My Toyota Prius is great, but not perfect – everything I love and hate about this car

It’s hard to believe that I’ve had my Toyota Prius for almost six months, but in a couple of weeks my time with this awesome-looking hybrid will be up.

There are a lot of things I like about the Prius, but after a lot of miles behind the wheel I have also noticed a few annoying features as well. Here are three pros and three cons which I’ve discovered during my “ownership” of the Toyota Prius.

Living with a Toyota Prius: three things I love

I like to think I’m a pretty positive person, so let’s kick off with the good things about this car.

1. It looks awesome

For most of my life, the Toyota Prius has just been that forgettable hybrid car used mostly by Uber drivers, but this latest design is a huge step up. The sleek headlights and low nose make it look properly sporty, and I love the rear bumper design as well.

This Mustard paint job (yes, that is the real name) really makes it pop as well. This is definitely the colour I would pick because it does a great job of highlighting the cool shape.

2. It’s been a relaxing travel companion

I do a lot of miles travelling to shoot content for our social channels, and the Prius has been a brilliant car to do it in. It’s comfortable over bumps, smooth and refined on the motorway and the light steering makes it easy to drive in town.

The interior is also really easy to use. There are proper switches for the climate control, and switching off all the annoying driver aids is also done easily as well. The infotainment system is also intuitive.

3. It’s cheap to run

I’ll admit that I’ve not been running the Prius in the most efficient way. A lack of home charging makes it hard to keep the battery topped up and make the most of the Toyota’s 40-mile electric-only range.

Despite this, the car has still been really economical. It very rarely dips below 50mpg, even if you’re driving around town with a bit of a heavy foot. If I could keep it charged up, an average of over 60mpg would be easily achievable.

Living with a Toyota Prius: three annoying things

I really like this car, but it’s also not perfect. Here are three things which I don’t like about the Prius.

1. The wireless phone charger

I’ve found over the last six months that my phone gets hotter on the wireless charging pad than it does in other cars. This could be down to the placement of it – you slide your phone into a slot in the centre console, so there’s not much air circulation. A little vent in there would solve the problem.

2. A couple of ergonomic quirks

The interior controls are all easy to use, but one annoyance I have with the cabin is the digital driver’s display. It sits above the small steering wheel, a bit like in our Peugeot 5008, but in my ideal driving position it gets blocked by the rim.

The centre armrest is also a bit awkward. The buttons for traction control and EV mode are right where my arm naturally rests, so I keep nudging them by accident.

3. It’s not the poshest of cars

My Prius feels like it’s built to last, and the interior quality is certainly a huge step up over the old car. However, it does still feel on the cheap side in places. Some of the cabin plastics are a bit scratchy, and the doors sound pretty tinny as well. Still, being a Toyota it’ll outlive most modern castles.

I’ll be sad to hand the keys to my Prius back in a few weeks time, but stay tuned for my final verdict.

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