Category: Small Family 
Price Range: £18,370 to £21,230
Improved drive, low emissions, real-world improvement in fuel consumption, clear head-up display.
Intrusive road and wind noise, limited rear headroom, expensive.
Vastly improved Prius is finally a credible rival to any diesel hatch and the best hybrid money can buy.
Three generations on and 12 years since it first began selling them, Toyota has finally decided it's time to take the Prius mainstream.
Mainstream of course means more sales: the Japanese firm hopes to shift 30% more of its hybrid next year, even in a credit-crunched Europe.
To help achieve this ambitious aim engineers have been tasked with broadening the Prius' appeal to help make it a more credible offering to a petrol or diesel hatch.
The new car gets off to a fine start in its mission to convince those to switch. Toyota claims the new Prius is the most efficient five-seat small family car money can buy and until the smaller and significantly slower next-gen Polo Bluemotion arrives, we have to agree.
The Prius emits just 89g/km of CO2 while averaging an outstanding 72.4mpg - not bad for a car that can also sprint to 62mph in 10.4 seconds.
The new Prius is also bigger, offering more space inside.
There's new technology such as a head-up display and solar-powered sunroof to power the air con while parked.
Engineers have also redesigned the Toyota's rear suspension to improve the drive.
Price is naturally pivotal if the Toyota is to be seen as a real Golf alternative, rather than an eco-warrior extravagance, and with the range beginning at £18,370 the Prius is no more expensive than the old car and priced closely to a DSG-equipped Golf diesel - but which is better?
Latest Readers' Drives About the Toyota Prius
wrote on 01 02 2007
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