Our road test of the Toyota Prius, third generation.
After a first generation pilot and a second generation that surfed opportunistically the wave of 147$ oil and global warming widespread dogmatic acceptance, the third generation Toyota Prius has to be the hybrid that crosses the automobile chasm. A hybrid that delivers much more than the exciting idea of a different or better personal mobility. Like the Citroën 2CV in the 70’s and 80’s, driving a Prius on the old continent has been a social statement that has to be outgrown. The brand needs to overcome the “green bourgeois” cliché to turn Toyota’s visionary investments into mainstream market penetration.
Toyota’s design studio has retained most of the Prius DNA while adopting much more dynamic styling, with this new edge that runs along the profile, detailed and aggressive headlights and a fender that dares venturing into bolder design language with the integration of the air vent and fog lights. The discrete hood bump could almost be a cue of the now defunct Formula 1 team. Throw in 17 inch alloys dressed in series 45 rubber and sporty vocabulary comes to mind. To my eyes, the Prius III scores in the looks department, neat, elegant and modern. An undisputable crowd pleaser on supermarket parking lots, the Prius looks become arguably more controversial with petrolhead audiences. The 0.25 drag coefficient is pretty impressive.
Toyota has dramatically improved the driving position, a serious flaw on the Prius II. The driver now sits in the car rather than on the car, with a seat that now adjusts in height, and a steering column that adjusts in height and reach. Anyone can find a comfortable driving position, but the lack of lateral seat support unfortunately persists. At the back, knee room has melted like the polar ice cap, a surprise considering that the 2700 mm wheelbase remains unchanged in comparison with the mkII Prius. What was once a spacious interior is now a lot more cramped, barely making the standards of the category.
Interior layout has evolved with a high center console bridge spanning to the dash, leaving empty space underneath in a Volvo-like design. A questionable option that cocoons the driver and front passenger, but crowds interior space without adding practicality in the way of storage space. The main information display has migrated next to the speedo, the large display on the center console is now exclusively reserved to the satnav and audio functions if you tick that expensive box on the options list. The diagram explaining energy flows between the gasoline engine, electric engine, batteries and the wheels has lost in clarity, but an econometer now gives welcome feedback on kinetic energy recovery and allows to stay clear of the threshold where the precious Joules end up being wasted in heat through the disc brakes. A head up display conveniently shows speed, economy and satnav directions. Brush the buttons on the steering wheel and a cool overlay appears in the instrument cluster to provide feedback. Unfortunately, there isn’t much progress in the material department, with vast expenses of cheap plastics which are not quite in line with the hefty price tag of the hybrid princess.
The drivetrain of the Prius III supports four driving modes. By default, an adaptive program adjusts to your driving style to optimize mileage. The EV mode allows to force pure electric drive until you either empty the batteries, exceed 45 km/h or demand too much torque from the motor. The Eco mode softens throttle response to the point where you find yourself flat out on most inclines at freeway speeds and the engine feels hopelessly underpowered. The Power mode does the opposite by sharpening the response of the Hybrid Synergy drive to your right ankle’s movements. The downshifts are brisk towards higher engine revs, providing welcome acceleration when you need it. Overall, this new drive train is objectively fit for any type of country or mountain roads, an improvement over its predecessor.
This improvement in the engine department reflects pretty deep changes under the hood. The internal combustion engine has been upgraded from 1.4 to 1.8L (1798cm3), with the output going up by 21 hp to 98. The electric engine has also been upgraded and can now develop up to 82hp. The combination is claimed at 136hp. Much less change behind the rear seats where a minor evolution of the NiMH battery pack still holds 6.5Ah of charge at a nominal 201.6V, with a peak power of 27kW. To debunk an urban legend, the batteries weigh less than 40kg: not that heavy.
Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive is once again breathtakingly refined, managing seamless transitions between the different drive and recharge modes with dizzying yet completely unnoticeable haste. It is still the only twin-mode hybrid system on the market, meaning that it can power the car in pure electric mode with the engine crank completely still (up to 45 km/h from standstill), while other competitive systems use electric power to assist the gasoline unit. Even at freeway speed, the 1.8L inline four sometimes stops, leaving it to the electric unit to maintain momentum. The system dominates competition in mileage and offers the unique experience of gliding in pure electric mode, a clear differentiator over competition, Honda Insight in particular. Careful usage of the B mode (energy recycling) allows both to boost battery recharging, but also to increase engine braking. Otherwise, the Prius coasts nearly endlessly due to its low rolling resistance.
