2017 Toyota Prius Hybrid

The 2017 Toyota Prius is available in seven different trim levels for which the line-up starts at $23,475 for the One and stretches all the way up to $30,015 for the Four Touring, while comprising the trims Two, Two Eco, Three, Three Touring, Four in between. The standard features list is very decent for the price and the now-standard Safety Sense covers the gap in driver-assistance features that used to exist before. 

We recommend

The Prius Two gets our recommendation for being the best VFM proposition in the whole line-up. It adds a windshield wiper at the rear along with many other features that one needs on a daily commute but keeps the rather-unnecessary ones at bay. The Japanese manufacturer has also bundled its Safety Sense suite of driver-assistance features thereby making the car a solid choice. 

The 2017 Toyota Prius might be the most sluggish car on the planet but one thing that it does well is drive the most miles on a gallon of gas. The Prius had always been about fuel-economy and never about performance and to cement the claim, the EPA rated figures for the Japanese car stand at 54 MPG in the city and 50 MPG on the highway, for a combined 52 MPG from its 11.3-gallon fuel tank. 

Talking of the fuel efficiency on offer, the Prius does a commendable job of providing more than 50 MPG but the Ioniq one-ups the Prius and provides even more MPG along with a bigger fuel tank which, effectively, makes it the most fuel-efficient offering in the comparison. The Chevrolet Volt is a good car with strong performance but the fuel efficiency isn’t as good as either the Prius or the Ioniq. This isn’t helped by the fact that the tank on offer is a mere 8.9 gallons that doesn’t help in range either. 

The interior of the 2017 Toyota Prius is a pretty good place to be in with a well-built cabin and lots of soft-touch material inside. The whole interior has a clean demeanour to it and is available in a single-tone color as standard, which is then upgraded to a dual-tone theme on the higher trims. The dashboard and the door panels have hard plastics for most of the part but there are soft-touch areas available on the most-touched areas like the armrest and the top of the dashboard. 

Talking of the dashboard, it also has the off-centre instrument panel in the middle which looks very cool and futuristic but can be very distracting on the highway. This philosophy, though, has been followed by many other cars like the Tesla Model 3 as well with its massive screen integrating the speedometer and other important stuff. The driver’s information display is a dual 4.2-inch setup which groups every detail in a handsome format, without skipping on any part. 

The centre console on the Prius has the gear shifter mounted just below the infotainment display and is surrounded by the drive mode selector and the EV-only toggle. Within the reach of the driver is a cubby to hold some candies in the base trims, while the higher trims upgrade the same to a wireless phone charger. The centre console also houses a couple of cup holders that add practicality for the font passengers. The centre armrest is hard but has enough capacity inside to hold a barrel of Twizlers. 

The seats on the Prius are super comfortable right from the base trim onwards and come upholstered in cloth as standard. The seats have pretty nice bolstering to them which keeps the occupants in place but feel a bit extra on a car which isn’t meant for sporty driving on the twisty roads. The higher trims get leather upholstery and contrast stitching and also follow the dual-tone theme of the rest of the interior, if opted for. The seating area is soft and comfortable irrespective of the trim. 

The rear seats get a lot of legroom due to the batteries being placed below the car. There are pockets behind the front seats for the rear passengers to store stuff, while the centre console gets a couple of USB ports. The only caveat to the Prius’ rear-seat practicality is the lack of rear AC vents which feels like a blunder. The centre of the rear seats have an armrest which, when pulled down, reveals a couple of cupholders in it. The armrest is soft and doesn’t hurt the elbow of the occupants like the one in the front. 

The cargo area in the Prius is a hatchback which is a plus for the people who want more trunk space. The hatch opens nice and wide which reveals a large opening and a retractable parcel shelf for easy bifurcation of the area. The trunk has a light inside for illuminating the boot in the dark. Pulling up the faux floor reveals a spare tire on the base trim, while the higher trims get a tire-inflation kit for more practicality.

