Toyota Prius Plug-in review

When the first Toyota Prius Plug-in hybrid was introduced in 2012, it was an attempt to prove that Toyota was still the technological vanguard of the hybrid car market that it had kicked off in the late 1990s.

It wasn’t a very convincing one, though, given that the Plug-in only had enough battery range to cover about 11 miles before calling on its petrol engine, yet it was significantly more expensive to buy than the regular Prius.

Fortunately, being based on the same mechanical package as the latest, What Car? four-star rated Prius, this second-generation Plug-in model looks much more promising. Also, its battery has twice the capacity of its predecessor’s, giving it an impressive official electric range of 34 miles. That’s farther than the Volvo XC40 Recharge T5 Plug-in or Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV will take you, but can’t match the range of the Skoda Superb iV, Volkswagen Passat GTE or Hybrid4 versions of the Peugeot 3008 and Vauxhall Grandland X.

Still, aside from providing petrol savings that’ll please private buyers, the Plug-in's CO2 emissions of just 29g/km will delight company car users, bringing Benefit in Kind (BIK) tax payments that are exceptionally low for something that still has a petrol engine under the bonnet. 

So, is the Prius Plug-in worth the significant price jump over the regular Prius? Keep reading for our full review. And, whichever model you plump for, don’t forget to check out our New Car Buying pages for a great, hassle-free deal.