Item: Toyota Prius
Rating: 4
Author: What Car? Team

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Toyota Prius

Toyota Prius Plug-in

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Introduction

Performance & drive

Interior

Passenger & boot space

Costs & verdict

The Toyota Prius makes the most sense when considered as a company car. Low CO2 emissions mean that it undercuts the benefit-in-kind <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/check-your-company-car-tax-rate/n1255">(BIK)</a> tax costs of most diesel rivals, and by some margin, while low leasing costs will also appeal to fleet providers.

If you’re a private buyer, there are serious incentives, too. Granted, the Prius costs more to buy than a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/golf/hatchback/review/n17371">Volkswagen Golf</a>, but has excellent resale values, low servicing costs and very good average fuel economy – in our real-world <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/true-mpg-most-and-least-efficient-cars-revealed/n14356">True MPG tests</a> it managed an admirable 50.5mpg, and, judging by official figures, adding four-wheel drive will make little noticeable difference to running costs. All of the above make the Prius a sensible long-term private buy, and it beats the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/hyundai/ioniq/hatchback/review/n17205">Hyundai Ioniq</a> on price and standard equipment.

We’d recommend sticking with the cheapest Active trim for the best value. This comes with dual-zone climate control, the aforementioned 7.0in touchscreen with rear-view camera, DAB radio and Bluetooth all thrown in, along with safety functions including adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/what-is-aeb-and-how-does-it-work/n3283">(AEB)</a>, road sign recognition, lane departure alert and automatic high-beam on the headlights.

With no smartphone mirroring offered to enable you to use apps such as Waze and Google Maps, the only way to have built-in sat-nav in your Prius is to go for Business Edition Plus trim or above. The Business Edition Plus is also the only model you can have with four-wheel drive. The pricier trims add various comfort and style features, such as heated seats and bigger alloy wheels, as well as a wireless phone-charging mat.

<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/toyota">Toyota</a> came joint fifth out of 30 brands in the 2021 <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/2021-what-car-reliability-survey-brands/n23418">What Car? Reliability Survey</a>. Every Prius is backed by a five-year, 100,000-mile warranty.

For all the latest reviews, advice and new car deals, sign up to the What Car? newsletter <a href="https://pages.haymarket.com/whatcar/wcar-form.html">here</a>

The Toyota Prius’s 1.8-litre petrol engine does without a turbocharger and produces a fairly modest 120bhp. Although the electric motor’s assistance does provide a performance boost, all versions of the Prius take around 11sec to get from 0-62mph. In other words, it’s punchy enough to maintain motorway speeds with ease, but needs to be worked hard to accelerate to 70mph in short order.

The Prius has never been about high-performance, though; its focus is on low emissions and &nbsp;impressive fuel economy. To deliver on these aims, when the hybrid battery is sufficiently charged, the Prius can drive at up to 36mph on electric power alone. Doing this is as quiet and smooth as you’d imagine, although performance is pedestrian, even around town.

You need to drive ever so gently to prevent the petrol engine from kicking in, but it’s far from obtrusive when it does. It’s quiet at a steady motorway speed, too, and emits nothing more than a faint drone when you ask for a little gentle acceleration. Get more demanding and floor the accelerator pedal, though, and the Prius’s <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/which-type-of-automatic-gearbox-should-i-buy/n17022">CVT automatic gearbox</a> sends the engine revs shooting up, with considerable engine boom as a result. If you find this behaviour annoying you might prefer the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/hyundai/ioniq/hatchback/review/n17205">Hyundai Ioniq</a>, which has a more conventional automatic gearbox.&nbsp;

There’s no way you’d call the Prius fun on a twisting stretch of country road, but its steering is accurate and responsive, even if it doesn’t give you much feedback. The actual grip levels are pretty high, but there’s a fair bit of body lean to put you off hustling it along. A four-wheel drive AWD-i version is also available, but, with just a 7bhp electric motor powering the rear wheels, it doesn’t really affect the handling. Instead, the motor is only there to help the car pull away from a standstill and maintain traction, assisting to around 43mph.

Ride comfort is reasonably good in town, at least on the 15in wheels that are standard on most models&nbsp; – although the suspension can get a little noisy over lumps and bumps. The ride is relaxed at motorway speeds, but, while the Prius takes bumps in its stride, it does fidget over surface imperfections.

