New Toyota Prius review: Cooler than a LAMBO?!

This is the new Toyota Prius, and it's a little bit like a pair of Crocs. You see, in the past, the Prius was not cool at all. The hell is this? It's my car. It's a Prius. Whereas today, look at it. Very cool. Just like Crocs. I mean, look at me. Oh, yeah. In this video, I'm going to tell you everything you need to know about this car. I'm going to talk you around the exterior, show you the interior, going to see how practical it is. I'm going to tell you what's good about it, what's not good about it. Take it for a drive. And of course, I'm going to launch it to see how quick it is from nought to 60 miles an hour, because I'm Mark Watson and you're watching Car Wow. Let's start this video by talking about the design of this new Prius, because I don't know how they've done it. They've made it kind of look like a Lamborghini Huracan. Can you see it from this angle in the glass area? It does, doesn't it? You also notice it down the side, though I should point this out. A lot of these cars will be driven by Uber drivers, and you're going to have customers come to the car and try and get in. Where's the door handle? And then you're going to have to wind down your window and tell them that it's actually here. Looks cool, but not very practical if you're driving a taxi. Moving forward, you can see just how swept this windscreen is and the way the roof line just arches to the back. So racy. It's all in the interest of aerodynamics, including that little bit there. That bit actually really improves the airflow just around the door mirror, reduces drag, increases efficiency and also reduces wind noise. But more on that in a bit. Here at the front, it looks very much like this. I like it with it. Daytime running lights, the main lights below. It just works. Well done, Toyota. You've made the Prius cool. Now it starts from $27,000, though this one with all the kit on it, it's $37,000. You might be wondering why I'm talking in dollars. You see, the reason is this Prius isn't coming to the United Kingdom. What? The best Prius ever, and we're not getting it. Anyway, if you're looking for a hybrid, click on the pop out banner up there or follow the link in the description below to go to Carwow to compare a range of offers on a whole load of cars. You can actually sell your current car through Carwow as well. Dead easy. All you have to do is upload some photos, give a brief description, then dealers all across the country will bid on your car. Pick the highest offer. They'll come to your house, take the car away, put the money into your account. Now, if you'd like to do that at a later date, just simply Google Help Me Carwow and we will help you change your car. The new Prius is just as cool here on the inside. I really like the design of the dash. It's quite interesting what they've done with the steering wheel. They're pretty much copied Peugeot. Sort of works. It feels like you're in some kind of like spacecraft. There's enough adjustment in it as well so that you can make sure that you've got a position where you can see the dials which are beyond it. Sort of like a fake heads up display. Now, there's plenty of adjustment in the driver's seat as well, though there is a slight problem and it's not the beeping. This car does like to beep. It's a Toyota after all. Headroom here in the front. It is a little bit on the tight side. So if you're tall, even with a seat low, you may not fit in the Prius. That's one of the problems with this swooping roof line. In fact, if you look at just how swept back this windscreen is, once again, it feels a bit like a Lamborghini Huracan when you're sat in it, which is a bizarre thing to say. Now, other things that I like about this car, this big infotainment screen, it's pretty good. It's not the sharpest in terms of responses. Look, a little bit of lag there. But you've got Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, both of which are wireless. And they fill the screen as well, which they don't on all cars. I also like the fact that Toyota hasn't put the controls for the climate in the touchscreen. Instead, you've got a separate bank of switches here. Look, so you can control it all nice and easily while you're driving along. And this particular car's got everything fitted to it. You've got heated seats and ventilated cool seats as well. It's hot today, so I think I'm going to cool my bottom a little bit. There we go. Speaking of which, I am sat on the fake leather seats, but you can get cloth as well if you prefer. In terms of storage, well, look, decent sized door bins down there. Big cupholders, though a little bit too big. Things are going to rattle around. I do like this, though. There's your wireless charging pad there with two little grippers, and it's wide enough to hold my big, stupid foldable phone, which is that's a good thing. Quite surprised, actually. There's more storage under here and you've got USB-C charging ports there. You've got some more storage area here and a removable tray so you can hide things under there. And then there's some more charging ports there. USB-C, USB-C, and then old school 12-volter. Although I don't know who's going to use that. The glove box is of average size. So, too, is the material quality, because some of the things you touch do feel a little bit cheap and the center console does wobble a bit. However, the materials higher up, such as here and on here and on here, feel a lot nicer. I do like this touch. Big sun visors and big vanity mirrors. And then there's this extra extension here for the sun visor to block the sun if you have it at the side there like that and across there as well. Anyway, let's check out the back seats. See if it's as good in the rear. Here in the back, there's plenty of knee