Item: Used Toyota Prius+ 2012-present
Rating: 3
Author: What Car? Team

By virtue of being a hybrid MPV seating seven the Prius+ has few rivals. However, it’s worth considering the straight petrol and diesel-powered versions of the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/ford/s-max/mpv/used-review/n17409">Ford S-Max</a>. This is a better car to drive than most MPVs, with a comfortable ride and plenty of room for seven. Set against that are comparatively high CO2 emissions, and sat-nav is an extra in most trim versions.

Others to consider include the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/volkswagen/touran/mpv/used-review/n806">Volkswagen Touran</a>, available with petrol or diesel engines, which is good to drive, has decent economy and a spacious interior, and the <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/vauxhall/zafira/mpv/review/?aq=Vauxhall%20%20Zafira%20Tourer&amp;amp;type=review&amp;amp;src=SearchDropdown&amp;amp;oq=vauxhall%2520zafira%2520tourer">Vauxhall Zafira Tourer</a>, which comes with a classy interior, decent space for passengers and luggage and is well built.

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What is it like?

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Provided there’s evidence of servicing every year or 10,000 miles, a Prius+ shouldn’t give you any problems greater than replacing wear and tear items such as the wipers, tyres and brakes.

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 the telltale signs of a weak battery, though, which are the petrol engine running constantly or a car that struggles to get above 40mpg on the instant fuel economy readout. If worse comes to worst, a replacement battery from Toyota is £1200.

Early worries about short battery life seem to be largely unfounded, so the Prius+ has emerged with a reputation as a very reliable motor. Toyota as a brand always do well in reliability surveys, and in our most recent one finished third out of 32 manufacturers – a splendid result.

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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+ offers all the benefits of the regular Prius, and adds seating for up to seven people. It is a little cramped inside, though, and rather pricey

Used Toyota Prius+ 2012-present

There is only the one engine option in the Prius+, a 1.8-litre VVTi petrol unit linked to an electric motor. The battery is the more modern lithum-ion style, rather than the nickel-metal hydride sort, and the Prius+ achieves an average claimed fuel consumption figure of 68.9mpg in Icon trim, and 64.2mpg in the Excel version. This equates to 96g/km of CO2 emissions in the former, and 101g/km in the latter, meaning that those cars registered before the April 2017 VED changes will be cheap to tax.

A basic service costs £185 at a Toyota dealership, and a full service is £335. As part of both, Toyota will carry out a free annual ‘Hybrid Health Check’ to ensure the battery and electric motors are working as intended. This is well worth doing because as part of it Toyota will give you an extra year of warranty on the battery right up until the car is 11 years old, regardless of mileage. If you have your car serviced elsewhere, you can still purchase this hybrid health check and the accompanying extended battery warranty for £39.

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The Toyota Prius+ offers all the benefits of the regular Prius, and adds seating for up to seven people. It is a little cramped inside, though, and rather pricey  


It’s pricey new and it’s still a little pricey used. It’s possible to buy one for between £10,000 and £12,000 but it’ll have a high 100k-plus mileage, as a lot of them will have been used as mini-cabs. Up the money to £13,000 to £16,000 and you should pick up an early car with a lower mileage, though to get the mileage to a reasonable level and find a newer (2013/2014) car you’ll need to spend between £16,000 and £18,000. Splashing out £20,000 will net you a 2015 car, with an average mileage and a full history and bought from an independent dealer.

There is only the one engine on offer: the 1.8 VVTi unit, linked to an electric motor. There are, however, three distinct trim options. First, Icon is the entry-level trim, which comes well equipped with 15in alloy wheels, dual-zone climate control and a 7.0in touchscreen with a reversing camera, as well as a DAB radio and Bluetooth.

It also runs on 15in wheels, which means it’s the most economical version. It’s our favourite. Two other trims are offered, Excel and Excel+, each upping the luxury quotient.

Our favourite Toyota Prius+: 1.8 VVTi Icon

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<h2>What we're looking for:</h2><ul><li>Plenty of space for all the family and their paraphernalia</li> <li>Comfortable ride for everyone inside</li> <li>Seats with plenty of adjustment and versatility of layout</li> <li>Engine that can cope with a full load of people and luggage</li> <li>Excellent efficiency to avoid big fuel bills</li></ul>

Practicality is king in the MPV market, which has taken a hit as buyers have turned towards trendier SUVs. There are still plenty of decent offerings to suit most budgets, though, with Citroën fielding a particularly strong line-up. The French manufacturer’s Berlingo offers bags of space for not much money and you can easily haggle off thousands of extra pounds in discounts, too.

Citroën also scores with the larger Grand C4 Spacetourer, which offers seven seats, lots of oddment space and appealing running costs for something so large. A similarly priced and even better option is the Volkswagen Touran. Meanwhile, if you prefer a premium badge, there's always the BMW 2 Series Active and Gran Tourers or Mercedes B-Class and V-Class.

But for something sizeable that's still decent to drive, we’d recommend you check out the Ford Galaxy, which can offer three rows of seats and decent luggage space at the same time. It’s not that much pricier than the smaller S-Max.

The Prius + is the doyen of the mini-cab trade so will need checking inside and out for sign of undue wear. Look for signs of mistreated bodywork such as mismatched paintwork, cracked bumpers and damaged wheels, while on the inside make sure the seats and carpets are in good condition. It’s also worth bearing in mind that Toyota changed its warranty structure during the lifetime of the third-generation Prius and Prius+. In 2010, the standard warranty increased to five years and battery cover to eight years and 100,000 miles. Then, in April 2014, Toyota switched it again to give the battery the same five-year, 100,000-mile cover as the rest of the car.

Among the recalls affecting this generation of Prius+ was one for cars built until February 2014 to adjust the hybrid system to avoid the risk of it cutting out. Toyota’s online recall checker makes it easy to see whether any work might be due on a particular car – all you need is its registration number.

Suppose you want to enjoy all the benefits offered by the regular <a href="https://www.whatcar.com/toyota/prius/hatchback/used-review/n17569">Toyota Prius</a> - and, as it’s the world’s most popular hybrid car, it seems many people do – but you need more seating space for your growing family, what do you do? You seek out the Toyota Prius+, that’s what.

By taking the third-generation Prius and stretching it and clothing it in a longer, reshaped body, the Prius+ has three rows of seats instead of two and seats up to seven people. Underneath the skin is the familiar 1.8-litre petrol engine linked to an electric motor, an arrangement that produces a claimed average fuel consumption of 68.9mpg in the Icon version, with correspondingly low CO2 emissions of just 96g/km.

Performance is distinctly average, but economy’s the name of the game here and the Prius+ can cruise around town silently in electric-only mode, albeit for a very short distance. To drive, it’s safe, if a little uninspiring, with a firm but reasonable ride and good levels of refinement, the only fly being the engine noise levels rising to unpleasant levels when you begin to push the Prius+ hard, as its CVT transmission can make the engine bellow.

Inside, it’s unexpectedly cheaply finished in one or two areas, and most other seven-seater cars offer more interior space, but Toyota’s build quality is legendary, so it should at least stand up well to mixed use. There are just two trim levels, and both are well equipped.

New, the Prius+ emerged as rather pricey in comparison with its rivals, but some of that price difference is swallowed up on the used car market, where its low emissions and diesel-free motoring will help it appeal to a great number of families on a budget.

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Used Toyota Prius+ 2012-present review

Our recommendations

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