T spirit

Spacious, refined, comfortable, economical, reliable.

NB. This is not a car for boy-racers or TopGear wannabes.
My first Plus but my fourth Prius, this should have been called the Prius estate so it would be immediately identifiable (in the UK) for what it is, and not be sold short by being called by a symbol '+'. Everyone knows what an estate car is, but a '+' might be interpreted as 'see below'(for further explanation), and who could be bothered?
I got mine in February, an ex-demo with 7000 miles on but already my wife and I think it is the best Prius of the lot. It's a lot bigger than the hatchback which, with all seats up, could not accommodate a standing Labrador in the load area, whereas with the third row folded the Plus can easily accommodate four Labs. Other people might use a kennel for their dogs, so I only use this to give an idea of the difference in size. If more space than this is prerequisite a better option might be a mini-bus or a Transit.
The interaction between the electric motor and petrol engine via Cvt transmission is seamless and a far better and more refined system than the stop/start systems on non-hybrid cars. Hard acceleration involves both power trains and is similar to kick-down on a conventional autobox; it does involve increased engine noise whilst the vehicle speed catches up to engine speed but excess noise is easily controlled by the right foot. It is all about learning a different and more involving way of driving but if you want to drive without too much thinking you can do that too.
From an economy point of view, I expect around 50mpg; I got 53/54 mpg from the hatch which is a smaller and lighter car. With the transferable 5 year warranty, Toyota reliability, low running costs (group 12 insurance) and road tax (£10 for Tspirit, zilch for T4) what's not to like.

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