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  • Introduction

  • Tech & Entertainment

  • Design

  • Driving Experience

  • Conclusion

  • Trim Levels

  • Powertrain

  • Safety

  • Fuel Economy

  • Introduction
  • Tech & Entertainment
  • Design
  • Driving Experience
  • Conclusion
  • Trim Levels
  • Powertrain
  • Safety
  • Fuel Economy

Introduction

With a week of real-world use, it proved surprisingly easy to fall for the Prius. Of course, the fuel economy savings are the biggest benefit, but there's a lot else to love about this car. The Prius' massive trunk, good legroom, and manageable dimensions combine to make a car that maximizes utility to the utmost degree. And did we mention that its fuel economy is almost double most other cars out there?

Tech & Entertainment

When the second generation Prius debuted in 2004, hybrids were still a novelty. In an effort to attract early adopters, it wowed the tech savvy with nav, Bluetooth and keyless entry alongside its gas-electric drivetrain.

Today, hybrids have gone mainstream, and the Prius is no longer cutting-edge when it comes to infotainment. The Prius Three I drove featured Toyota's excellent Entune cloud-connected infotainment system, where it proved just as fabulous as when I tested it on the Prius Plug In and Avalon. Though it's well executed, it's still fundamentally similar to infotainment systems from a host of other manufacturers.

About the only clue that the Prius contains any advanced tech under the hood is its digital dashboard, which shows how the electric and gas motors are working in concert to maximize efficiency. I ignored it after about 30 seconds, but found it a useful way to explain the car to folks who, more than a decade after hybrids debuted in the US, still asked whether I had to plug it in to recharge the batteries.

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Design

The Prius' now-familiar teardrop shape is about as aerodynamic a profile you can get without removing the passenger compartment, so it's not surprising that most changes in the 2012 refresh were merely cosmetic. Updated taillamps and a redrawn nose are about the only ways the most intrepid of Prius-spotters could tell the difference between a 2011 and a 2013. It's a purely utilitarian look that maximizes efficiency of space and airflow at the expense of sensual curves.

Inside, there's room for four adults to sit quite comfortably, with plenty of legroom front and rear. What the Prius lacks is width, which makes the middle seat especially uncomfortable. Because the car sits a bit high off the ground and windows are abundant, the driver has an excellent perspective.

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Driving Experience

This is where most car reviewers give up on the Prius. No, it isn't the most engaging car on the road, but it's come along away since the poky, Echo-like subcompact that first wore the Prius badge back when Larry David first got one. Handoffs between the gas and electric motor are still a bit noticeable if you're looking for them, but there's no obvious jolt or shudder unless the gas engine comes on at an extremely low speed—at which point you're likely stuck in traffic anyway.

Same goes for the regenerative brakes, which recapture energy that would've been wasted as heat and use it to recharge the batteries. Coincidentally, that heat is what wears out brake pads and rotors, so you may go a lot longer between service intervals. The brakes still feel oddly nonlinear—they don't feel like they're engaging until the very last second, at which point they grab on with a vengeance—but Toyota's done a decent job ironing out that issue over the years. If you've never driven a Prius before, you'll stop short pretty often during your test drive, but you'll be used to it within a week of buying the car.

Acceleration isn't brisk, but thanks to the high torque of an electric engine, the Prius at least feels a bit sprightly around town. A mix of a continuously variable transmission and weak engine mean that any spring in the car's step is gone by the time speeds reach 55 MPH, however. While the car has no problem keeping up, summoning enough energy to pass can be difficult. Electronic power steering is tuned to dull a lot of feedback, and proved slightly more communicative than whatever car your grandparents used to drive.

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Conclusion

Unless you're buying a car solely for pleasure, frequently carry more than four people, or regularly tow or haul, the Prius should fit your needs. It's not the cheapest car on the road, nor is it the most engaging to drive. Folks who don't drive much may not even see the economic benefit of its 50-plus MPG fuel economy. But it's incredibly utilitarian. A 21st century version of the VW Beetle, it's relatively inexpensive to buy, cheap to run, and fits a ton of stuff in a relatively small footprint.

Utility may not be exciting, but it's a good reason to buy a car.

Trim Levels

$24,200 gets the bare-bones Prius Two, fodder for lease deals and rental lots. Spend another $1,565 and you'll get navigation and Toyota's excellent Entune infotainment system, plus a rear-view camera. The Persona, which sells for $27,130, is similar to the Three but adds trim-specific cosmetic upgrades inside and out.

The Four ($28,435) adds a better sound system and interior, and the Five ($30,005) offers the option to add active safety features such as dynamic cruise control, lane keep assist, and a pre-collision system.

Powertrain

You've got one option here: A 1.8L, 98 horsepower four-cylinder engine that works in tandem with a 60 kW permanent magnet AC synchronous electric motor. Batteries are Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH), and the transmission is continuously variable.

Safety

NHTSA gives the Prius five stars (the top score) overall, with four stars for frontal crash, five for a side impact, and four for rollover avoidance. IIHS rates the Prius a Top Safety Pick for 2013, with top Good scores for side, moderate overlap front, and roof strength impact tests. Within those tests, the Prius gets second-best Acceptable ratings for Head/Neck injury and Structure/Safety Cage

Fuel Economy

The EPA rates all Priuses at 51 city, 48 highway, 50 combined. Because of regenerative braking, you likely won't see any large drop off in stop-and-go traffic — which is where a hybrid generally beats a diesel or gasoline car. In fact, you'll likely see the best economy in city and suburban driving, as high-speed driving requires the gas motor to run.

Meet the tester

Keith Barry

Keith Barry

Former Editor in Chief, Reviewed Home

@itskeithbarry

Keith was the Editor in Chief of Reviewed's appliance and automotive sites. His work has appeared in publications such as Wired, Car & Driver, and CityLab.

See all of Keith Barry's reviews

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