room. The issue is with headroom. Look at that. Really, it's quite tight. People over six foot will struggle. It's especially bad if you need to carry three in the back at once, because while there isn't too much of a hump in the floor, so there is enough space for everyone's feet. The person who gets this middle seat is really going to struggle for headroom. I actually think it's a bit better for headroom in the back of Toyota's Corolla. Now, if you want to see my full in-depth video review of a Toyota Corolla, click on the pop out banner up there for the link in the description below. There are also some other slightly weird things back here. You see, in some ways, they've really thought things through. For instance, the rear windows go all the way down. The ISOFIX angle points are really easy to get to. You have decent sized rear door bins. You can get it with heated seats here in the back. And there's two USB-C chargers down there. Yet there are some things that are just a bit odd. You only get one pocket on the back of the front passenger seat, not on the back of the driver's seat. Also, there are no air vents at all here in the back. And while this particular car has two cup holders in the armrest, models lower down the range don't. And no models at all have through loading. It's a bit odd, isn't it? Let's check out the boot. The Prius's boot has this many litres of capacity. Now, while it does go back quite a way and it's quite wide, the issue is that it's not that deep. Still, that does mean there's not much of a lip to lift things over, which is handy if you're carrying heavy filming equipment. Oh, also, well, oh, don't fall on my feet. Also, when you fall down the rear seats, they lie completely flat, which is handy when it comes to, oh, why am I doing this? And then sliding it towards the front. Now, underneath here, there is some more storage. Look, it's quite hard to get to and it's divided up. That brings you on to five annoying things about the Toyota Prius. The raised centre console and the way the armrest protrudes slightly here means that sometimes when you're driving or you move your arm, you end up just banging your funny bone on it. You're like, f**k off! When you have the air conditioning on and then turn the fan up to three or above, you get this weird water trickling sound. Have a listen to this. It sounds like there's someone behind the dash taking a piss. This car sounds like it's built out of the cheapest tin in the world. Listen to it. And the way the door shuts. Terrible. The sun blind is manual. That's not much of a problem, but this is. What's that noise? It's like someone's banging on a pan. I quite like the fact that Toyota have gone for a space saving, easy to store within the car, low cover, which then folds out. I just wish they'd measured it out properly so that when you put it in place and the boot is shut, it would fit and cover the load area because these are going to be able to look through the glass and see past it and see that you've actually got stuff in your boot. And then you're going to break in and take all your things. It's not all negative, though. Here's five good things about this car. I love the high definition surround view camera you get with this car and the fact it can do this thing where it will make the car seem transparent. So if I press this button here. You'll see, look. I can see the front wheels where they're moving and what's underneath the car. How clever is that? Now, if I do this, I put it back into drive mode and let's say I'm looking at the back and it's all a bit dirty because there's stuff all over the lens. I press this button and it will wash the dirt off the camera lens. Cool. If you get the plug in hybrid version, it's available with solar panels on the roof to put some extra charge back into your battery. Adaptive cruise control with lane keeping assist is standard right across the range. You can actually honk the car's horn remotely using the key to startle passers by. Good for pranking. The rear view mirror actually has a built in screen. So you flip a switch and then it will view from a live camera feed. You can see it looking at the sky right now. But if I close the boot, you will see me. The Toyota Prius uses a two liter naturally aspirated four cylinder petrol engine mated to an electric motor, which puts out 197 horsepower and it drives the front wheels via a CVT automatic gearbox. However, you can get an all wheel drive version, which has an extra motor on the rear axle, though that only boosts power by two horsepower. So one hundred and ninety nine horsepower in total. Then there's the plug in hybrid version. Once again, two liter four cylinder naturally aspirated petrol engine mated to an electric motor driving the front wheels via CVT automatic gearbox. Though that one has 223 horsepower and can do over 40 miles on electric power alone. You can't get the plug in hybrid with the all wheel drive system, though, for whatever reason. I think we better drive this thing. FYI, this is the front wheel drive normal hybrid, not the plug in. Let's start off by testing the Prius in an urban environment. Slow speeds, cruising around, trying to maximize efficiency. And this is where the car is really designed to excel when you're just pulling away and driving slowly using that electric motor. Only when you prod the accelerator a little bit too much does the petrol motor kick in and it's all quite smooth or quite seamless. I tell you what's also smooth and seamless. The suspension deals really well with bumps. So this is a little bit bumpy here, but the suspension just soaks it up so very well, really is a very comfortable car. Also, the steering is nice and light and the brakes are really good. They're smooth. They're progressive. Sometimes with hybrids, because