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"The Toyota Prius 2020 is a reliable hybrid, but the competition is catching up."

• Great gasoline performance

• Practical packaging

• Surprisingly, have fun driving

• Well-coordinated drive train

• Inconspicuous technology

• Fussy brake pedal

• No Android car

The Toyota Prius is the Levi jeans for hybrid cars. Since its introduction in 1997, the Prius has contributed a lot to the spread of hybrids and is often the standard choice. But the Prius is far from the only hybrid that's on sale today.

The competition now offers Prius alternatives to maximize fuel economy. More conventional cars are also available with hybrid drives, including popular Toyota models like RAV4, Corolla, and Camry. Is the car that puts hybrids on the map is still the best choice?

To find out, we spent a week with a 2020 Toyota Prius. While the Prius of the current generation has been around since model year 2016, Toyota has made some significant changes since then, including upgrades to the infotainment system and the addition of additional driver assistance functions.

Stephen Edelstein / Digital Trends

Our test car also had the optional all-wheel drive system (called Toyota AWD-e) that was added for the 2019 model year. While a front-wheel drive Prius L Eco is available from $ 25,280, our fully loaded all-wheel drive XLE test car had a sticker price of $ 31,005.

design

The largely unchanged exterior of the Prius since model year 2016 is unusual to say the least. The sinister face, bulbous profile, and bizarre taillights may look like they were accidentally designed, but they're actually the result of a number of conflicting priorities.

Prius second and third generation models had an egg-shaped hatchback shape that was distinctive, aerodynamic, and well suited for interior packaging. But it was also cool. Toyota tried to spice things up a bit for this generation. The Prius is still a hatchback, but looks more like a sedan. In order to make the car appear slimmer, the designers lowered the front end. Unusually shaped headlights and taillights highlight the Prius.

Toyota achieved low drag without affecting the interior.

However, the Prius doesn't look elegant or futuristic, and that's because other factors had to be considered. The designers still had to make the Prius as aerodynamic as possible to maximize fuel consumption. They also had to pack the bulky hybrid powertrain while offering a reasonable amount of passenger and cargo space. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but I think the Toyota design team has been pulled in too many different directions.

However, the design fulfills its functional goals. At 0.24, the Prius claims one of the lowest drag coefficients of any production car. That means it can slide through the air like a fish in the water and thus improve mileage.

Stephen Edelstein / Digital Trends

Toyota has achieved this without compromising the interior. The Prius has a comparable interior as other special hybrids such as Honda Insight, Hyundai Ioniq and Kia Niro. The Toyota even offers more cargo space than the Kia with a high roof. Behind the steering wheel, I appreciated the Prius' low beltline, which allows for a higher side glass. This improves the view to the outside and gives the cabin an open, airy feeling.

technology

Although Toyota is a leader in hybrid drives, Japan's largest automaker lags behind in other forms of automotive engineering.

At first glance, the interior looks futuristic and different. But once you get behind the wheel, you only get cheap plastic and an overwhelming infotainment system.

As with the Prius Prime plug-in hybrid, Toyota placed the status indicator for the speedometer and hybrid system in the center of the dashboard for no apparent reason. Beneath these displays is a 7.0-inch touchscreen that controls most vehicle functions. The Prime's 11.6-inch screen isn't available on the standard Prius, but that's fine as we didn't see the point of the larger screen while driving the Prime. Toyota can hardly get the 7.0-inch screen to work.

As soon as you get behind the wheel, you only get cheap plastic and an overwhelming infotainment system.

While many Toyota vehicles will receive both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for the 2020 model year, the Prius is only available with CarPlay. Android users get stuck with Toyota's own user interface, which looks dated and reacts slowly. The setup is more complicated than the reduced interfaces in the Hyundai Ioniq and Kia Niro and chunkier than the more complex interface in the Honda Insight. The screen is washed out in the sunlight.

Our test car had a head-up display (part of a $ 800 technology package). The display only shows the current speed, but was easy to read without distracting.

Gas mileage

The infotainment system may be a flop, but Toyota has done it where it matters: under the hood. The Prius not only achieves good mileage, but also offers a comfortable driving experience that does not scare hybrid drivers the first time. The availability of all-wheel drive is an important bonus for car buyers in snowy regions.

The Prius uses a 1.8-liter four-cylinder engine that is connected to Toyota's well-known Hybrid Synergy Drive system. Typically, an electric motor helps the gasoline engine power the front wheels, but four-wheel drive models add a second motor in the rear. It sends power to the rear wheels without a physical connection to the front wheels.

Toyota has been using a similar setup for its hybrid crossovers for years. With the Prius, all-wheel drive is only used when the on-board computer determines that additional traction is required and only up to 60 km / h. We have not noticed a big difference to previous experiences with Priuses with front-wheel drive (Prii?), Which is not surprising since the all-wheel drive rarely drives normally.

The Prius offers a normal driving experience that doesn't frighten hybrid drivers the first time.

