Toyota Prius - MPG, emissions & running costs

As with most plug-in hybrids, the Toyota Prius has a quoted mpg figure that is slightly unrealistic because it relies heavily on the electric-only side of the powertrain. We didn’t get anywhere near the claimed 565mpg, but found over 100mpg easily achievable even on wet mountain roads. 

Electric range, battery life and charge time

The Toyota Prius, in Design form, can reach up to 53 miles of electric-only range. Specify the Excel, which crucially increases the wheel size from 17 inches to 19 inches, and you’ll find range drops to 44 miles. 

The Prius is extremely efficient in all-electric mode thanks to its drag coefficient of 0.27. We achieved 4.3mi/kWh on a steady run, which would’ve returned a maximum range of over 58 miles based on the 13.6kWh battery. A heat pump is fitted as standard, so the Prius should offer similar efficiency all year round. 

A ‘Predictive Efficient Drive’ system has been developed with the latest Prius, and it learns the driver’s regular routes and driving style, then optimises the car’s electric mode for better efficiency. It can remember areas where sudden deceleration is needed for regenerative braking and places where extra power is required for uphill or motorway driving to ready the petrol engine. 

The regenerative braking system comprises three modes – gentle, medium and strong – and while it doesn’t quite allow for one-pedal driving, up to 80 per cent deceleration is served up in the ‘strong’ mode. 

You might need to make use of the Toyota Prius’s ability to perform self-charging on the move more often than you think. That’s because it only comes with a 3.5kW on-board charger that’ll replenish the battery from zero to 100 per cent in four hours. Some rivals, like the Volkswagen Golf eHybrid, have rapid charging capacity and a top-up time of less than 30 minutes for a 20 to 80 per cent charge. 

Tax 

The Prius retains its appeal with company car buyers thanks to its low Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) tax rates. Due to its 53-mile range and 12g/km CO2 output, the Prius sits in the eight per cent tax band.

Insurance

An insurance group of 31 is a little higher than rivals. We expect this is a result of its technologically advanced powertrain, but also the fact the Prius has been popular as a commuter vehicle in urban areas, potentially increasing the risk of collisions.

Depreciation

The latest Prius plug-in hybrid can’t quite match the impressively low 63 per cent depreciation score of the previous generation Prius over three years or 36,000 miles, but an average score of 58 per cent puts it between the Kia Niro PHEV that’s expected to hold on to 59 per cent of its value after the period, and ahead of the Volkswagen Golf plug-in, which fares much worse at around 50 per cent. 

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