Our measurements were far off the 3.9L/100km claim (4.0 with the fancy 17 inch alloys that come standard on our Linea Sol model) in mixed cycle. Our measurement of gas consumption returned 5.72 L/100km (5.4 indicated for 53 km/h average speed), reflecting significant distances covered on alpine passes with four people on board, and freeway distances covered at a hurried pace. While it’s often possible to achieve sub-5.0 L/100km indicated averages by driving lawfully and economically, nailing the claimed 3.9 seems virtually impossible in the real world. The 0.5 L/100km improvement over the mkII Prius seems credible though based on the logbook of our long termer over more than 20’000 km.
Driving both cars in convoy, we noticed that the Prius III speedometer is surprisingly optimistic, indicating a good 10 km/h more than the other car. Same indication when timing the car over one kilometer at 120 km/h constant speed using cruise control: 110 km/h. Analog verdict on our portable GPS: 8% difference. Conspirationists will be prompt to jump to a possible conclusion: reporting longer distances mathematically results in better measured and displayed mileage than in reality. A slight caveat on the otherwise flawless gas consumption report sheet of the Toyota.
Road handling has been vastly improved, at least on this version equipped with firm 215/45/17 tires. Thanks to the much improved driving position and more rigorous suspensions combined to a meatier engine, there is an increased sense of connection with the road going in and out of turns. It’s unlikely you will take the car for a 200 km joy ride in the twisties just for the fun of it, but the Prius III can swallow curvy roads at very respectable pace without loosing poise. It stays a notch behind the Honda Insight in this particular area, though.
The starting price is CHF 38900 in Linea Luna trim, but our Prius III Linea Sol Premium carries a base price of CHF 43900, with metallic paint (730 CHF), satnav & music harddrive (3100 CHF) and leather & heated seats (2500 CHF) to add. This puts our test model at a pretty breathtaking 50230 CHF.
In Europe, Toyota maintains the positioning of the Prius in a luxury niche, with a high price tag aligned with the outgoing model, while the Honda Insight has opted to make the hybrid label much more affordable. Pricier by 10’000 swiss francs, the premium to pay for the only compact hybrid delivering on the promise of (occasional) electric drive, and an acceptable dynamic package the rest of the time, thanks to superior and proven technology. The Prius mkIII is more honed, sober and powerful than its predecessor and keeps a clear lead over hybrid competition, but pragmatists should give full consideration to turbodiesels like the VW Golf VI TDI.
Myths about hybrids
It only saves gas in city driving !
Wrong. Energy recycling improves mileage in city and on country or freeway driving.
Batteries are heavy !
Wrong. The battery pack in a Prius weighs less than 40 kg.
Batteries age fast !
Most likely wrong. Prius II taxi fleet cars exceeding 500’000 km are not rare. Toyota claims that the batteries are designed to last at least 300’000 km.
Hybrids preserve the environment ! Wrong.
Hybrids emissions are equivalent to their gas consumption , but their mileage can be better than conventional cars.
Facing competition
| Toyota Prius III | Honda Insight | Toyota Prius II | Golf VI TDI BlueMotion | |
| Combustion engine | L4-1798 cm3 VVTi – Atkinson | L4-1339 cm3 i-VTEC |
L4-1497 cm3 16V Atkinson |
L4 – 1598 cm3 turbodiesel |
| Electric motor | 82 ch | 14 ch | 68 ch | – |
| Transmission | Pseudo-CVT | CVT | Pseudo-CVT | Manual 5 |
| PWR (kg/hp) | 10.63 | 12.71 | 11.77 | 12.55 |
| Kerb weight (mfr.) | (1445) | 1246 (1276) | 1354 (1329) | (1318) |
| System power | 136ch | 98ch | 78+37ch | 105 / 4400 |
| System Torque | 142 + 207 Nm | 67 Nm / 1000 | 115 + 400 Nm | 250 / 1500-2500 |
| 0-100 km/h | 10.4 | 12.4 | 10.9 | 11.3 |
| Top speed | 180 | 182 | 170 | 190 |
| Gas mileage (mfr.) | 5.7 (3.9) | (4.4) | 5.2 (4.3) | (4.1) |
| Length | 4460 | 4395 | 4445 | 4199 |
| Width | 1745 | 1695 | 1725 | 1786 |
| Height | 1490 | 1425 | 1490 | 1479 |
| Tires |
195/65/15 |
175/65/15 |
195/55/16 |
195/65/15 |
| Base price (CHF) | 38’900 | 28’800 | 39’770 | 32’430 |
| Base price (EUR) | 26’220 | 17’990 | 25’950 | 20’420 |
Our thanks to Toyota Switzerland for the loan of this test car.
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