Toyota Prius Plug-in
MODEL TESTED: Toyota Prius Plug-in Business Edition Plus PRICE: £29,195 ENGINE: 1.8-litre 4cyl petrol/electric, 120bhp Latest regular hybrid Toyota has already seen off its Hyundai rival. Now we see how plug-in version fares
WHILE Toyota’s standard Prius Hybrid is one of our favourite green cars, the Prius Plug-in has shown a few chinks in its armour by comparison. At £29,195, it’s more expensive than the Ioniq, but does it deliver more than the Hyundai can offer?
DESIGN & ENGINEERING
AS with the hybrid Prius, this Plug-in model is based on Toyota’s New Global Architecture modular platform. It uses a similar Macpherson strut front suspension layout to the Hyundai, but the double-wishbone rear suspension differs from the Ioniq’s multi-link rear axle, in part contributing to the more controlled ride.
While the rear suspension might be more sophisticated, the packaging of the battery isn’t, because the 8.8kwh unit is located under the boot floor, severely impacting load space.
The Toyota’s 68kw electric drive unit is slightly more powerful than the Hyundai’s, but the total system output of 120bhp is down on the Ioniq’s 139bhp total. Still, ultimate power is not necessarily what’s crucial. The functionality of this plug-in car matches the Hyundai’s, because it’ll take just under two hours 30 minutes to charge using a fast charger.
Unlike the Hyundai, the Prius uses not one but two electric motors as part of Toyota’s dual motor drive system; there’s an EV city mode that limits the output to increase zero emissions range, but at 39 miles it’s identical to Hyundai’s claim.
Although our pictures show a Business Edition Plus model with the £1,500 optional solar roof cells that boosts battery charging on the move (but not by much), it’s the regular Business Edition Plus model we’re testing here.
It’s £2,400 more expensive than the Ioniq, but for the extra cash you only get a similar level of kit, including adaptive cruise, LED lights, keyless go, climate control, a reversing camera, sat-nav, heated seats and wireless phone charging as standard.
DRIVING
THE Prius feels more like a hybrid on the move, and that’s down to the integration of the petrol engine, electric motors and gearbox. The Toyota uses a CVT automatic transmission, which doesn’t actually have any gears; instead, it keeps the petrol engine’s revs at the optimum point for power or efficiency, depending on your driving style.
Some CVTS impact refinement as they send revs soaring. It’s not so bad in the Prius, and no worse than the droning engine in the Hyundai, but press your right foot to the floor and it does get noisy.
Do so and there’s respectable performance on offer, even if the Toyota’s 10.5-second 0-60mph time was 1.4 seconds slower than the Hyundai’s, while its kickdown acceleration times also trailed the Ioniq’s.
The CVT means progress in electric-only mode is actually smoother than in its rival here, but both cars make a decent fist of zipping out of junctions, with smooth electric-only acceleration.
The Prius’s brakes are slightly easier to modulate, but are still a little jerky when coming to a halt. Still, apart from this, it’s the comfier, more composed and more agile machine. The steering is sweeter, and while the chassis rolls a little more because of its softer set-up, there’s more grip available, combined with a more forgiving ride over rough surfaces.
PRACTICALITY
WITH just 191 litres of boot space, the Prius Plug-in is way down on the 343 litres offered by its standard hybrid sibling and the 341 litres in the Ioniq PHEV. That deficiency is due to the battery pack that’s located under the boot floor, and although there’s a little flap to store the charging cables, this impact on practicality is disappointing for a family car.
Thanks to the double-bubble roof there’s plenty of headroom in the rear, although the Prius is only a four-seater (again, due to the bigger battery pack) compared with the five-seat Ioniq.
Legroom in the rear is good, however, and the front of the cabin is spacious, reinforcing the airier feel in the Toyota. While there are plenty of places for odds and ends, the key elements that make a family hatch practical – hybrid or not – are missing here.
OWNERSHIP
STRONG safety tech on this Business Edition Plus Prius Plug-in model includes a blindspot monitor, rear cross-traffic alert, automatic high beam LED lights, autonomous braking with pedestrian detection, lane-keep assist and adaptive cruise. It matches the Ioniq’s five-star Euro NCAP rating.
Toyota trailed Hyundai by one place in our Driver Power 2017 owner satisfaction survey, ranking 11th. However, this generation of Prius was voted the 36th best car to live with by readers, thanks to its low running costs plus ride and handling balance.
RUNNING COSTS
WHILE the Toyota’s running costs are affordable, they aren’t quite as low as the Ioniq’s. Not only will the Prius cost more in fuel and company car tax, our experts predict it’ll lose more money if you’re a private buyer, too, with a residual value of 43.1 per cent compared with 44.5 per cent for the Hyundai.
As the Prius is more expensive to buy, it’ll lose £1,739 more than the Ioniq with total depreciation of £16,621; although the Toyota will still be worth £12,574 after three years/36,000 miles against £11,913 for the Ioniq. Hyundai’s £499 three-year servicing pack undercuts the Prius’ 36-month maintenance total of £705 by a sizeable margin, too.