Things are noticeably lumpier on Excel models, due to their larger 17in wheels, so we’d recommend avoiding this trim level. Meanwhile, the brakes are suitably powerful, but its regenerative braking system gives them a grabby action and you can end up decelerating much more sharply than you intended. Other hybrids, such as the Ioniq, have less obtrusive systems and are easier to drive smoothly.

Fuel 

Gearbox

0-62 MPH

http://example.com

1.8 VVTi

18-vvti

1.8 PHEV

18-phev

If you imagine a venn diagram with the wishes of Uber cab drivers on one side and family car buyers on the other, the areas of overlap will probably be ride comfort, interior space and low running costs. However, while Uber drivers are happy to pick the Toyota Prius as their champion, SUVs are the current family car of choice for many. So, why is that?

Now in its fourth generation, the Prius combines distinctive looks inside and out with plenty of practicality. It also offers far lower running costs than the vast majority of SUVs, and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/toyota">Toyota</a> even gives you&nbsp;the option of four-wheel drive to satisfy those who require extra peace of mind in slippery driving conditions.

Every Prius has a 1.8-litre petrol engine that’s augmented by electric motors and a battery pack. On the regular model, the battery is charged by surplus power from the engine, and when you slow down, by using something called regenerative braking. There’s also the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/toyota/prius/hatchback/review/n17252">Toyota Prius Plug-in</a>&nbsp;version that can be charged from the mains to give an electric-only range of 34 miles, according to official figures.

Of course the Toyota&nbsp;Prius has a fair list of rivals to contend with. There are other hybrids, such as the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/hyundai/ioniq/hatchback/review/n17205">Hyundai Ioniq</a> and <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/kia/niro/estate/review/n17190">Kia Niro</a>, plus the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/toyota/corolla/hatchback/review/n18901">Toyota&nbsp;Corolla Hybrid</a>. We also suspect you might be interested in other family-sized cars such as the much cheaper <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/skoda/scala/hatchback/review/n19190">Skoda Scala</a>, the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/golf/hatchback/review/n17371">Volkswagen Golf</a> and even the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/bmw/1-series/hatchback/review/n26">BMW 1 Series</a>.

So, should you shun the SUV and hop over a hatchback to land yourself in a Prius? We’ll tell you over the next few pages. And, whichever car you choose, our free&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/new-car-deals/category/hybrid">What Car? New Car Buying pages</a>&nbsp;will take the pain out of buying it, and has some good <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/make/toyota/prius/hatchback/deals">Toyota Prius Deals</a>.

The Toyota Prius is a striking car from the outside, and the same is true when you step aboard. Sections of glossy piano black trim lift the interior ambience, but, while you’ll find a few areas with pleasingly squishy plastic surfaces, there’s plenty of harder, less appealing stuff, too. The drive selector is a stubby lever protruding from the centre console, and is very easy to operate once you're used to it, while other buttons and switches feel solid and have a precise action

As with previous generations of Prius, the dashboard layout is somewhat unconventional; traditional dials are replaced by a pair of 4.2in colour screens that sit atop the dash, slightly to the left of the driver's sight line. The right-hand screen covers basics such as speed and fuel level, while the left shows secondary data that enables highly detailed economy analysis, should you want it. All but the entry level Active trim level also has a head-up display that projects information onto the windscreen directly ahead of the driver.

A larger, central 7.0in touchscreen, flanked by touch-sensitive shortcut buttons, operates the infotainment system. The touchscreen is generally responsive and you can use pinch and swipe gestures like you can on your smartphone. It hesitates at times, though, and the graphics on models equipped with sat-nav aren't as slick as those in the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/golf/hatchback/review/n17371">Volkswagen Golf</a> or <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/hyundai/ioniq/hatchback/review/n17205">Hyundai Ioniq</a>, for example. There's no Android Auto or Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring, either.

It's easy to find a comfortable position in the driver's seat, thanks to there being lots of adjustment, including for lumbar support, and a well positioned steering wheel and pedals. However, the steering wheel could use a little more range in terms of both vertical and horizontal adjustment. You get a great view of the road ahead, but the split rear windscreen seriously compromises the rearward view.

