Item: Used Toyota Prius 2016-present
Rating: 4
Author: What Car? Team

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/hyundai/ioniq/saloon/used-review/n891">Hyundai Ioniq</a> is available as a regular hybrid, a plug-in hybrid or a fully electric car. It’s one of our favourite hybrids, being more practical, better equipped, and smarter inside than the Prius. It’s good to drive and its running costs should be minimal.

The <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/bmw/i3/hatchback/used-review/n874">BMW i3</a> looks like nothing else on the roads and it's&nbsp;a premium product, too. Performance is&nbsp;strong; it's got&nbsp;an upmarket interior, a decent&nbsp;electric range (which can be even better if you shop for range-extender variants or a revised example with a bigger battery pack), and a superb infotainment system.

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<h3><a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars/toyota/prius">Find a used Toyota Prius with What Car? &gt;&gt;</a></h3>

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What is it like?

Ownership cost

Advice for buyers

Our recommendations

Alternatives

<h3>Brake booster</h3>

The pump for the brake booster may stop working on some Prius models&nbsp;built between 26 April and 3 June 2019 and lead to increased braking effort in order to slow down. Speak to a Toyota dealer for further information because the pump will need to be replaced in order to solve this issue.

<h3>Invertor</h3>

An invertor in the hybrid system could be loose in some cars made between 18 January and 10 December 2016. Find out from a Toyota dealer if your car is affected by this because it'll need to have this invertor replaced.

<h3>Engine wiring harness</h3>

A part of the wiring harness could chafe on the engine, wearing through the insulation material and potentially leading to a fire. Speak to a Toyota dealer to find out if your car is one of those affected by this and was built between 23 March 2016 and 14 May 2018.

<h3>Instrument cluster short circuit</h3>

The combination meter or instrument cluster of a small number of examples manufactured between 10 - 31 July 2019 could short circuit and go blank. Find out if your car is one of those affected by this because it'll need to have the cluster replaced to prevent further issues.

Amongst its competitors in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/2020-what-car-reliability-survey-hybrid-cars/n21864">hybrid category</a>, the latest Prius sits at the bottom. However, its 94.6% overall score&nbsp;shows that it's by no means a dud, and few owners had major faults. Indeed, some issues were rather minor, such as the 12v battery that's used to start the car (not the hybrid battery pack) going flat due to lack of use.

Toyota as a brand came in third out of 31 manufacturers.

If you would like to see the full reliability list, head to the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/news/2020-what-car-reliability-survey-family-suvs/n20064">What Car? Reliability Survey</a> pages for more information.

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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

The Toyota Prius wears its iconic status lightly. It’s good to drive and economical, even if it probably won’t save the world

Used Toyota Prius 2016-present

<h3>MPG</h3>

The plug-in hybrid has an astounding&nbsp;average fuel consumption figure of 235mpg under the older NEDC tests, although it's unlikely that you will see such figures in real-world use if you don't regularly charge it.&nbsp;The regular Prius manages&nbsp;67.3mpg under the newer, tougher WLTP tests, while&nbsp;the all-wheel-drive model achieves&nbsp;58.9mpg.&nbsp;

<h3>CO2 emissions</h3>

The plug-in hybrid has the lowest CO2 emissions of just 28g/km, but&nbsp;the normal Prius still puts&nbsp;an ultra-low figure of&nbsp;78g/km, which means pre-2017 examples qualify for free road tax.

<h3>Car tax</h3>

For cars registered before the tax changes of April 2017, the annual charge will be zero, while cars registered after that date will have to pay the current flat rate fee.&nbsp;To find out more about the current <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/advice/buying/car-tax-changes-in-2019-%E2%80%93-what-do-i-need-to-know/n1153">road tax costs, click here</a>.

<h3>Insurance and servicing</h3>

Insurance groups for the Prius are reasonable for this size and type of car, and servicing should be relatively inexpensive, too, with plenty of options on how to pay including plans to allow payments by direct debit. Examples that are&nbsp;over five years of age&nbsp;qualify for discounted servicing at a Toyota dealer if you sign up for free to the Toyota 5+ Club.&nbsp;Servicing is required annually or&nbsp;every&nbsp;10,000 miles.

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The Toyota Prius wears its iconic status lightly. It’s good to drive and economical, even if it probably won’t save the world 


Prices for this generation of Prius start at around £9000 for a 2016 car with high&nbsp;mileage. Increase your budget to £13,000 or more&nbsp;for a good 2017 car with an average mileage and a full service history, bought from an independent or franchised dealer. A facelifted example from 2019 can be found from&nbsp;£17,000, and you’ll need at least £23,000 for a rare four-wheel drive Prius.&nbsp;

A plug-in variant can be found for £14,000.

To keep up to date with used Prius prices, use our free valuation tool to make sure you are getting the best deal. 

