Good-looking and fun to drive, but plug-in Toyota Prius PHEV is a tad compact

This week’s review car, the Toyota Prius plug-in, was recently voted World Car of the Year for its design.

There is no doubt it is a massive visual step forward on the previous four generations of Prius hybrids, which carried the distinctly different but more functional profiles.

Ironically, I feel the new car yields interior space to the exterior design while its forerunners maximised room at the expense of better looks.

But the cars have always managed to do one thing better than each preceding generation – improve on fuel consumption.

The latest model, being a plug-in (PHEV) as opposed to the previous cars sold here being conventional hybrid, brings a real bonus on that front.

It has ridiculously low ‘official’ petrol consumption figures.

So low I had to check twice. I wouldn’t blame you for doing the same.

It is claimed that it can, under clinical conditions, sip as little as 0.7 litres of fuel every 100km.

Of course, there isn’t a hope in hell of getting anything approaching that in normal, everyday driving (though the figures are claimed to have been achieved in real-world test conditions).

Me? I got 4.3 litres every 100km I drove, which is exceptional considering it is powered by a two-litre petrol engine and a powerful electric motor to produce a combined 223hp. That’s a lot of power and a huge leap on the previous non-plug-in version.

Toyota says its research consistently shows most of your daily drive will be in electric-only mode, so if you charge regularly, you should benefit to the tune of getting up to 71km off the battery alone. Say 55km just to be on the safe side.

Therefore, the engine will not be working nearly as often. And even when it is, it will be in ordinary hybrid mode so you benefit from energy recuperation from lifting off the accelerator and braking.

That partly explains the low fuel consumption and, consequently, the lower emissions of just 16g/km. The battery is entirely beneath the rear seat (higher-energy density cells take up less room) and that helps lower the centre of gravity.

In turn, that transforms this PHEV into the best-driving Prius I have had the good fortune to drive all down the years. It’s not a tearaway, but the 223bhp and nicely judged suspension made it a more than a decent drive.

Helping that was an e-CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) system that did not suffer from lag between pressing the indicator and engine response. This was more ‘automatic’ by nature. That has not always been the case with e-CVT-driven cars in the past.

It worked best in city driving, but was fine at motorway speed too. It was notably quiet, as you’d expect from a well-built Toyota.

Quick fact check for you: On a 50mm longer wheelbase, it is 50mm lower, 46mm shorter and 22mm wider. And the battery should fully charge in around four hours.

The driving position is critical, I think. You need to be able to see over the steering wheel to view key data on the seven-inch screen sitting high on the dash.

Check if it means having to lower the wheel more than you’d like, or is comfortable for driving. It worked well for me.

Toyota has made sure there is plenty of adjustment, so you shouldn’t have trouble. It’s electric height-adjustable, there’s a sliding/reclining driver seat with memory as well as an electric adjustable lumbar support for the driver.

The main, central 12.3-inch screen is part of the new-look dashboard layout from the Japanese giant and, in the case of the Prius, it worked well with, crucially, enough physical buttons for the likes of climate control – a blessing and a removal of distraction.

In keeping with the outside, interior styling is fresh, though the lower-down plastics felt/looked a bit cheap to me.

I just wondered why the cabin felt so compact. I’d have thought that with a wider body there would be more elbow room for front-seat occupants especially. However, this was not so.

I didn’t expect rear-seat headroom to be great due to the lower roof, but it wasn’t bad.

However, I was really disappointed with the boot. There’s only 284 litres of luggage space. I expected a good deal more, considering the under-backseat location of the battery.

I understand why: design, the key asset for those endearing exterior World Car-winning looks, got in the way of creating more space.

Pros: Outstanding design, fresh interior, low fuel consumption, lots of safety elements, good drive.

Cons: Poor boot space, compact cabin.

I’d buy it for the combination of looks and frugality, but I’d have doubts about luggage space.

Fact file

Toyota Prius PHEV From €46,530, five-door; road tax €140; 16g/km; 71km electric-only range; 0.7litres/100km claimed.

Test car had brand’s Safety Sense 3. Includes proactive driving assist; rear-seat reminder system; Nanoe X air purifier; driver monitor camera; synthetic leather upholstery; electric height-adjustable driver seat; 12.3inch Toyota Smart Connect/multimedia system with wireless Apple CarPlay, wired Android Auto, sat nav, six USB type C ports; high-voltage lithium ion 13.6kWh battery; on-board AC charger 3.3kw.

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