be transported vertically? Do they get car-sick, or what? Mine travel wheels-off, grocery bags wrapped around the chain-rings, derailleurs and other messy-bits (to save the upholstery!), and they've never thrown up! (…yet! ) -Wil
If you figure 28" you'll come out ahead. The opening for the endgate is just under 29". You'll get 30" inside over the rear deck.
If you travel with the bikes a lot, I'd have to suggest a bike rack, probably the trailer hitch variety. Your luggage capacity will be immense, even without lowering the rear seats. I've been contemplating this with my v as well. It's also far easier to load and unload the bikes when you need to. The only downside I've worried about is theft, not to mention the initial cost of the hitch install and the rack itself.
I had the same problem with my wife's wheelchair. In the 2008 Gen II the chair had to lay flat, taking up 3/4 of the cargo area. The handles fold down and it will stand up in the v Two. Now I'm working on securing it so it doesn't fall over. Lots of room now. All that said, while waiting for an oil change, I took the chair into the showroom and told the salesperson I had to try it out. They were happy to oblige. I had to tilt it back a bit and it rolls right in. Came home from the oil change with a new Prius. Total service bill was almost $200. Sales was happy to pay that bill. Good luck, Bob
I have not been able to fit either my road bike(Medium Cannondale CAAD 10) or my mountain bike(Medium Rocky Mountain Slayer) in the cargo area vertically, but I was surprisingly able to fit my Road bike with the front wheel removed between the front and rear passenger seats. I put some moving blankets on the rear seat to protect it from the pedals and drive train grease and it "just" fit end to end against the doors. Depending how long your bike is, placing it on the floor in the rear seat area might work for you, the v having a fairly wide and long interior.
