New Toyota Prius vs Volkswagen Golf: practicality

Space and practicality

Front space, rear space, seating flexibility, boot

Up front, there’s plenty of head and leg room for six-footers in both cars, but the Toyota Prius feels more confined than the Volkswagen Golf. This is partly because the top of the long, sloping windscreen comes relatively close to front occupants’ heads, while the ceiling curves down quite low at the sides; some people will have to duck to get in or out of the Prius. This isn’t an issue in the Golf.

Although there’s ultimately more room to stretch out your legs in the back of the Prius, the Golf is far from cramped in this respect, and both cars provide plenty of foot space under the front seats, so leg movement doesn’t feel restricted.

What really separates our contenders in the back is the amount of head room available. There’s loads of clearance above a 6ft-tall passenger in the Golf, but anyone of even average height will find their head against the roof lining in the Prius.

This shortage of head room means a middle rear seat occupant will have to duck to find enough space in the Prius. It has a smaller floor hump that’s easier for a middle rear passenger to straddle and climb over, but the slightly broader Golf is still a better option for three sitting side by side.

The Prius is the only one to come with an electric tailgate for added convenience, and it has a much larger boot opening than the Golf’s. Whether you have the rear seatbacks up or down, the Prius has the longer load area, but because it’s also shallower, it can only match the Golf in accommodating five carry-on suitcases under its load cover. There’s a little more space left over in the Prius to fit a rucksack or the bag of charging cables – and that might come in handy, because neither contender has any underfloor storage space for stashing such things.

Nor does either car have a height-adjustable boot floor. Helpfully, the floor sits flush with the bottom edge of the boot opening and the rear seatbacks (which split in a 60/40 configuration) when they’re folded down in both cars. The Golf has the added flexibility of being fitted with a ski hatch, so you can thread longer items through from the boot between two occupants in the outer rear seats.

Boot space

Toyota Prius

Boot capacity 284 litres Suitcases 5

Volkswagen Golf

Boot capacity 273 litres Suitcases 5

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