Recent content by drivesacar

Do you find it helps to put the seats relatively upright, or somewhat reclined compared to other cars that have less lumbar?

Yesterday the dealer let me take a 3 i-Touring for a long test drive. Love the car, but somehow could not get comfortable in the seats. Interestingly, the 2013's extra-firm seats had kept me from buying that model, so I'd held out for the 2014. The seats are definitely better in the 2014, but I...

Awesome, thanks for the pic!

Curious if anyone's got additional observations about MPG in less than ideal situations - esp. in stop/go traffic and running A/C? While I do more highway miles overall, I spend a lot of time in stop-and-go traffic (either in the city, or in freeway traffic jams.) And with SoCal sun, A/C's on...

Tons of the older ones here in central San Diego, so I've been surprised not to have seen any 14's yet. But came home tonight and found a red 14' hatch parked across the street. So the genie's finally out of the bottle here!

Is it possible to flatten out the front passenger's seat with the rear seats down to create a flattish surface - i.e. if you need to carry something that's long front to back?

Thanks for that info! Is that comparison in the print Car and Driver? I just found a video comparison online, but they didn't really discuss interior space. I measured the 2014 cargo cover an inch lower than the 2013 on separate occasions so was never sure how accurate that was. Think I'll...

Thanks for the comments. Interesting to hear about the Matrix comparison. Any thoughts on how it compares to Prius? That may be where I land if I don't end up with the 3, though I don't much care for Prius handling. Prius is known for poor rear visibility, but I've driven them enough to be used...

I'm not the type to gush over car aesthetics, but I have to admit this car looks good in pretty much every color. Somehow it even looks classy in white, and I usually think white makes cars look like rentals (I say this as the owner of a white Corolla :-).) Assuming I finally bite the bullet on...

Thanks everyone. Any other thoughts from owners on rear visibility? I took a somewhat longer test drive in both Sport and Touring hatch last week and realized the rear vis really has taken a hit since the 2013 - both from the high beltline on the rear side windows and the smaller seeming rear...

Nice! I was a little dismayed when I saw the insets from the wheel wells on the sides of the 2014's trunk (the 2013's are flat on the sides.) But it doesn't look like it's too terrible in practice.

Thanks! yeah, I remember getting some 8-ft theatrical pipe into a Zipcar Prius (actually maybe it was 8+ feet.) The guys at the theatrical supply place took a look at the Prius and thought it wouldn't fit, but we had measured beforehand and knew it would. Very glad to hear that 8-ft can make...

Thanks! That's trunk dimensions, right? Any thoughts on general real-world hauling situations? I guess with the length difference I won't be getting 8-foot pipes into a Mazda3, but I wonder if the shorter hatch height and sloped tailgate on the Prius might end up being limiting for bulkier things?

I'd be interested to hear this too (photo booth and any other reports!) I'm coming from a 2000 Corolla sedan, which has a roomy trunk but can't deal with big items/loads like a hatch. I've pretty much narrowed things down to a Mazda3 hatch or a Prius (the regular "Liftback" one). As I don't...

Thanks, I was wondering about that. Didn't seem like the car had a particularly large blind spot when I test drove it, but sometimes hard to notice these things on a short drive.