Toyota Prius (2016 – 2022) Review

The Toyota Prius had been refined to the point of brilliance when this generation was launched in 2016. Brilliant, that is, if you want a low-emissions, easy-to-live-with hatch that’s as undemanding to drive as it is on your monthly budget. Don’t expect fireworks, but it gives the Audi A3 e-tron and innovative Hyundai Ioniq a lot to contend with as a used buy. Read on for our full Toyota Prius review.

This generation of the Toyota Prius offers impressive fuel economy, extremely relaxed driving dynamics, good build quality and a very comfortable cabin.

If you want to glide around effortlessly without using too much fuel, there are few better ways to go about it.

It sits on Toyota's TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture) platform, which provides a sound combination of ride, handling and steering that is much improved over previous versions.

Toyota opted to use the same hybrid system as before, but it was revised and reworked.

The updated engine is paired with aerodynamic styling, providing an official economy figure of 94.1mpg and CO2 emissions of just 70g/km, despite this being a traditional hybrid rather than a plug-in – the Toyota Prius Plug-in was added to the range in 2017.

There was also a facelift in 2019, which added a smoother look to the front end.

The radical exterior looks are mirrored in the cabin, which has a futuristic layout with a large, easy-to-use touchscreen system as standard.

Space is generous in the front and the back row has plenty of legroom, but the aerodynamic roofline hampers headroom for taller passengers. The boot is spacious with a capacity of 343 litres.

On the road, the Toyota Prius is easy to drive thanks to its CVT automatic transmission. At slow speeds, the car runs in near silence and will often operate on electric power alone, making it serene around town.

Even at higher speeds, it’s quiet and refined, plus it has safe, predictable handling and light controls.

Standard equipment includes alloy wheels, auto lights, auto wipers, road sign assist, a reversing camera, lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control – so even used buyers of the basic model won’t be left wanting.

Upper trim levels gain luxuries like wireless phone charging and automatic parking.

There are some newer rivals to consider including the Hyundai Ioniq, which is available as a pure EV, a plug-in or a traditional hybrid, the latter of which undercut the Toyota Prius on price when new.

However, it’s safe to say that the Toyota Prius is an excellent choice for those who want to flaunt their eco-friendliness and travel around in a bubble of serenity.

Fancy a second opinion? Read heycar’s Toyota Prius review.

The Toyota Prius is impressive out of town.

Improved refinement makes motorway driving more pleasant, plus the ride quality is reasonable even on uneven country roads, although it can get a little wobbly when the surface is particularly bad.

Through bends the Toyota Prius is predictable and the steering, while on the light side, is accurate enough to inspire confidence.

A BMW i3 is more enjoyable to drive in its range-extender form, while an Audi A3 e-tron imparts a greater sense of refinement and solidity on the road.

The basic powertrain from the previous Toyota Prius was retained for the 2016 generation, but with various changes to improve its economy.

A 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol engine lives under the bonnet, while under the floor is a smaller, lighter battery pack than that used in the old car, linked to an electric motor.

The engine produces 98PS and 142Nm of torque, while the electric motor has outputs of 72PS and 163Nm.

Logically that suggests the Toyota Prius has peak power of 170PS, but it’s not that simple, since the engine and electric motor don’t produce peak power at the same time. Overall peak system power for the car is actually 122PS.

From a standstill, the Toyota Prius accelerates swiftly and seamlessly, although it can get a little loud due to the CVT automatic gearbox.

This is only a problem when accelerating hard though – and it’s far quieter than the previous Toyota Prius.

For town driving the car is great, making light work of stop-start traffic.

This version of the Toyota Prius was awarded five stars by Euro NCAP when it was crash tested.

Helping it achieve this top score was the inclusion of an automatic emergency braking package, which Toyota calls Safety Sense.

This Toyota Prius also has lane departure warning and assist to keep you in the right lane.

Automatic high beam assistance, traffic sign recognition, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert are fitted to all but the base trim, while Isofix child seat mounts in the rear and a full complement of airbags come with every model.

Whether you are towing a braked or unbraked trailer, this Toyota Prius has a maximum capacity of 725kg.

The Toyota Prius offers a decent amount of space for passengers and luggage.

The front seats are comfortable and there is plenty of adjustment, while the back row provides decent legroom and, for most passengers, enough headroom, although the aerodynamic roof means taller occupants might struggle a little.

The outer two rear seats have Isofix mounting points.

The boot is nice and low, but it has a fairly large load lip and it narrows between the rear wheels.

That said, it is still very spacious and practical – capacity to the load cover is 343 litres, or 502 litres to the roof. 

This can be expanded even further by folding the rear seats flat, freeing up 1558 litres.

The interior of the Toyota Prius is light and airy, and feels futuristic, with a swooping dashboard layout and lots of glossy plastics.

There are a few elements that look a little cheap, but everything seems sturdy and built to last.

The Toyota Prius comes with a large colour seven-inch touchscreen system on all variants, which controls audio and connectivity. It also incorporates a reversing camera as standard.

Also standard across the range are DAB radio, USB connectivity, Bluetooth, auto lights and keyless entry and a start button.

You will need a budget of £14,000 to bag a good used Toyota Prius that’s eight years old and with 70,000 miles on the clock. This gets you a well specced Business Edition model.

For a three-year-old Toyota Prius with 30,000 miles, you will need to increase your spend to £21,000.

It was originally claimed that the Toyota Prius was good for combined fuel economy of 94.1mpg, but that was revised down to a more realistic 83.1mpg for the base model and 78.5mpg for those on larger alloy wheels.

All of these figures assume you can make the most of the EV driving mode. More likely is the mid-60s economy we see from our Real MPG data, which is still very good for a family car.

With carbon dioxide emissions ranging from 70g/km to 85g/km with this generation of Toyota Prius, it means early models qualify for free road tax.

Those registered from 1 April 2017 onwards require the standard rate of £180 per year for 12 months’ Vehicle Excise Duty.

On top of Toyota’s standard warranty cover, you can extend this by 12 months and 10,000 miles by having the car serviced at a Toyota dealer. This can then last up to 10 years and 100,000 miles.

The Toyota Prius has proven to be very reliable, so you should only spend on routine maintenance. As for insurance, it sits in group 14, so none will be very expensive when it comes to paying your premium.

The Toyota Prius Active models get 15-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone automatic air- conditioning, smart entry for the driver’s door and push-button start.

There are also LED headlights, Toyota Touch 2, DAB radio, electrically adjustable driver’s seat, driver’s seat lumbar adjust and dual 4.2-inch colour TFT multi-information displays. Forward Collision Warning with Autonomous Emergency Braking, Adaptive Cruise Control, Road Sign Assist, Lane Departure Alert and Automatic High Beam are standard.

A Toyota Prius Business Edition adds soft-touch cabin trim, wireless phone charger, smart Entry on all doors and boot, colour head-up display, Blind Spot Monitor, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, heated front seats, a leather steering wheel trim and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

The Toyota Prius Business Edition Plus offers 17-inch alloy wheels, Toyota Touch 2 with Go satellite navigation and connectivity functions, Simple Intelligent Park Assist plus front and rear parking sensors.

The Toyota Prius Excel is additionally equipped with leather upholstery, a JBL premium audio system, rain-sensing wipers and Toyota 2 with Go Plus (satellite navigation and connectivity with added functions).