Road Test
Toyota Prius Business Edition (15-inch wheels)
New Toyota Prius has bold styling touches and looks like no other car on the road
ENGINE:
97bhp/72kW 1,798cc four-cylinder petrol with 71bhp/53kW electric motor
CO2:
70g/km
NOx:
0.016g/km
MPG (combined):
94.1
GF MPG (combined):
63.7
VED: BIK: PRICE (OTR):
Band A, £0 9% £24,195 (£24,690 as tested)
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A rejuvenated pioneer Toyota’s halo hybrid the Prius has been comprehensively re-engineered and returns to its pioneering roots. Richard Gooding delves under the sharper styling and finds both impressive frugality and improved dynamics The Toyota Prius’ place in automotive history cannot be underestimated: it invented the mass-market hybrid vehicle which now proliferates car ranges the world over. First introduced in 1997 – four years after its idea was initially born – it has undergone three generational changes, with the latest fourth-generation car launched in September 2015. The first-generation was a game-changer in the truest sense of the word, but as the years have rolled by, other car makers have developed their own hybrid technologies and the Prius became less of a trailblazer. However, the new-for-2016 model promises both sharper styling and driving dynamics as well as staying true to what forms the core of the Prius brand – economy and an eco-friendly conscience. Modular platform The latest Prius is built on the Japanese company’s ‘Toyota New Global Architecture’
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(TNGA) modular platform, which allows for a lower centre of gravity and increased structural rigidity. Aerodynamics play an important part in the fourth-generation car’s make-up, too, and help contribute to arguably the car’s most controversial feature: its looks. Priuses have always been a little ‘daring’ in their styling flourishes, but the latest car is perhaps the most divisive. Taking cues from Toyota’s Mirai hydrogen fuel cell car, the new Prius has both links to previous models as well as new design features of its own. A shark-like front end gives way to an almost floating roof, which leads down to the split-level rear
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window, a long-standing Prius design cue. It’s a striking looker that’s for sure, but Toyota seems to have succeeded in designing the new car with nods to the old. Two of the qualities previous Prius generations have enjoyed are parsimony and low emissions, and on these fronts the new Prius once again excels. Emissions of certain models such as our test Business Edition car are as low as 70g/km CO2, with the most polluting versions of Toyota’s halo hybrid emitting only 6g/km more. To achieve these headline figures, certain versions can be ‘downgraded’ with 15-inch wheels –
ns Emissioted of selecrius new P as low are models /km, with as 70g t-polluting s the mo nts only varia more 6g/km