With our without four-wheel drive, the Prius has an output of 121 hp (Toyota does not specify any torque). While hybrid buyers are probably not looking for bragging rights, it's worth noting that the Hyundai Ioniq and Kia Niro both have 139 horsepower, while the Honda Insight has 151 horsepower. The acceleration felt reasonable and we were impressed with the seamless transition between gasoline and electrical energy.

Stephen Edelstein / Digital Trends

The Prius is based on the same TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture) platform as many other Toyota models, including the Camry and Corolla. TNGA really pays off for the Prius and gives it a feeling of solidity that is normally not found in mass market hybrids.

Toyota also hit the chassis tuning. This car feels really nimble and fun, although numb steering and tires with low rolling resistance prevent it from being really sporty. The ride quality is good, although the suspension can cause unsettling bumps from the cab over broken roads. The brake pedal was also difficult to modulate, as the brakes only bite after the pedal has covered about three quarters of the way to the ground.

Gasoline Champion

The main reason to buy a hybrid is fuel consumption, and this is where the Prius lives up to the hype. Most front-wheel drive Prius models have a total output of 52 mpg (54 mpg city, 50 mpg highway), but the L Eco model together creates 56 mpg (58 mpg city, 53 mpg highway). These are impressive numbers. However, the competition is catching up.

The Hyundai Ioniq is rated at 58 mpg combined (57 mpg city, 59 mpg highway) in efficiency-oriented blue form and 55 mpg combined (55 mpg city, 54 mpg motorway) in other forms. The Honda Insight also comes close to the Prius, combined with 52 mpg (55 mpg city, 49 mpg highway). Even the Corolla Hybrid from Toyota has a total output of 52 mpg (53 mpg city, 52 mpg highway).

Four-wheel drive is associated with a petrol mile penalty. Our test car was rated at 50 mpg combined (52 mpg city, 48 mpg highway). We had an average of 44.5 mpg (according to the car's on-board computer) over most freeway journeys. Four-wheel drive typically reduces fuel efficiency because the additional hardware adds weight and energy is required to drive both sets of wheels.

Nevertheless, this is currently the best scenario for snow-capped fuel misers. The Prius is the only hybrid car in its price range with all-wheel drive. The only alternative is a larger, less aerodynamic Toyota RAV4 or Ford Escape – with much lower fuel consumption.

safety

The 2020 Prius comes standard with the Toyota Safety Sense P (TSS-P), a bundle of driver aids that includes autonomous emergency braking, a lane departure warning, a lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control.

We found the lane departure warning system a little too sensitive. It beeped when we even approached lane markings like a nervous backseat driver. Conversely, the high beam came on only slowly after being immersed in oncoming cars.

Adaptive cruise control worked well, but because Toyota used the control stick of a more basic cruise control system, it was unnecessarily difficult to adjust. The Honda Insight offers a similar level of standard driver assistance technology, and Toyota doesn't have an equivalent to Honda's clever LaneWatch camera system.

The Prius is a top safety pick from the Insurance Institute for Road Safety (IIHS). Due to the "average" score for his headlights and the passenger crash test with small overlaps at the front, he missed the highest rating for Top Safety Pick + plus, but received the best possible score in all other categories. The Prius also received a five-star overall rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Stephen Edelstein / Digital Trends

Toyota offers a three-year basic warranty of 36,000 miles and a five-year warranty of 60,000 miles for the powertrain. The battery and the components of the hybrid system are guaranteed for eight years and 100,000 miles.

Hyundai and Kia offer longer basic and powertrain warranties, but can't exceed Toyota's battery warranty. Both the Prius and Toyota generally have a reputation for reliability. Priuses have weathered hundreds of thousands of miles of exhausting taxi service in cities around the world, so this hybrid seems to be a pretty good choice when it comes to long-term reliability.

How DT would configure this car

My test car was a fully loaded XLE model, but if I were to spend my own money, I would choose the basic L Eco equipment. This version offers the best mileage of all Prius equipment variants and is also equipped with Apple CarPlay and the TSS-P package with driver aids. The XLE gets leather seats and is available with a head-up display, but I wasn't impressed enough with the execution of these subtleties to pay extra for it.

The L Eco isn't available with all-wheel drive, but the importance of this feature really depends on where you live. When brutal winters are the norm, all-wheel drive is a must. If you live somewhere with mild winters, it is better to drive with the more economical L Eco front-wheel drive.

A good choice, but not the best

The 2020 Toyota Prius is a good car. It is comfortable, practical and keeps the promise of excellent mileage. However, this is no longer the default selection.

With so many other hybrids on the market, the Prius compromises don't have to be accepted. The Honda Insight, Hyundai Ioniq and Kia Niro are all better to drive and not strange to be strange. The Toyota Corolla Hybrid delivers almost the same mileage as the Prius, but in a more conventional package.

Should you get one?

No – at least this is not our first or even second recommendation. The Prius is a trustworthy and reliable choice that is sure to be reliable. However, try the alternatives first.

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