Toyota Prius 2016 Review

Toyota Prius
Quick Spin
Shizuoka, Japan

The Toyota Prius is to hybrids what the light-sabre is to Star Wars – a shining beacon and a household name loved by many, especially nerds. Like the next sci-fi film, there's a lot riding on the new Prius, which lobs into Australia in the first quarter of 2016. It's roomier, has a bigger boot and is more efficient. It's a better drive, more engaging, and quieter with a touch more class too. But is the battery force strong with this one…?

The Toyota Prius is a vehicular icon. Even if you don't know how a hybrid car works, chances are you know what a Prius is, and more importantly that's it's a 'green' car. The marketing of the name and indeed the look of this hybrid car has been exceptionally effective… but it's not 1997 anymore and hybrid cars are a dime a dozen.

As such, the Prius needs to shine, it needs push the envelope.

The new fourth-generation Toyota Prius arrives in Australia from February 2016, expected to be similarly priced to the current model from $32,490 (plus ORCs), and after a preview drive of the all-new model first impressions are positive.

The new 2016 Toyota Prius delivers incremental improvements in almost every respect. For starters, the powertrain is significantly more efficient; claiming to use 18 per cent less petrol now, from 3.9L/100km to 3.2 based on EU consumption figures.

During our brief drive, less than half a dozen laps around a very short circuit, we recorded 5.3L/100km. Piloting its predecessor, and the current Prius back-to-back in the same manner across the same distance saw a trip computer reading of 7.4L/100km.

By no means a scientific comparison, it nonetheless represents a significant drop in fuel use.

The fuel efficiency improvements materialise via a slight improvement in aerodynamics, a tweaked 1.8-litre (2ZR-FXE) engine, upgraded continuously variable transmission (CVT) and a smarter hybrid system. The latter includes a 20 per cent lighter electric motor and smaller, faster charging Nickel-Metal Hydride Battery (Ni-MH) and updated power control unit, the brains of the operation if you will.

Toyota offers a more advanced plug-in hybrid version of the new Prius fitted with a Lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery, which generally speaking proffer a longer electric-only range. Unfortunately the Li-ion version is unlikely to be offered in Australia.

Either way, the battery packs have been improved for both versions and repositioned from the boot to under the rear seats, which liberates 10 per cent more cargo space. Total boot capacity is 502 litres now, slightly more than the Holden Commodore sedan's 495.

The Ni-MH-equipped Prius can run on pure electricity for short periods of time as all self-respecting hybrids should, but the short and undulating nature of the test track precluded us from testing its duration.

Current Toyota (Ni-MH) hybrid tech allows for a couple of kilometres in EV mode, at best.

In operation there's not a lot to separate the new and old Prius in terms of straight line performance, with perhaps a smidgen more poke from this new model. The updated 1797cc four-cylinder petrol engine generates 72kW and 142Nm, the electric motor contributing 53kW.

It should be noted that the test track had plenty of twists and turns and a slalom section, encouraging spirited driving. This highlighted the car's improved driving dynamics. Although it's no Jedi master in terms of dexterity, the tighter, more direct steering and a flatter attitude through corners was pleasing. Even the stability control was less intrusive.

Ride comfort was adequate, though not as supple as the new Mirai hydrogen car tested across the same sharp bumps, a car that we'll likely not see here until the turn of the decade. The new Prius is, however, a much quieter car than previously, thanks to the inclusion of more acoustic insulation material.

As the first vehicle to be based on the Toyota New Global Architecture (TNGA), the most tangible effect it's had is on the interior, and this augurs well for other next-generation Toyotas.

Indeed, the Prius' interior no longer looks and feels like the inside of a kitchen cupboard, with higher quality materials throughout and a visual flair that has been sorely lacking from the Japanese brand. Rather than just including the bare essentials, and as cost-effectively as possible, the interior now has emotion.

The protruding dashboard eliminates some knee-room for the front passenger which isn't great, but overall it's a vast improvement; the flowing, sculpted design befitting Toyota's flagship hybrid car. And the inclusion of two large, high-resolution LCD screens, stylised air vents and glossy white highlights on all models makes you feel like you're driving something futuristic, something a little special. And I reckon that's important.

Toyota has tizzied up the steering wheel with polished videogame-inspired buttons, and all the touchy-feely bits, such as the large central infotainment screen to the tulip-shaped gear shifter and HVAC controls, have a quality feel.

The speedo looks suitably high-tech next to the powertrain readouts, which tell you if the wheels are being powered by electricity or petrol – or both – and the Prius gets a more detailed, full-colour head-up display than before.

Once seated, this car feels far more sophisticated than ever.

Speaking of seating, the car has a more premium feel, especially in leather-equipped models. Interior space has improved in almost every direction thanks to the Prius' expanding in length to 4540mm (+60mm) and width (now 1760mm, +15mm). The only quibble with the car's interior space is rear seat head room, which for taller passengers is fairly average due to the sloping roof.

Toyota reckons the Prius is safer and smarter, with a reinforced and more rigid safety cell designed to offer better occupant protection in the event of a crash. But the inclusion of radar cruise control, automatic high-beam, lane-departure alert and autonomous emergency braking are designed to mitigate such occurrences.

If this short test drive of the Toyota Prius has taught me anything, it's that Star Wars analogies will only take you so far… In all seriousness the new Prius is an improvement over its predecessor and the best of breed thus far, no question.

But in some ways the new Prius needed to be exceptional, not just improved.

Toyota Australia's PR manager, Mike Breen, says the new model is a big deal and that "Australians still want Prius."

It may be an icon, a household name, but with sales of just 389 vehicles so far this year, a drop in the ocean in the one million-plus Aussie new car market, it remains to be seen if the new Prius will be more than just an image booster in this country.

"There's a market for Prius especially among early adopters," insists Breen. But with so much competition emerging in the hybrid and electric car space, it needed fresh 'wow' factor to set it apart, something I feel it's missing.

It could be argued the design – inside and out – will get people talking. But the fact the petrol engine is largely unchanged and the hybrid system is upgraded – as opposed to overhauled – seems like an opportunity missed.

2016 Toyota Prius pricing and specifications:
On sale: Q1 2016
Price: TBC
Engine: 1.8-litre four-cylinder petrol + electric motor
Output: 72kW/142Nm (+ 53kW)
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel: 3.2L/100km (NEDC Combined)
CO2: TBA
Safety rating: N/A

Also consider:
>> Lexus CT 200h (from $37,990 plus ORCs)
>> Nissan LEAF (from $39,990 drive-away)