you have like regen braking, they can feel a little bit grabby. Not with this one. So I'm going to brake a little bit. But it's all very smooth and easy to control. So you have no excuse for making your passengers feel sick. Eh? Note to Uber drivers. No excuse. What happens if you go the wrong way, though? Well, here, once again, the Prius is really good. It's got a tight turning circle. I can't quite make it around this way. Oh, and I tell you what, those cameras really help. But it's 10.8 metres, which is impressive. Not quite as impressive as a Kia Niro. That's 10.6 metres. And if you want to see my full in-depth video review of that car, just click on the pop out banner up there. But still, it's pretty tight and it makes this car nice and manoeuvrable and easy to drive. Toyota have nailed the Prius. They've been working on it for a long time. And this latest generation is just the pinnacle. There is one slight problem, though. This pillar creates a massive blind spot. And the view out the back window is tiny. And there's a huge rear pillar as well. The visibility isn't brilliant. In that way, it is definitely like a Lamborghini Huracan. Do you know what? I think I need to give this car another chance at a U-turn just to show you that you can do it. Watch this. In one go. Down we go. Come on. Come on, Prius. Yeah. Easy, easy, easy. One thing that is interesting is that you do have this situation where the car's engine sometimes just cuts in and goes away, cuts in, goes away. You just get used to it. And it's not particularly noisy unless you really put your foot down and try and accelerate hard. Now, let's try the Prius out on some faster roads. So I'm now joining the freeway. I'm going to floor it to accelerate. Here we go. Blimey, did you hear that? That's the problem with this car's CVT gearbox. It does this thing when you accelerate hard. It holds the revs at a constant RPM for maximum power. And it just makes that mooing sound. Moo! Like a dying cow. Moo! That is the only issue with this car in terms of the refinement levels, because when you're cruising at speed, it's quiet. You don't get much road noise. So aerodynamic, there's hardly any wind noise. Really comfy. Also, there's the economy. So Toyota says it should be able to do 68 miles to the gallon. This one's actually doing 47, though that's US miles to the gallon. If we convert that to UK Imperial, it'd be doing 56, which is all right. You know, if we're driving really cautiously the whole time, I think you get over 60. So it does deliver on its promise of economy. Once again, I'm going to overtake, though, just to show you just how quick it picks up. It's pretty good, but to let you hear the mooing sound. Here we go. Bring on the cow. I guess you get used to it after a while, but I just wish it didn't do that. It's the only thing. It's like you're revving it when it's stationary. Can you hear that? Oh, so odd. Finally, I'm going to try this Prius on a twisty road. So I'm going to knock it into sport setting, which will just ensure I get maximum power. I think it adds some weight to the steering. But let's find out. You sort of get lulled into a false sense of security with this car because that sloping windscreen makes it feel like you're into it really sporty. So too does the small steering wheel. And actually, the way this thing goes around corners is pretty impressive. Relatively composed, calm, remains quite flat, doesn't lean that much. It's actually very good. There is a slight problem, though. Two, in fact. The first are the tyres. So obviously with this car, the tyres are set up for economy in mind. So they have reduced grip so you don't get so much like drag from them. That means that if you push too hard into a corner, you start to get the tyres squealing and they'll eventually let go and the car will just push wide. The bigger issue, though, is the engine and gearbox combination. So you can't really control the car on the throttle at all. It's so unresponsive, actually, to throttle inputs, this car, because you've got that CVT, which basically just dampens any effect of the acceleration from the engine hitting the wheels. It's just like you've got some big, blooming elastic band connecting the engine to the wheels. And as a result, you just lose all response. And that is a real shame. I mean, people don't buy a Toyota Prius to go out for a blast down a country road. The rest of the car is actually so very good that you could do that if only the engine and gearbox combination wasn't such a blooming stick in the mud, spoiling all the fun. There, you could probably hear the tyres then. And again. But I just can't be bothered to push this car because of the blooming engine and gearbox. Bit of a shame. But then, you know, this car isn't set up for putting a smile on your face on a twisty road. It's set up for putting a smile on your face when you check your fuel bills. This Prius is supposed to do 0-60 in 7.2 seconds. But let's find out the reality now with my specialist timing gear. I'm going to launch it. Here we go. Come on! Come on! 7.22. There you go. So then what's my final verdict on the new Toyota Prius? Should you avoid it? Should you consider it? Should you shortlist it or should you just go right ahead and buy it? Well, I reckon you should just go right ahead and buy the new Toyota Prius. It really is a brilliant hybrid car. Unfortunately, you can't buy it in the UK. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the video. If you did, give it a like. Oh, nice S2000 there. Actually sod that, let me know in the comments below if you'd rather have the S2000 or this Toyota Prius. If you want to watch some other videos, click on those windows there. And if you click on that box there, you can get a car while to sell your car the easy way.