Wagon vs. Hatchback vs. Sedan

[abrokenladder]

This isn't a long-term thing. Shouldn't last longer than a year or two. Nonetheless, I think I will give more serious consideration to purchasing a minivan for the reasons you and others have stated. How do they compare to sedans/wagons/hatchbacks with regards to reliability, maintenance costs, repairs and life expectancy? I keep seeing Windstars all over craigslist but have read terrible things about their reliability (perhaps that's *why* I'm seeing them all over craigslist).

 

[wagoneer]

Good point comfort in the end will dictate your interest in longer term living, the reason I put a lot of money up front 7K. to get a bubble top and 18-20 MPG with a light foot.

 

[bvanevery]

I (personally) would stay away from hatchbacks for living in. The huge rear windows are notorious for turning the car into a solar oven!!!

Bull-oney. I've been living in an '84 Chevy Citation II V6 carbureted 4-door hatchback for 4 years now. The low tech piece of gear you're looking for to solve the problem is called a solar shade. I eventually modified mine with duct tape and flat hooks made from cut up aluminum cans. Sticky velcro didn't work because the direct solar blast in some areas would be so hot, the glue on the velcro would melt off. The aluminum hooks work fine.

Plus, I think that the hatch would eat up too much interior room,

Don't be a hoarder. The most extravagant thing I'm carrying is a small wooden easel and small canvases for it. I could probably downsize to a smaller easel, but I already own it and I don't like spending money on upgrades.

I will go so far as to swear by hatchbacks, because you don't have to do any mods to put the rear cargo area down flat to make it sleepable. I envy some of the station wagons I've seen for their space, but a longer car body is also more difficult to park in some urban areas. Beware the tradeoff.

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Another factor I'm considering now that you've brought up the rear windows is privacy. Sedans, without all those extra windows, would actually offer greater privacy, wouldn't they?

Privacy is irrelevant. You park in areas where people are unlikely to care about your presence even if they do notice you. That's the core strategy. Solar shades in the front and rear windows cut down on people noticing you as they walk or drive by, and those shades don't look odd to anybody.

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But what I don't understand is how this situation is any different on a sedan/coupe. Their rear windows are nearly horizontal as well.

There isn't any difference. People here clearly don't have enough experience dealing with sun beating down on their cars. You use solar shades. You roll all your windows down. The body of your car will still heat up when blasted by the sun. If you want to protect the ice in your cooler, or your dog, you live and die by finding shady places to park. In the summer you deliberately travel to climates that make that easier. First go to higher altitude. If that's not enough, if things are really cooking, go into a National Forest in some mountains and find a creek bed with lots of tree cover. Doesn't matter if it's a miserable 100*F closer to civilization, you won't notice a thing. Arid climates are also like magic for keeping the car cool. The sun will bake, but shaded areas are many tens of degrees cooler. Lack of humidity is funny like that.

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so don't kid yourself about the importance of having enough room to live in.

Here's a thought. Go tent camping in a 1 man tent in the woods for several months. Then get back to us about how "necessary" all this living space is. If you're claustrophobic, yeah, maybe for you personally it is "necessary" space. For the rest of us, how do you think people fight wars? How do you think anyone ultralights or thru-hikes the backcountry? A hatchback is like a gigantic motorized 2 man tent with armor. Sheer luxury compared to how some people deliberately live.

 

[akrvbob]

I am going to have to agree with you totally bvanevery. I've been camping with a guy here who lives off his bike and everything he own fits inside a standard GI duffle bag. There is another friend here living in her Toyota Prius. Another living in a Nissan 4-door Sedan (with trunk).

I'm inclined to think a wagon (like a Volvo) would be my first choice, a Hatchback would be my second choice and a Sedan my last choice.

But my friend AVERAGES 48 mpg in her Prius, and it is nothing but a giant rolling generator on wheels so she can run the heater or air conditioner all day or night for very little money. To me it's the ideal vehicle. BUT, you have to set aside a fund to replace the battery bank when it finally fails.
Bob

 

[Patrick46]

I just pinstriped a new Prius WAGON the other day.


Hmmmmmm...I'll bet that would be a dandy rig to use!

 

[Malibusurfer]

If I had to get a wagon ( besides a old 47-54 Chevy wagon or woody ), I would spend the extra couple bucks and look for a 99-03 Volkswagon Jetta wagon TDI diesel. You are smaller in stature and room would be fine. If you commute, the 45+mpg would be awesome!!! These cars need minimal servicing and run good!!!

 

[FrugalandFree]

I've enjoyed reading everyone's opinions and I look forward to more discussion on this topic.

Personally, I'm pretty focused in on the Toyota Prius. While I do not yet own when myself, I drive them whenever I get the chance and recently managed to average over 84mpg driving both highway and city. That is certainly not the average but its far from unheard of either! 60+ mpg is common and with average driving, etc pretty much anyone can get 45+mpg minimum! While certainly no van or even mini-van, there is plenty of room (7ft +/-) for most folks to lay flat comfortably when you fold down the read seats.