Hatchback

Toyota is a company undergoing a quiet revolution, as it works hard to replace its sensible but somewhat bland reputation with one for being a bit more daring, in areas such as the styling of its cars and its enthusiastic leadership of cutting-edge technology, such as hybrid systems.

That process seems to be working for buyers, with the hugely popular and striking-looking C-HR SUV in particular attracting a great deal of interest. The latest version of the hybrid Prius is also rated highly by What Car?; it’s the first Prius to go on sale that our testers have felt can truly compete all round with existing petrol or diesel rivals.

However, it’s worth noting that this period of transition is also a work in progress, and that many of the firm’s cars are still rated as being no more than average among class rivals by our testers.

TOYOTA

PRIUS

A highly cost-effective choice for both private and company car drivers

There’s plenty of space up front for tall adults to get comfortable, and the Toyota Prius is also roomy in the back, with more leg room than a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/golf/hatchback/review/n17371">Volkswagen Golf</a>, while having a flat floor means even a middle passenger will be comfortable.&nbsp;

However, as is the case with the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/hyundai/ioniq/hatchback/review/n17205">Hyundai Ioniq</a>, the aerodynamic sloping roofline limits rear head room more so than in conventional hatchback rivals such as the Golf; if you’re taller than average, your head will be brushing the roof lining.&nbsp;

The tailgate opens to reveal a long, wide boot area, albeit (particularly in the case of four-wheel-drive models) shallower than you’d find in most traditional hatchbacks. However, the boot’s overall shape is square and usable, so the Prius should cope easily with the weekly shop. When you need extra room for longer loads, the rear seats drop easily in a 60/40 split, although you’re left with an awkward step in the extended load bay. Due to having a higher boot floor, four-wheel drive models don’t have this step.

Active

active

Business Edition

business-edition

Petrol/Plug-In Elec Hybrid, Petrol/Electric Hybrid

Business Edition Plus

business-edition-plus

Excel

excel

The Toyota Prius is a highly cost-effective choice for both private and company car drivers. We like it for its decent ride and handling, good interior space and impressively low running CO2 emissions. It makes for a fine family car, even if you may need an ‘I’m not a Uber’ sticker on the back of it.


<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Low running costs compared with solely petrol or diesel equivalents</li> <li>Very low official CO2 emissions to benefit company car drivers</li> <li>The same usability as a regular car</li> <li>Smooth transition between electric and engine power</li> <li>Small practicality compromise over conventional models</li></ul>

Not so long ago, hybrids were the preserve of Hollywood stars, environmentally conscious 'early adopters' and the odd&nbsp;minicab driver looking to save a bit of money on fuel.

Since the collapse in demand for diesel, however, they have become&nbsp;much more popular, and it's easy to see why, with&nbsp;low tax bills and&nbsp;impressive MPG figures&nbsp;just a couple of the perks they offer.

There are two types of hybrid: 'self-charging'&nbsp;models, which mix petrol&nbsp;and electric power in an effort to maximise&nbsp;efficiency, and&nbsp;plug-in hybrids that can travel many miles purely on electricity before their engines need to cut in. This category is for the former type of cars.

Hybrid

<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Plenty of practical space </li> <li>Low running costs </li> <li>A comfortable ride </li> <li>A healthy equipment list </li> <li>Quality materials and thoughtful touches inside </li> <li>Rock-solid reliability</li></ul>

Family cars arguably have the toughest brief of all: they have to be good at pretty much everything. They’re used as the daily drive, on the school run or work commute (often both), and have to be able to cope with a family’s clutter on weekends and holidays.

The Skoda Scala is a relative newcomer, but it's&nbsp;already carved out a name for itself in this segment.&nbsp;If you're looking for a moderately priced car that combines a supple ride, neat handling, a spacious interior and a capacious boot&nbsp;it's well worth a look.&nbsp;Alternatively, if you're looking for entertaining handling then the&nbsp;BMW 1 Series may well be for you. It's great to drive, rides well&nbsp;and also comes with a top-notch interior, featuring one of our very favourite infotainment systems.&nbsp;&nbsp;

The Toyota Corolla&nbsp;is another great choice. This latest version of one of the world's best-selling cars of all time can be had with a choice of two different petrol-electric hybrid engines, both of which should mean&nbsp;potentially lower fuel bills. It's comfortable, well equipped and should be very reliable, too.&nbsp;

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