Toyota Prius Hatchback (04-09) - Review

Review by Dan Harrison on
Last Updated: 23 February 2011
This is Toyota's latest stab at the 'Hybrid' market - a car that's both petrol and electric. In fact the Prius was good enough to beat more conventional models and win Car of the Year 2005. Hybrid vehicles work by using a petrol engine to charge a battery. At low speeds, the engine will switch to electric mode. The larger car firms expect the use of this fuel technology to grow in years to come, so expect to see more around.
3.5 out of 5

Other Toyota reviews

5 out of 5

Safety

This is the first Hybrid car to be crash tested by Euro NCAP and it performed well, gaining a five star rating. The safety body described Prius as having "a very strong and stable passenger safety cage." In addition every model has front and side airbags and front and rear curtain airbags, front seatbelts with pretensioners and load limiters, ABS with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution (EBD) and Brake Assist (BA), Electronic Traction Control (E-TRC), Stability Control Plus (VSC+). Security is taken care of by an alarm, immobiliser and remote central locking.

NCAP Test

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Provides motoring consumers with a realistic and independent assessment of the safety performance of some of the most popular cars sold in Europe.

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  • Adult Occupant Rating

    5 out of 5

  • Child Protection Rating

    4 out of 5

  • Pedestrian Test Rating

    2 out of 5
4 out of 5

Reliability

Despite new technology, there have been no major problems with Prius - it's Toyota business as usual. Time will tell if this pattern will continue.

Car check problem points

Body

No problems reported.

Engine/Gearbox

No problems reported.

Other

Despite being generally reliable, there have been a number of recalls. Stop lamp failure (2005); airbags not inflating in a crash (2006); possibility of steering failure (2006) and engine stalling (2006).