Oh dear, do we hear you think. Top Gear in a Prius. That will be a lot of giggling, a lot of teasing, silly jokes and gloating at the expense of that poor little car that is also only doing its best to be good and economical. Ha, nice, you think as a thoroughbred petrolhead, and you sit down for a while. Are you ready for it? Here it is: this all-new and fresh Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid you see here is one seriously good thing.
Okay, now that all readers have dropped out who wish Toyota’s primal hybrid a quick demise in advance, we will explain ourselves further. Because yes, we have changed from the time when a Prius automatically represented Evil for us.
And we’ll tell you something else: even those oldies, those faceless bars of soap on Matchbox wheels that almost single-handedly started the hybrid revolution 25 years ago, we are now quite charmed. A little bit then. Older, wiser and all – or we’ve just realized it’s a touching little classic in the making, with significant automotive history significance.
Why choose a Toyota Prius?
Which also plays into our new appreciation for the model: Toyota’s intentions with the Prius have changed somewhat. His hybrid technology has now trickled down to various other corners of the range; more practical stuff like the Corolla Touring Sports, but also more accessible stuff like the Yaris is now benefiting. Why choose another Prius, with its dusty stigma and unconventional looks, when you have so many other options even at Toyota itself? And what kind of role is still reserved for the pioneer if he is effectively overtaken by his own descendants?
At first we thought that the next Prius would kick off a new revolution. That it was going to be something very progressive – an affordable mass EV with a solid-state battery, wireless charging, that sort of thing. But it may be too early for that. Instead, Toyota is quite conservative in this fifth generation: it is again available as a full or plug-in hybrid (in Europe we only get the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid), has no too bizarre tech, no extremely startling specifications . A larger petrol engine, by the way: it grew from 1.8 to 2.0 liters.
Is it bad that the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid isn’t super high tech?
A missed opportunity in these times? Not necessarily. After all, there are more things that can make a car interesting, and let Toyota focus on that now. Let’s take a look at the previous Prius, the outgoing model. It didn’t look good, that much is clear, but as we concluded at the time at the first test: it drove surprisingly well. An active seating position, advanced suspension, more connection, better response – Toyota, at the insistence of race chief Toyoda, had actually made the necessary effort to make the Prius enjoyable.
That approach is continued unabated here, but in combination with an appearance that… well, just pretty cool. Not then? To shake off its awkwardness, the Prius was given a longer wheelbase and a lower roofline with the highest point further back, completely changing its proportions. The front and the windshield run upwards in a tight wedge shape, and with wedge shapes you always get your hands together with us. Fresh lighting, a futuristic rear, big wheels – opinions will differ about whether it is really beautiful, but it is certainly not boring or dull.
The interior of the new Prius
In the interior we see a round steering wheel, a console with a lever and some buttons, a small counter screen and a large display in the middle. So pretty normal; at most the meter-long A-pillar in your eye indicates that you are in something quirky. The design exudes calm and the arrangement is spacious, partly due to the large glass section. We search in vain for a charging platform for a telephone, but USB-C connections are plentiful, including in a hidden compartment that says ‘#hiddencompartment’. Not only Jeep can build fun things in its cars.
The new penchant for dynamics gives the Prius Plug-in Hybrid a nice statistic: it is no less than 101 hp stronger than its predecessor. With 223 horsepower it now blasts from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.8 seconds, which means that it will immediately silence many of its critics in their 1998 four-cylinder BMWs at a traffic light sprint. That moment would come again. Electric it reaches a maximum speed of 130 km/h, in hybrid mode 180 km/h.
The engine is quieter due to the extra power
The extra power also ensures that the petrol engine does not have to whine in the revs at the slightest acceleration. It is also quite fast in EV mode (160 hp), and if you hold back in terms of wheel size when ordering, you can go 86 kilometers on a full battery, according to the statement. Unfortunately, charging is quite slow, with up to 3.3 kW, but with 13.6 kWh of cells, about four hours of plugging is still enough. Or order the solar panel roof and leave your Prius outside for a few days.
Because we don’t have that much time left, we drive on when the battery is empty. And guess what? Even then, the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid burns no more than 4.5 l/100 km on our varied route. It wasn’t that long ago that the double was no exception to this kind of charge-shy PHEV antics.
The Prius thinks along with you
It smartly adapts its regeneration and hybrid behavior to your location, and you can easily manage your power-fuel mix yourself by switching between EV and hybrid mode and/or holding the battery charge for later use. You can do this in no time with two buttons on the center console; much better than having to poke six menus deep into the screen, as is the case with many plugins.
And the driving itself? That also does not disappoint. The Prius has the typical aloof steering we’ve come to expect from fuel-efficient Toyotas, but it responds briskly and willingly to your commands, and its chassis is nicely balanced. That means that it may not cling to your fists like a GR86 during quick turns or an enthusiastically taken motorway exit, but it certainly does not saunter out over its eco tires, as it used to be. It’s quick in its response, yet light and friendly in its handling, making a very nice effort to cater to riders on both the leisurely and sportier end of the spectrum.
What does the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid cost?
Its price of 45 grand (48 in Belgium) is certainly not tender – nowadays you also have a Tesla Model 3 for it – and although the -Prius has been developed considerably, from the electrical engineering to the driving aids, it will not surpass anyone in terms of technology. really kick back. But that is no longer necessary, says Toyota – he has made his point, his efforts have paid off. As an award-winning hybrid standard bearer, he can now have a little more fun in life, and that is reflected in his appearance and performance. Just like Prius, old dibbes. You have our blessing.
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