Hybrid Babies

The vast majority of what we write about on HybridBlog is about the “under the hood” aspects of hybrid technology, and how hybrids can contribute to a cleaner, more secure future for our kids.  But, as we talk about our kids future, there are also some plain, practical issues with hybrids and kids.  My six-month old daughter has spent almost all of her time in the car riding in the back seat of a Toyota Prius- that is how she got home from the hospital.  And, most of her car rides since (even those late night, sleep-inducers in the early weeks) have occurred in the same place.  Overall, she seems pretty happy about it.  While the vehicle that we ride around in seems a rather mundane detail of parenthood, I realized that--in a Prius--it is actually pretty revolutionary.  My daughter will probably grow up thinking of hybrids as “normal”.  In fact, it is likely that the first car that she ever drives will be a hybrid.  That actually seems like a big deal to me.

So, while I was pondering our choice for the next carseat for our rapidly-growing little girl, I was a little dismayed because I thought the Prius would be too small to accommodate the car seat that I wanted (a Britax Marathon).  I wanted the Marathon because it is safe and can accommodate your child up to 65 pounds, enabling them to be in a very safe and comfortable seat for as long as possible.  But, it is huge- it’s like having a laz-e-boy in the back seat!  I considered giving up and letting my husband drive the Prius and putting the car seat in our other car (a Volvo station wagon) so that there would be enough room.

But, the Prius surprised me.  The Marathon ended up fitting in the middle of the back seat beautifully.  Even when my husband has the driver’s seat all the way back, there is still plenty of room for the car seat.  There is even room for one of us to sit in the back with our daughter and keep her company on longer rides.  The only family member who is not too happy about it is our dog- but she does not really understand why she can’t just ride in (or at least step in) the car seat.

So far, the Prius has proven to be a great family vehicle.  In addition to the mammoth car seat, there is plenty of room for the stroller and mounds of other supplies that are required when one travels with a baby.  As we look for ways to improve the HybridCenter, one of the possibilities we are considering is a tweak to our buyer’s guide that would include a customizable “family features” guide that would allow you to put in the size of your family and the contents you normally put in your car for a trip, letting you know whether it would all fit in a particular model, and how much room might be left over.  This would allow you to better gage what kind of hybrid works best for your particular situation.  We think it would also help people understand what I just learned with my little one and my Prius--you’d often be surprised at how large the “smaller” vehicles really are.   As always, we’d like to hear your take about whether a feature like this would be helpful to you and your friends, or any other suggestions to make our HybridCenter the best it can be.

Posted by: LWB

Comments

[Dave Roberts]

Funny, LWB -- I also have a small child and a Britax Marathon.

But my story has a twist: I have another child arriving next month.

So while one Marathon may well fit in a Prius, two won't -- nor will they fit in my Suburu Forester.

So we need a bigger car. I fear (horrors!) that we need a minivan.

But is there a hybrid minivan on the market? No. And I must say I find that baffling. It seems like the soccer-mom/dad demographic is an ideal market for hybrids.

Got any tips or advice for me? Is there a hybrid out there big enough to fit my family that I don't know about?

[ScottN]

Hi Dave, ScottN here. I also have a Prius, and I have a 4 year old and a 10-month-old. My older boy, Gus, is in a booster seat, and the younger one is in a Britax Roundabout. We keep the center open and put the boys on the sides. The Britax will work better then I can turn it around front-facing, but they both fit well enough.

So, might I suggest getting the smaller Roundabout for your 2nd kid--just as safe and by the time he grows out of it, you can switch your first one to a standard booster seat and put the other in the Marathon for the next 20 lbs. That solution should allow you to fit both seats in the Prius, I'd think (and save you a couple of bucks--those Marathons are pricey!). We're getting by fine using mostly our Prius with the two kids, only using our Saturn station wagon when we need a lot more cargo room. Just a thought from a fellow father of 2.

If you're bound and determined to go bigger, though, there are more hybrid SUVs coming on the market, like the Mercury Mariner. Toyota introduced it's Estima Minivan onto the Japanes market back in 2001 (it was the 2nd after the Prius). Rumor has it they plan to introduce their larger version, the Sienna, to the US in hybrid form in 2007.

If you can wait that long, check out the greencars guide on minivans here to get a look at the greenest options currently out there: http://www.greenercars.com/byclass3.html#VNS

[MGR]

Dave,

If you really must get a minivan, you should probably look into the Honda Odyssey which has VCM (variable cylinder management), which shuts off 3 cylinders of the V6 engine in some conditions.

It's not quite a hybrid, but it has leading fuel economy among minivans, AFAIK.

The Toyota Sienna should be hybridized in the next couple of years, though.

[Don]

Some, but not all, versions of the Odyssey are equipped with cylinder deactivation. Those that have it are class leaders in fuel economy, those that don't are closer to average.

[Ellen]

I've been looking at the Prius and reading many, many articles on hybrids and plug-ins. Does anyone know who makes the Prius battery (NiMH)? And, who the makes the battery management system for Prius?

[Marcy Palino]

I was looking to see if my Marathon would fit in the Prius and am glad to see that it will work well.

I have to say, I'm constantly surprised (pleasantly!) at how much the Prius can hold. We put ours on the Auto Train a few months ago to take our five month old daughter to Orlando with us. It accomodated the car seat, a huge stroller, the pack n play, as well as a weeks worth of stuff for the three of us! Hooray!

[Bev M.]

Just curious... I'm considering a Prius, with two children under the age of 4, so I have to be sure it can fit *our* car seats, which are a bit smaller than the Britax. Would the Prius have any problem with a smaller car seat (we have the Eddie Bauer)?

[Julie Leimbach]

We have a Prius and a newborn on the way so all this information about what family stuff the Prius can fit is just great. Please keep including it.
Thanks

[Sarah McB]

Thank you so much for writing this. My husband and I are pregnant with our first child and drive a Prius. I have extensivly been researching car seats (settling on Britax, they just look so cool...) and hoping for dear life that it fits into the car. Yours was the first article that was well written, to the point, and answered my questions. Thanks again!