Check the value of a used Toyota Prius with <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/car-valuation/">What Car? Valuations</a>

<h3>Engine</h3>

Although the on-paper economy of the plug-in Prius is deeply impressive, as mentioned before, you’re unlikely to come anywhere near those figures in real-world motoring – unless it fits into your lifestyle exactly, your journeys are short and you have a charging point at each end of it. On top of that, the plug-in model doesn’t drive as well as the regular car and costs a lot more – even used. For those reasons, we’d seek out the standard Prius.

<h3>Specification</h3>

Meanwhile, we think Active trim is the best because you get everything you'll need for the lowest&nbsp;purchase price.

Our favourite Toyota Prius 1.8 VVTi Active

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<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;

Family

The Prius is quite a large car and its rear visibility isn’t the strongest, so check the extremities for any scuffs and dents. Check the paperwork carefully to make sure that your Prius hasn’t been used as a minicab, in which case its mileage is likely to be huge. The cars can wear large mileages well, but there are also plenty of low-mileage examples to choose from, and these might make a better used purchase.

The batteries are also proving to be extremely durable, easily lasting 10 years or more and going for 200,000 miles. It’s still worth looking out for telltale signs of a weak battery, though; these include the petrol engine running constantly or a car that struggles to get above 40mpg on the instant fuel economy readout.

Those who are&nbsp;environmentally-minded will know that recycling instead of buying new&nbsp;is a great way of reducing your impact on the planet, and&nbsp;this can be applied in the car world by buying a used car. But if you want to go one step further, you can't go wrong considering the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-reviews/make/toyota">Toyota</a> Prius, a car that's&nbsp;reached near&nbsp;iconic status as a green&nbsp;choice due to&nbsp;outstanding&nbsp;fuel economy figures and paltry exhaust emissions.

Underneath is a 120bhp 1.8-litre engine linked to an electric motor. With it, you can in theory drive at up to 36mph on electric power only for short distances. Thereafter, it shuffles its power source between the engine, the electric motor, or both. Most Priuses are front-wheel drive, but from 2019 you could specify from new an optional four-wheel-drive model. This added a second electric motor, positioned on the rear axle to provide power to the rear wheels when needed in slippery conditions.&nbsp;&nbsp;

There’s also the option of a plug-in version, which ups fuel economy spectacularly. This can be plugged in for further electric boost and has the ability to run on pure electric-only power for up to 39 miles.

The Prius doesn’t skimp on equipment either, with four trims to choose from: Active, Business Edition, Business Edition Plus and Excel. Entry-level models get 15in alloy wheels, LED headlights, adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning, road sign recognition and heated and folding door mirrors as standard, while inside there is Toyota's Touch 2 infotainment system with a reversing camera.

Upgrade to the fleet-friendly Business Edition and the Prius gains heated front seats, a wireless phone charging cradle, and blindspot monitoring, while Business Edition Plus adds 17in alloy wheels, parking sensors and a self-parking assistance system. Top-of-the-range Excel adorns the car with luxuries such as automatic wipers, a JBL premium sound system, sat-nav, wi-fi connectivity and front foglights.

On the road, this Prius is a vast improvement on the previous generations. Its performance times aren’t exciting, but it is at least on a par with most of its conventional rivals. The only fly in the ointment is that the automatic CVT gearbox causes the engine revs to rise, and holds them high when you ask for a lot of acceleration. For most of the time, such as around town or when cruising on the motorway, the Prius is more than adequately refined.

The steering is accurate and responsive, and although there’s quite a bit of body roll in faster corners, there’s plenty of grip. Make no mistake, it’s not a sports car, and the plug-in version is even slower than the regular Prius, but it’s also not an unpleasant thing to drive. The ride is reasonably relaxed, too, turning firmer over larger bumps and road imperfections but still compliant enough to make long journeys comfortable for occupants.

Inside is an unconventional dashboard layout, with the main instrument pod sitting in the middle of and high up on the centre console. There are two 4.2in colour screens providing the information, and all but entry-level Access trim get a head-up display. Below this is the standard 7.0in infotainment touchscreen, which is mostly responsive, even if its graphics aren’t as sharp as that in some rivals.

The driving position is good, although it could do with more adjustment in the steering wheel, while rear visibility is a little compromised by the rear pillars. Overall build quality feels good, although there are plenty of harder plastics in evidence.

There’s lots of space, too, both front and rear. The hatchback opens to reveal a long, flat load area, and the rear seats drop in a 60/40 split, although there is a small step left when you do this. The all-wheel-drive Prius gets a slightly smaller boot as it has to accommodate underneath it the rear electric motor.&nbsp;

A 2019 facelift introduced tweaks to its styling and its interior, as well as the four-wheel-drive option, and the infotainment system was updated.&nbsp;

If you're interested in finding a <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars/toyota/prius">used Prius</a>, head over to the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/used-cars">Used Car Buying</a> pages to find lots of cars listed for sale at a great price.

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Used Toyota Prius 2016-present review

Alternatives

What alternatives should I consider to a used Toyota Prius hatchback?