As you may have recently read, my wife and I recently took our two young children on a 7 hour road trip from Spring Hill, TN to Destin, FL and back in a 2017 Toyota Prius Three. While I would definitely consider the Prius to be a compact vehicle, never once was space an issue for our family.

There even were times when my wife, who is 5’ 6” and 119 pounds, sat in the back seat between our 6 and a half year-old son in his front-facing booster seat and our 1 year-old daughter in her rear-facing car seat, as my wife needed to play with our daughter after she woke up from long naps.

While obviously, squeezing in between two kids’ seats wasn’t ideal or comfortable, it was possible. She made it work.

Out of curiosity, I tried sitting back there. I did it but it was quite a struggle. I’m 5’ 9” and 162 pounds, so I would say that a person any larger than me wouldn’t be able to accomplish this task.

Another thing that a 2017 Prius Three driver might need to know is how the gear shifter works. It’s different than what you’re likely used to, but once you get used to it, it’s almost simpler and more fun.

By default, the shifter is over to the right side. You have to slide it to the left, which places the car in neutral. From there, simply shift down to reverse or up to put the car in drive.

To place the vehicle in park, slide the shifter back to the right side, then simply press the “park” button which is right next to the shifter.

Hopefully my family’s recent road trip and vacation has been able to provide you today with useful information on the Toyota Prius Three.