Firsts. I’ve been fortunate to have had several firsts. I was the first member of my family to fly in an aeroplane (Newcastle to Gatwick in a Dan-Air Boeing 737), which is a bit odd, bearing in mind that my father was in the RAF….his feet never left the ground. I was also the first member of my family to travel abroad (Corfu in a Dan-Air Comet from Manchester), the first to get a mobile phone (Nokia 3310) and the first to get a computer (Amstrad). Lucky me.

I was also fortunate enough to be one of the first people in the UK to drive the world’s first mass market hybrid - the Toyota Prius - in late 1999 or early 2000.

I’ve just renewed my acquaintance with the latest Prius, which, you won’t be surprised to hear, is nothing like the first-generation version.

Actually, it’s nothing like the outgoing 4th generation model either, apart from the fact that it’s still a self-charging hybrid which uses the combination of a petrol engine and a battery to produce the power which propels this 5-door hatchback. You could order the previous version with a PHEV facility but it’s now standard on the Prius across the (small) range.

Exterior

Let’s start with the appearance. Forget all about the previous frumpy-looking model because this latest Toyota Prius looks really smart. It’ll turn heads for the right reason! I suspect it’s one of those cars that looks better in certain colours. Mine was red and I thought it looked terrific. I’ve also seen a black one, which looked good too.

Another surprise is that we weren’t supposed to get this 5th gen Prius. Thankfully, Toyota did a U-turn. It’s worked too, and I was talking to a Toyota dealer yesterday who said they’re selling really well. I’m not surprised.

Powertrain

The driving experience has also changed. Everything still goes via a CVT gearbox, which can make the 2.0-litre, 4-cylinder petrol engine sound a bit thrashy when you accelerate really hard, but once things settle into a cruise, you’d never know the engine was there.

There’s also the advantage that this latest Prius has a seriously decent electric-only range. Toyota reckons on just over 50 miles before the battery is flat and, because it’s a plug-in hybrid, you can top up the battery at home, even better if you’re on one of those cheap rates overnight or can access a charger at work. There’s a top speed of around 85mph in electric-only mode before the engine chirps into life. Impressive.

It's also incredibly efficient when it comes to charging the battery whilst you’re on the move. It constantly keeps feeding juice into the battery. Add the battery power to that of the engine, and you end up with 221bhp, which equates to a 0-60mph time of 6.8 seconds. It feels much quicker than that.

Economy

As for the overall economy, Toyota quotes 176 mpg, which of course, you won’t get. Anyway, even with some brisk driving on country lanes and a decent slog on the motorway, I still managed 76mpg, although you’d do better than that around town or going steadily. Decent figure, huh?

Trim levels

Toyota gives its cars a good standard specification, so the starting price tag of £37,895 (Sept ‘25) looks reasonable when compared with the competition.

There are only two trims available - Design and Excel. Design comes with goodies such as a 12.3-inch multimedia central screen, 7-inch driver display, sat nav, voice assist, DAB radio, wireless phone charging, front and rear parking sensors, a reversing camera, keyless entry and start, LED headlights and intelligent adaptive cruise control.

If you decide to go for the Excel trim, it’s only £1,100 more, and you’ll add a powered tailgate, 19-inch alloys, powered and heated front seats, synthetic leather upholstery, and a digital rear-view mirror. It’s probably worth it.

The build quality has also improved, with the materials looking and feeling good. It’s also pleasing to see that Toyota hasn’t gone down the route of overloading the central touchscreen. There’s a handy row of buttons to control the air con.

On the road

So…the latest Toyota Prius looks smart and has a load of standard kit, but what about when you hit the road?

The good news continues. You’d never have bought the previous Prius for anything other than the potential for terrific economy. You certainly wouldn’t have bought it for its, shall we say, awkward looks, and you most definitely wouldn’t have called it a driver’s car.

Okay, the latest Prius isn’t going to trouble a performance hatchback, but it’s really good to punt around. Chuck it into a corner, and it hangs on really well; there’s very little roll. The ride is generally excellent and makes for relaxed cruising. The only time things get out of hand is when you make the engine work for its living…the noise it makes isn’t pretty. But, as mentioned earlier, once you settle into a cruise, the Toyota Prius makes for very quiet motoring.

The Popular Prius

I don’t know about where you live, but nearly every taxi around here is a Prius….and they’re all silver. It’s a rarity to see a Toyota Prius being driven as a private or company car.

That is all about to change. This is a Toyota Prius, which you’d be chuffed to have on your driveway. It’s a striking design, is great to drive and comes with all the essentials in terms of standard kit.

And of course, it offers an outstanding level of economy. It also makes sense as a company car due to excellent benefit-in-kind rates. Bearing in mind that we weren’t expected to get the latest Toyota Prius in Blighty, whoever decided on Toyota UK to persuade the bods back at head office to change their minds should be given a pay rise.

The Prius is no longer the ugly duckling of the Toyota range. It’s a bit of a looker and this car has been one of my biggest surprises so far this year.

words: Graham Courtney
pictures: Toyota

Toyota Prius - No Longer the Ugly Duckling