Prius V as harpmobile?

[faye-fishman]

Hi- I know there are threads on purchasing Harpmobiles but wondered if anyone has a Prius V. I had a Matrix which worked well. I have a L&H 85 P so it’s a small pedal harp. I’m not looking for anything too big.
The Prius V is only a few yrs old so I don’t recall seeing it mentioned in past posts. Any other suggestions would be appreciated.

[Christian Frederick]

Check this out!

http://harpsetc.wordpress.com/harpmobiles/

[faye-fishman]

Christian-thanks so much. Very helpful. Do you know if they reviewed any other manufacturers other than Toyota? Again, many thanks.

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

I have a Prius V, which I use as my harpmobile. My concert grand Style 23 fits in the back, along with my harp cart, music stand and the bench folded and underneath the seat. I live in a mild climate, so I have no knowledge of how the hybrid system works in very cold, snowy environments. Once, I could not get the windshield to defrost while sitting in the car, so I had to wipe it with a cloth. Once I got the car going, and the engine came on, then the defrost worked perfectly.

[Christian Frederick]

Faye, that link was sent to me by my harpist friend Christine MacPhail. She recently bought a Prius V. I don’t know if harpsetc. have reviewed other brands, but if you find out please update us. I want to downsize from a minivan to a station wagon as I don’t move my harps on a regular basis. I’ve seen some medium size VW station wagons on the road, so I eventually want to check those out also. My mechanic told me to buy a pre-owned Mercedes which he says is the best car on the road, but I really want a car that gets better gas mileage…..

[faye-fishman]

Thanks so much. The prius V looks great but there is a new safety test from the Insurance Institute of HIghway Safety and it didn’t do well. http://www.iihs.org/iihs/ratings/vehicle/v/toyota/prius-v
It’s a new test so manufacturers are first dealing with it. Other than that test the Prius V does very well for safety.
So I’m still looking. WE have a Prius and it is ok so far and we’re NJ and it’s been cold and snowy. I’ll see if my harp fits the PRius. If I see anything else that looks good , I’ll post it. In a past harp Column post someone said the Subaru had an issue with loading. I may check one out this week.

[Affeltranger@att.net]

Have a Mercedes – for some years. Harp loads o.k. but watch out for service costs. Although it’s been reliable, the cost of service and general upkeep is at least twice that of any other car we’ve owned (Ford Explorer, Mazda 5, etc.)

[Christian Frederick]

Elizabeth…. I’m tall and sit with the driver’s seat all the way back. Does the concert grand load with the seat all the way back, or does it have to be moved forward?

[lisa-kikol]

I have a 2014 Ford Escape — fits my LH85.

[Elizabeth Volpé Bligh]

Hi, Christian! I am not that tall, so I have never tried putting the driver’s seat all the way back. It might work if the harp were moved to a more diagonal position, but then it would be a bit of a bother to load. I wonder if you might ask the Toyota company for the exact measurements of the back area with the driver’s seat all the way back, and see what they say.

[sherry-lenox]

Can’t say enough good things about the 2014 escape.

[patricia-petersen]

I have a 2011 Hyundai Elantra Touring … it’s dependable, affordable, and gets fairly good gas mileage (21/37). It fits my LH2000, amp, and drum stool. A trolley would be a squeeze, though. My Berger wheels fit easily in the rear foot well.

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