Toyota Prius - Boot space, comfort & practicality

The Toyota Prius has been sculpted by airflow, and while this undoubtedly aids efficiency, it means there are some unfortunate compromises to practicality and interior space. It’s easy to get comfortable if you’re sitting up front in the Prius, thanks to the electrically adjustable seats (we much prefer the Excel’s leather ones to the fabric ones you get in the Design trim).

There’s a generally decent level of kit provided, although while there are front and rear parking sensors and a reversing camera fitted as standard, there’s no option for a 360-degree camera – something we’d quite like given the relatively poor level of visibility to the rear. 

The Prius is longer than most of its plug-in hybrid hatchback competitors, but it’s narrower and lower due to its focus on reducing drag. The windscreen is set far out in front with raked A-pillars, resulting in a noticeable blind spot up front. The view out the rear window is just as bad, with visibility from the rear-view mirror partially obscured. 

Dimensions and size

At 4,599mm long, the Prius is 46mm shorter than before and 50mm lower. This gives the Prius a much sportier profile that will certainly stand out amongst its hatchback-bodied competitors. 

While previous generations of Prius have been offered in a Prius+ MPV bodystyle, Toyota has no plans to create a larger version of the current car.

How practical is the Toyota Prius?  

Seats & space in the front 

Tall adults will find the front of the Prius will find plenty of elbow, head and leg room. You sit quite far away from the base of the windscreen, which some people might find a little odd to begin with, but you soon get used to it.

Seats & space in the back 

It’s the rear where the Prius comes up a little short, which is surprising given the car’s popularity as a taxi. 

Those over six feet will have around one inch of headroom in the rear, thanks to a crossmember in the roof that impacts on space. Legroom is acceptable, even behind another tall adult, but the window line is quite high up, so it’s not particularly light and airy – there’s no option for a panoramic sunroof either. 

Families with young children who need child seats will be pleased to find ISOFIX child seat mounting points are standard-fit on the Prius.

Boot space 

Boot space has never been a stand-out feature of the Prius, despite its people-carrying history. The good news is that the new car is up on the old Prius PHEV’s 191-litre boot. Thanks to an extra 50mm length in the wheelbase, the battery has been positioned under the rear seats, which boosts boot space up to 284 litres – still far off what you get in plug-in hybrid versions of the Volkswagen Golf or Peugeot 308. 

There’s also no under-floor storage, just a foam mat with a few indents for items like the tyre inflation pump and toolkit. The layout of the boot is relatively shallow, so while large pieces of luggage should be fine, but we’d avoid sticking a dog back there thanks to the raked rear window. At least there’s no load lip, meaning loading hefty items is a little bit easier.