Toyota Prius Hatchback (09 on) - Review

Hybrid cars may seem complicated but in theory they're quite simple. There's a standard petrol engine - in this case a 1.8-litre with 98bhp - along with an electric motor which can provide extra power when needed or can actually drive the car on its own. The electric motor is powered by high-performance batteries which are charged during deceleration and braking. Petrol and electric motor combined give the Prius 134bhp and a 0-62mph time of 10.4 seconds - that's two seconds quicker than the Honda Insight. Compared to the previous Prius (which used a 1.5-litre engine), this model is more powerful and accelerates faster, yet impressively manages to emit less CO2 - down to just 89g/km of CO2 - and is significantly more economical with an average of 72mpg. In theory this gives the Toyota a range of almost 715 miles on one tank of fuel. In everyday driving, the Prius feels very much like any standard petrol automatic car - and that's a big compliment. It's responsive when you accelerate and although the CVT automatic gearbox can at times hold high (and noisy) revs, it's not strained and pulls well, making overtaking easy. In other words, it's unlike any other previous hybrid car of this size. The Power Mode seems ironic in a car designed for green driving, but it's useful for quicker progress as it boosts power and makes the engine more responsive to throttle inputs.

Toyota has worked hard to make the Prius feel like a standard petrol car to drive and the results are very impressive. The steering is nicely weighted and pretty responsive, so although there's not a whole lot of feel, it actually corners very well and body roll is kept in check. All models come with low-rolling resistance tyres (to aid economy) but grip is respectable as long as you don't push it too hard. In town the Prius can driven in EV mode which means it only uses electric power motor - up to 31mph - and will silently creep along in traffic using no fuel and emitting zero CO2.