As it remains the pioneer in the hybrid car manufacturing, Toyota Prius is one of the few hybrid cars first offered more than a decade ago when people were just thinking about the fuel economical car engines rather than alternative energy usage like the Prius.
There are some rivals including Lexus CT in the UK as the Prius was a strong competitor. This was a competition within two brands of the same organisation.
In today’s modern era of mobility, the hybrid versions are multiplying and almost every automaker has hybrid versions of its conventional cars in the market. Such as the petrol-electric spin-offs of the German models like 3 series, Ford Mondeo and Volkswagen Passat.
They are not the only models posing a threatening environment for Toyota but the diesel-electric DS 5 hybrid is also one of the top contenders. Apart from these automakers, Toyota’s own Auris hybrid has played a vital role in killing the sales of the Prius in the last couple of years.
For the previous two generations, Prius was more like an MPV and afterwards it was replaced by some graceful and stylish models with a range of new gadgets and most modern technologies. New Prius is almost 20mm lower than the previous models and 60mm longer. It has a lower drag of coefficient of 0.24.
It has much lower front end that gives an impression of being a sports car just like the Toyota GT 86. Its front badge height is very similar to the height of the all new GT 86. It helps the driver with improved drivability and more clear visibility in the process of driving. The Prius was first introduced more than a decade ago and with a split windows arrangement and many other convex shapes the front screen and rear view mirror were responsible for reduced visibility.
Toyota has several Prius versions, whichever you opt for, will be offered with a 1.8-litre petrol engine which works with an electric motor. This powertrain based on an engine and an electric motor together generate 121bhp of power and a 168Nm of torque for the Prius.
The Prius has 15-inch alloys with the standard on the base version and cost effective on the higher trims. The fuel economy is exclusively impressive with almost 100 miles per gallon with the lowest carbon emissions of under 70g/km.
Toyota has directed more parts of the electric power to drive the Prius and the electric motor can drive the Prius up to the city traffic speed very easily for more than 33 miles from a single charge. On the high speeds, Toyota engine comes in and help the Prius keep its speed up with the motorway traffic.
