Toyota Prius review

Believe it or not, this is… the new Toyota Prius.

Pull the other one! Seriously, what is it?

No seriously, it is. The fifth generation of the Prius has had everything thrown at it - cosmetic surgery, a gruelling gym routine and the mother of all glow-ups - and it now looks unrecognisable from the clumsy, frenetic-looking hatchback that was the Mk4.

Those leading lines, that swooping profile, those proportions… just look at it. That’s a Prius. And you might actually want one on your driveway. What a time to be alive.

Blimey. Why does it look like that?

You ask an intriguing question. Having gone from being the thing Hollywood A-listers would use to do their green PR for them to a car synonymous with the late night Uber ride, we suspect Toyota decided that a lot of work needed to be done to improve the Prius’s image. You can hardly argue with the end result.

What’s interesting is that we were never actually meant to get the Prius in the UK. Production of this new one began late in 2022 but at some point Toyota did a spectacular u-turn and, two years later, here it is. The company never actually explained why it made the about face. Perhaps the slowing take-up of EVs made it think twice?

Is it as fast as it looks?

Although the clothing has changed, the raison d’etre hasn’t: the Prius is still an eco barge, as is the way with most Toyotas these days (GR Yaris excepted). In fact, the only powertrain you can get is a plug-in hybrid, consisting of a 2.0-litre 4cyl inline petrol engine and permanent magnet, synchronous motor for a combined 220bhp and 140lb ft. That amounts to 0-62mph in 6.8 seconds. Hey, that’s not bad actually!

The battery is a 13.6kWh unit that’s good for 53 miles of e-range, as long as you’ve shunned the 19in alloys for 17s. That’s a fair chunk and likely to be music to the ears of Uber drivers everywhere.

The fuel economy is hilarious. Truly hilarious. Because the official lab test means starting with a full charge, the WLTP cycle produces an estimate of… 403.6-565.0mpg. Five hundred and sixty five mpg! What a time to be alive. This figure is of course poppycock. Head to the Driving tab for a more accurate number.

If I still can’t bring myself to buy a Prius, what are my options?

The Prius has always been a bit of a funny shape, and although not a supermini or hatchback in the typical sense, it’s closer to those than it is a crossover. Or a pair of lederhosen. Or a three-storey townhouse.

And with plug-in power only (there’s no news on a mild hybrid yet), the Prius finds itself in select company alongside the VW Golf GTE, Peugeot 308 and Vauxhall Astra. Meanwhile there’s a plug-in version of the Audi A3 Sportback on its way. Yeah, there aren’t that many compact cars with PHEV tech. Expensive innit?

On that note… how much?

We hope you’re sitting down. The new Prius starts from £37,315, and the top-spec trim is very nearly £40k. Forty. Thousand. Pounds. For a Prius. What a time to be alive. For more of an explanation, hit the Buying tab.

The latest Toyota Prius is the best one yet, and having come very close to not getting it at all on these shores we’re glad that Toyota has decided to see what magic the head-turning new design can work over here. The old car’s sales dwindled badly near the end of its life, after all.

That it drives reasonably well, is tremendously efficient and has very useful electric-only range should ensure that interest in the Prius is strong. The price tag looks extortionate until you realise it undercuts most of the competition.

Having said that, common flaws with the CVT, interior tech and packaging (as a result of the battery) stop this from being a home run of a car. Taxi!