 

[Malibusurfer]

I have never heard of a Prius getting that kind of mileage, not even Toyota makes those claims... How????

 

[FrugalandFree]

45-55 mpg is a very common average for the Prius: http://www.fuelly.com/car/toyota/prius

Personally I average closer to 60+ mpg and that's with doing little more than being thoughtful about my driving - such as by avoiding fast starts & stops, coasting when appropriate, etc. Of course, habits like these can considerably increase your fuel efficiency in any vehicle but even with poor driving habits and a heavily loaded Prius, you should still be able to keep your average MPG far above most cars *best* MPG.

Now, some folks take things quite a bit further and 100+mpg is not unheard of:
http://expresslane.idrivesafely.com/top-10-hypermiling-tips/

 

[Suanne]

I solo travel in my '04 Prius, part-time. It's about to turn 200K miles and has been remarkably dependable. I bought it new in '03 as a commuter car until I retired in '08 and turned it in to my mobile-living car for long road trips. I keep it well maintained (mechanically) and have needed no major repairs. It's more than enough room for me as a part-time "VanDweller."

I've decided to keep my '04 Prius until it requires a major or costly repair. Since l began living out of my car, I've kept and built a repair fund in case of engine, transmission or battery problems. That fund has now grown to the point that I can get a replacement vehicle when needed. So, I've started seriously researching my options.

If my health, age, and living situation were guaranteed to remain static for the next 10 years (when I'll turn 70), I would definitely get another Prius liftback. But, change will happen and I may find myself with less physical flexibility required for moving around inside a car. Also, I may become a full-timer sometime within the next 10 years which means I'd want more storage space in order to have my dog and more stuff with me. As a full-timer, I'd likely put on less miles and, therefore, really high MPG & hybrid perks become less important, while solar power, more storage & ground clearance become more important.

So, my current thinking is that when my Prius dies (assuming no major life change happens first) I'll get a replacement vehicle that is smaller than a full-size van, but bigger than the Prius. I'm looking closely at minivans, crossovers and wagons.

I've set up a spreadsheet with the attributes I'm looking for in a replacement vehicle. I'll score and weight each attribute by personal importance. Some vehicles I won't even consider. For example, windows all around are important to me; so, I won't consider a windowless cargo van. Similarly, a fairly high MPG and the lowest-possible environmental impact are also important to me; so, I'm drawn toward hybrids. It's still a work in progress.

I'm finding this site helpful in my research -- http://db.theautochannel.com/db/usedcarbuyersguide/rank_car_specs.php

Suanne

 

[FrugalandFree]

Suanne,
It's great that you posted on this thread - your blog has played a *major* role in my interest/passion for the PriusRV idea! I'm 36 now and by the time I'm 40 I want to semi-retire, then start traveling as close to full time as is practical for me. As I want to actually travel far and often, hopefully I'll be doing so in a Prius!

 

[minimotos95]

i would recommend a wagon over a hatchback over a sedan, there's 2 different types of hatchbacks, ones that are short wagons and ones that are fastbacks.

with a heavy foot the prius can get below 35mpg(my old civic got 31mpg driven just as hard). my problem with the Prius is driving them, they have huge blind spots and are downright dangerous, the prius is the car that has cut me off the most times of any car. the center console seems like a lot of wasted space as is the huge dash caused by the heavily raked windshield. other than that i think they are great cars and i suspect if you strip out the plastic panels in the back you can get much more room.
how much worse fuel economy does the prius V wagon get? seems like a good compromise between a prius and a hybrid minivan

 

[Suanne]

...with a heavy foot the prius can get below 35mpg ...

In my 200K-miles of experience in my 2nd Gen Prius, it would be very hard to get an MPG as low as 35.

But, I got close to that on my last trip. I was going 85-90 MPH on I-10 in Texas, with a cross-wind, at maximum payload, in my '04 that desperately needed a tune up. I got 38 MPG.

Of the 4 factors -- speed, crosswind, payload, and maintenance -- I find that speed has the most negative effect on MPG in my Prius.

Suanne

[edited to add "crosswind" factor]

 

[Malibusurfer]

Research I have read says 47 miles and hour and up is where aerodynamics plays it's biggest role in fuel mileage. Under that, wind drag does not play a big role..

 

[Suanne]

... have you found a minivan or van so far that is hybrid?

I just started researching, but haven't found any hybrid minivans yet. And, actually, don't expect to find any here in the US right now. I keep hoping that Toyota will bring out the Sienna in an AWD hybrid. Maybe by the time my Prius dies, there'll be such a vehicle in the market.

Other hybrids (e.g., Toyota Prius V, Subaru Crosstrek, and Honda CR-V) seem larger than my current Prius, but not as large as a minivan. I'll be looking at them as I consider a replacement vehicle.

Suanne

 

[Suanne]

... I want to actually travel far and often ...

The Prius liftback sounds like a great mobile-living vehicle for you! I hope you share your adventures here or on a blog. It's fun to live vicariously when I'm not on the road myself.

Suanne

 

[Lucky mike]

HHHHhhmmmm.......I thought I was doing good at 12 miles mpg. we all must sacrafice somewhere