I'm looking at the 2015 and wondering if the power seat [with it's electronics and whatnot below the seat] take away from the overall headroom. thanks
There's clearance beneath the seat regardless of whether an electric driver's seat is installed or not, so headroom won't change. (The JBL amplifier sits under the passenger seat if equipped, for example)
The seat cushion appears to be in the fully raised position. You can see a faint crease in the cushion parallel to the upper edge of the side trim panel that was made with the cushion lowered. The height adjustment moves the cushion up and down, but the hard plastic trim does not move.
Also keep in mind you are looking at the side bolster, not the bottom centre of the seat bottom. The problem with this topic is you are asking people who have -a- Prius (for the most part). We cannot tell you the difference from one to another. YOU have to go to a dealer and actually look at both to really tell, though it's possible at least one member has already done that for you.
I don't know about the standard non-powered cloth seats, but the distance from the back of the seat cushion to the roof is the same for the driver's powered seat and the passenger's non-powered seat on my 2014 Four. When you press the front up/down control button, the front of the seat cushion is raised/lowered, the base does not move. However, when you press the rear up/down control button, the entire seat is raised/lowered, not just the seat cushion. It also gets raised "toward" the steering wheel, so you also have to adjust the forward/back setting. Raising the entire seat will take away some headroom, but at 6'1", I still have enough headroom with both controls in the fully raised position, though I never drove a large bump with the seat raised. Sometimes I raise the seat to relief pressure on my arm when I have the window open and my arm on the sill. The only time headroom might be a problem is when you also opt for the solar sunroof which already reduces headroom. Edit: I doubt they changed this for 2015, but like David said, the only way to know for sure if there is enough headroom for you is to go to a dealer and see for yourself.
Since he lives in the foothills, I assume it's a bit of a drive to the nearest dealer, so he's asking here to see if the trip will be worthwhile. Why waste time/gas if someone here can give him the information he's seeking?
Ha, yes, the nearest dealer is quite a distance. My daughter got hit in our other car [not the prius, but our 03 Matrix, good and faithful car 350,000 miles, now totaled {my daughter is OK}] So.... we need to get a new car, I'm planing giving my daughter our 11 prius, and getting a new one. and like the last 4 cars, i'm buying long distance via email, phone, and possibly a broker. so... i'm deciding if it is worth it for the package five and specifically if the power seats will take away precius headroom I'm 6'4 and our current prius is 'just' right with headroom not much to spare sorry for the rambling THANK YOU for the info!!
If it helps Dave, I measured from the back of the seat cushion (where it meets the seatback) straight up to the roof and it was ~37". Obviously, you'll have a little more room actually sitting in the seat because the seatback will probably be at some angle. If the 2011 measures the same and you're comfortable, you should be okay, though no guarantees. hope this helps
Thank you very much DoubleDAZ! i appreciate your going to the effort to measure your seat! i checked, and mine shows 39, but i'm sure that's from 4 years and 77k of seat compression the 'official' measurement for my year was 38.3 so it's looking pretty good, if close. I'm going to send you a PM about your audio experience, as that is off topic thanks dave
The spec for the 2014 is 38.6 and I get that if I measure up from the back of the seat cushion following the seatback set at a "normal" angle to the roof, the way a person would usually sit. As far as the audio, I'll offer what I can.
Power seat when fully lowered offers the same headroom as manual seat fully lowered. You lose headroom if you get solar / moonroof. At 6'4", your bigger challenge should be the shorty seat bottom cushion. But if you tense your legs to make up for lack of leg support, you'll be alright. Obviously the seat bottom is made short enough 4'11" drivers too, but that just means tall drivers are going to eat s#*t while driving.
Well, i can say that, while quite different in several ways, the head room is adequate! I just bought a 2015 prius package five. Sight unseen. I did sit in a four a couple of days ago, and decided the headroom was good. thank you to those that helped out Especially for DoubleDAZ for going out, and actually measuring his seat!