Toyota Prius Plug-in Review 2025

What a strange journey the Toyota Prius Plug-in has been on. It's gone from the flag-bearer of the Japanese company's hybrid efforts, the one that popularised this form of propulsion while selling over five million units, to being a bit forgotten.

You can blame a couple of factors for this and they're sort of linked. For one, Toyota's tech has spread across its range, so can have a hybrid car from the company in a variety of body styles — given that choice, people now go for something SUV-shaped.

Yes, the rise of the SUV is the other big thing that hasn't helped the Prius Plug-in's cause. The Toyota CH-R drastically outsold the Prius when it was last available in the UK, so despite bringing out an all-new version of its game-changing hybrid in 2022, Toyota didn't bother bringing it here. 

Fast forward to 2024 and Toyota performed the kind of U-turn even politicians would blush at, deciding to sell the Prius Plug-in here after all. It's been worth the wait, as this is a very different animal to the kind of Prius you're probably used to experiencing as the minicab you haul yourself into after a heavy night on the town. 

This one is — shock horror — actually very handsome, not to mention quick, with power figures and 0-62mph times that are bordering on hot hatch territory. It's also plush inside and potentially very frugal.

Unfortunately you can only have the Toyota Prius Plug-in version this time around with the UK denied the self-charging option.

Sitting low to the ground and on reasonably firm suspension, the Toyota Prius Plug-in is keen to change direction and barely rolls through corners. The steering has a nice weight to it but the ratio isn't any quicker than before. Given the new car's unexpected emphasis on sporty driving, we wouldn't mind it being sped up a bit but there is a smaller steering wheel which helps a little.

That firmness can mean the car jostles you and your passengers around more than you might like but the Prius Plug-in generally does a good job of soaking up the worst the crumbling UK road network can throw at it. The Design-grade car with its 17-inch wheels might go some way to improving comfort.

In wet conditions, this Toyota can feel a little too powerful for its own good, lighting up the front wheels, which are wrapped in relatively narrow 195mm, low rolling resistance tyres. These will pay dividends when eking out as many miles per gallon as possible, though, so that's a fair trade-off.

We'd like a little more refinement on the move, with the road noise levels being a tad louder than expected, but generally the Prius Plug-in is a relaxing car to drive around in.

There's only one drive system available for the Toyota Prius Plug-in which sees a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine joined by am electric motor and its 13.6kWh battery pack to give a total of 223PS. That's nearly double what you got in the last car, and it makes for a 6.8-second 0-62mph time. That was hot hatch territory not so long ago and, sure enough, the Prius feels quick when you put your foot down.

You still get a continuously variable transmission (CVT) here rather than a more conventional automatic gearbox but Toyota has gotten very good at calibrating things. The revs don't rise and fall quite so wildly in more recent applications and it responds quickly to throttle inputs. 

The current generation of Toyota Prius Plug-in has not been crash-tested by Euro NCAP but the last few Toyota vehicles to be assessed by the organisation achieved the full five stars, as did the previous-generation Prius. 

You get a healthy array of airbags, plus the Toyota Safety Sense suite of driver aids. These include a new driver attention monitor plus upgraded versions of the company's road sign scanning system, autonomous emergency braking and lane-keeping assistance. 

You probably wouldn't look to the Toyota Prius Plug-in as a car for towing — just as well as it's not rated for towing at all.

Perhaps those CH-R buyers who ignored the last Toyota Prius Plug-in had a point. A low-slung hatchback like this is always going to lose out in terms of headroom and that's especially true of the latest version — its sleek shape and low roofline result in a lack of rear headroom.

The boot isn't the most capacious either. Although it's grown by about 90 litres the new Prius Plug-in's 284-litre load space is still a disappointing offering. The boot opening isn't that wide, either. 

Previous versions of the Toyota Prius Plug-in never really screamed 'premium' but things are a lot plusher this time around. Almost everything in the cabin feels expensive and of great quality. Although Toyota has fitted some of that piano black glossy plastic that looks scratched to hell after a few thousand miles, it's used sparingly. 

The Toyota Prius Plug-in's 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system is responsive and has a very easy-to-navigate menu system, although it's a bit plain and clinical. Other setups have a bit more thought into nice graphics and the like but there's no such luck here.

Perhaps that doesn't matter given how many people now default to linking their smartphones, which is easy to do here thanks to wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto coming as standard on both equipment levels. There are two USB-C ports in the front but no wireless charging pad.

Along with the relatively large infotainment screen is a digital instrument cluster that's small by modern standards at 7.0 inches. Also, it's viewed over the steering wheel, so you might find some of the screen blocked by it unless you modify your typical driving position. 

£37,315 is the starting point for the Toyota Prius Plug-in which gets you into the entry-level Design, while the top-spec Excel isn't drastically more at £39,995.

What we particularly like is the options list isn't full of ways to extract more money from buyers — the only significant items on there are extra-cost paint colours, ranging from £650 to £950. 

As is the case with all PHEVs, the Toyota Prius Plug-in's WLTP Combined cycle fuel economy figures are hilarious and best ignored. If you're interested it's 564.9mpg for the Design model and 403.5mpg for the Excel. Yes, really.

Those WLTP tests used to obtain those numbers don't reflect real-world driving all that well and with PHEVs, the actual number you get will vary wildly depending on the kind of journeys you do and how often you charge the batteries.

An electric range of up to 44 miles for the Excel and 53 miles for the Design means that in many cases you might not use any fuel at all if the car's EV mode is turned on and you aren't going far. We kept the Prius Plug-in its Hybrid driving mode during our test on a mix of roads, during which the engine only coughed into life for 25% of the time, despite trying out its surprisingly pacy performance. This yielded just over 100mpg.

In terms of VED car tax, the Prius Plug-in is £180 a year. Both trim grades escape the government's £410 annual premium tax charged from years two to five of ownership, but the range-topping Excel grade is close enough that if you select any of the optional colours — you may want to because only Lunar Shadow is free — it'll become liable for the extra fee.

Toyota has typically placed well in the HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index survey, indicating that ownership is likely to be free from significant issues. Should any arise, the standard warranty covers three years and 60,000 miles of driving, whichever comes first, but if you stick with Toyota main dealer servicing, this can be extended up to 10 years or 100,000 miles. Doing so also extends the separate battery warranty from its standard 10 years/150,000 miles of life to anything up to 15 years.

The Toyota Prius Plug-in's trim structure is easy-peasy to understand, as there are only two — Design and Excel.

The entry-level Toyota Prius Plug-in Design is hardly wanting for equipment with the 12.3-inch infotainment screen including Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, all of the Toyota Safety Sense, keyless entry and parking sensors all fitted as standard.

Choose the pricier Toyota Prius Plug-in Excel to switch-out the Design's 17-inch wheels for 19-in alloys, although you can keep the smaller rims if preferred. You also get eight-way electrically adjustable front seats with heating and ventilation plus a digital rear-view mirror.