Toyota Prius overtaken by other hybrids

The Toyota Prius has been the champion of green motoring for two decades but newer hybrid models are putting pressure on the petrol-electric pioneer.

Toyota has promised to electrify its entire vehicle line-up by 2025 and we now have Hybrid versions of Camry, RAV4, Corolla and C-HR. So where does this leave Prius, the hybrid that started it all in Australia in 2001?

Polarising looks and a high price tag don’t help its cause. Our family of testers see if this once groundbreaking hybrid still has relevance.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

JULES: A Prius? Toyota’s still making these?

IAIN: They are. Few are buying them.

JULES: I can see why. It’s not pretty, is it? People buy cars because they’re sexy, stylish and exciting. The Prius is none of those.

The Prius makes less sense now that other Toyota hybrids are available. Picture: Supplied.

IAIN: Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Will Ferrell, Jennifer Aniston, Leonardo DiCaprio. All have owned a Prius.

JULES: Bet they’ve got Lamborghinis and Bentleys as well.

IAIN: The Prius was updated in early 2019 and given a much-needed facelift. It’s still no oil painting, but a slight improvement over the 2016 version.

JULES: We tested the Corolla Hybrid recently. Why don’t hybrid fans just buy that?

IAIN: Er, good point. They are. In fact, all hybrid versions of Toyota’s “normal cars” are doing very well. Take the Camry. More than 17,000 sold in 2019, and more than half were hybrids. In contrast, only 200 Australians bought a Prius in 2019.

JULES: Maybe it should be culled.

IAIN: It’s hard to make a case for it. Our range-topping Prius i-Tech four-door liftback is $48,000 on the road.

The looks are polarising and the price tag could be offputting. Picture: Supplied.

JULES: Wow. You could get a full electric car for that and be properly green.

IAIN: True. A range-topping Camry Hybrid or mid-spec RAV4 Cruiser Hybrid are both $3000 cheaper. I’m scratching my head why you’d pick this Prius over either.

THE LIVING SPACE

JULES: You get leather seats for your money, and heated too. Quite a luxurious cabin.

IAIN: Quirky as well, reminding this is no ordinary car. There’s no driver information in front of the steering wheel. All your data is mounted on the dash top in a digital strip. I quite like it.

JULES: There’s a cute stumpy gear shifter beneath the touchscreen, leaving lots of space in the centre console for storage. Wireless charging for my phone’s handy.

IAIN: No Apple CarPlay/Android Auto smartphone mirroring in our test car, but it’s been added to Priuses sold from October 2019.

JULES: The windows are huge, giving great visibility and it feels comfortable if not overly spacious.

IAIN: At this price the cabin’s still a bit plasticky, and rear visibility’s ruined by a bar running across the back glass. And it has an antiquated foot-brake.

The cabin is light and airy, but the antiquated foot brake doesn’t fit with the hi-tech promise. Picture: Supplied.

THE COMMUTE

JULES: It’s really comfortable to cruise in.

IAIN: It effortlessly soaks up bumps, and with radar cruise control it’s ideal on highways. Bit more wind noise in the cabin than I’d expect.

JULES: There are pumping JBL speakers to counter that.

IAIN: I like how the petrol engine shuts down almost imperceptibly. It’s nice to just purr along electrically when stuck in traffic.

JULES: But it still feels and drives like a normal car for the most part. It’s not frightening technology.

THE SHOPPING

IAIN: Perfect for parking outside the vegan supermarket.

JULES: Really big boot to sling your silken tofu, chia seeds and organic quinoa into, plus the wide hatch opening makes loading easy.

IAIN: It’s big because there’s no spare wheel. Not even a space saver. Just a repair kit.

SUNDAY RUN

JULES: It’s not a quick car. Sunday runs should be reserved for trying to break your economy record.

The Prius impressed our testers with its miserly fuel consumption. Picture: Supplied.

IAIN: It does pretty well at that. There’s a menu on the screen showing your litres per kilometre on recent drives. I managed 4.2L, 4.4L and 4.8L across three days; pretty impressive, but a little off Toyota’s claim.

JULES: How does it compare to a Corolla Hybrid?

IAIN: The Prius is officially 3.4L/100km, the Corolla Hybrid 4.2L/100km. Not a big enough difference to warrant the Prius’ price premium.

THE FAMILY

JULES: Our kids tend to prefer supercars and giant utes — don’t all kids? — but they loved how the Prius rolled on electric only up to about 30km/h.

IAIN: There was decent rear space for the kiddies in their car seats too.

JULES: From a protective parent perspective, the Prius has all the safety kit, plus it helps the family budget with low fuel costs and cheap servicing.

THE VERDICT

IAIN: Holden’s put Commodore out of its misery, Toyota should do likewise with the Prius. It’s served its purpose to normalise hybridisation, but it’s a dinosaur that needs retired. Either that or it should now be plug-in hybrid or full electric.

JULES: Comfortable to drive and easy to live with, but you’d only buy a Prius to virtue signal how eco you are. The RAV4 Hybrid for me please.

Originally published as Toyota Prius overtaken by other hybrids