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I use my older Jeep Grand Cherokee for camping where I drive a short dirt road to our campsite, but it's stuffed full of stuff and my buddy drives separately. (He works different hours when we go) it would be a tough stretch for both of us wouldn't fit in with everything we bring along unless I got a trailer hitch bike carrier. I prefer to use my pickup truck to carry both of us and chainsaw/gas on the outside bed for firewood and bikes beer coolers, and everything else in the extended cab truck part.
Prius works surprisingly well for what I need aside from the inability to get places where there's not paved roads. With a couple cheap plastic storage boxes though and you've got a flat 6'4" sleeping area which is all I really need. It's just a mobile hotel for the night I get to a trailhead so I don't have to have a base campsite. I do most of my camping in Desolation Wilderness, so it's not like there's not much that resembles a road (including Jeep trails) anyway.
This past summer we used our Prius for camping too, but just to carry the gear to a Forest Service campground. I was surprised at how much we got into it: 12x12 Alaskan tent, 2 -30F sleeping bags, queen sized air mattress, 2 large coolers, 3 larges storage bins with food, cooking gear and clothes, stove, lantern, 2 chairs, misc. stuff like axe, log splitter, fishing gear, etc. and a dog (on my wife's lap).
But I wouldn't recommend it for a camping vehicle. Until this past summer I've had various 4x4 pickups for the past few decades, and that's what I like. I'd use it for getting firewood from the forest and just banging along on 4x4 trails looking for photo ops and fishing sites. Can't do that in the Prius!
OP, you need to give some specifics. Where and how do you camp? How many passengers? How far do you travel and how long do you stay? What do you do when you get there? We don't even know if you want to sleep in it or haul a tent.
The new Honda HR-V has a nice configuration for its price. The bottom seat cushion lowers itself toward the floor when the rear seat is folded flat, resulting in a surprisingly tall and roomy cargo area for a small SUV/CUV. If you want to sleep inside, you'll probably want to slide the front seats as far forward as they can go for some extra length.
I like the idea that I can sleep in the car if the weather turns bad / cold etc. Or stealth camping if you find yourself on a road trip with no campgrounds nearby.
It's nice if you can sit up in the car as well.
The Mazda CX-5 works well for this, but then I am only 5'7". Outlander might work as well, but a bit of a low roof.
I have slept in a HHR (seats fold flat) and a PT cruiser (one rear seat removed) that were rentals.
Older tributes, ford escapes, Honda cr-v s were set up so you could easily remove the rear seat and have a wide low sleeping spot.
Of course a truck with a topper can work but seems less secure.
Yes, I spent a lot of time at the car shows crawling in the back of the vehicles. But since I usually camp in nice weather then a tent it is.
Those slide - in truck campers do seem nice.
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