The Hyundai Ioniq gets a roomy cabin which has ample shoulder room in both the rows, while one-upping the other two in rear legroom and the cargo capacity on offer. The Prius, on the other hand, is very close to how comfortable the Ioniq is while also adding an impressive boot to store stuff in. The Chevrolet Volt gets good shoulder room and rear legroom but the other parameters remain lower than that of the Prius, including the boot space which is 132% lower. The Prius’ cabin is beautiful and well made, with some of the highlighting features being:

• Keyless entry (driver door only) and ignition
• Dual 4.2-inch driver information screens
• Automatic climate control
• Tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel
• Simulated leather on the steering wheel and armrests
• Power driver seat with adjustable lumbar
• 60/40-split folding rear seat
• Wireless phone charging pad
• Seatback storage pockets

What’s there to keep you entertained in the 2017 Toyota Prius?

The 2017 Toyota Prius gets a 6.1-inh display which sits in the middle of the dashboard and is easy to reach while driving. The whole screen is surrounded by gloss black trim which makes it look good but adds a lot of fingerprints with constant use. The standard system has a lot of functionality by way of a HD rear-view camera, voice recognition, Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity, and Siri Eyes Free. The standard music system is a 6-speaker setup that gets a CD player, an AUX jack, and a USB port to play music from. 

The infotainment system can be further upgraded to a bigger 7.0-inch display from the Prius Three onwards which combines Toyota’s Entune system and adds access to various apps like Yelp, iHeartRadio, Pandora, and OpenTable if you’re able to successfully connect your smartphone to the system. This upgraded system is also paired to the same 6-speaker setup as standard but the buyers can opt for the Advanced Technology package which replaces the standard audio system with a 10-speaker JBL audio system. Some of the highlighting features of the infotainment system on the Prius are:

• 6.1-/7.0-inch touchscreen 
• Toyota Entune
• Bluetooth phone and audio connectivity
• Siri Eyes Free
• Navigation
• HD radio
• Satellite radio
• 3 USB ports
• CD player
• Auxiliary audio jack
• 6-speaker standard/10-speaker JBL premium audio system

The 2017 Toyota Prius looks as if it has come from the future to warn humans to get more eco-friendly in their car choices. The front has a very peculiar design which looks good to many but also has been a butt of many memes across the internet. The LED headlights come as standard on the car with a sharp design that culminates perfectly into the hood of the car while the indicators extend a bit further. The fog lights are incandescent as standard but the higher trims get LED ones for better illumination. The front grille has a small grille with the Toyota badge carrying a blue accent signifying the hybrid nature. The lower part of the bumper extends a bit and looks like the car has whiskers. 

The Prius gets 15-inch wheels as standard which are upgradable to 17-inch wheels on the higher trims. The design is typical of a hybrid but suits the car well. As for the overall design, the sides are pretty normal and have a “Hybrid Performance” badge on the front quarter panel. The windows get chrome surrounds as standard. The roof slopes down towards the hatch of the car and integrates seamlessly with a small spoiler at the end. 

The rear windshield may, or may not, have a rear wiper. The tail lights look like big vampire fangs with their pointy design and an all LED setup that extends well below the rear bumper line. There’s a small glass panel at the back as well for more visibility but the actual practicality of the same is questionable. 

The Chevrolet Volt is by far the heaviest car in the lot which sits too low for comfort. The ground clearance is good for the twisty roads but for the city commutes, it becomes a problem since the car does not take bumps very well. The Prius, on the other hand, is the lightest and the proportions are just good for being comfortable for the rear-seat passengers as well. The Hyundai and the Toyota have identical wheelbases and both are pretty nimble to handle. That said, the Prius has outworldly appearance that makes it distinct from the others and some of the highlighting features are:

• 15-/17-inch wheels
• Automatic LED headlights
• Fog lights
• LED clearance lights
• Heated mirrors
• LED running lights and taillights
• Rear wiper

The 2017 Toyota Prius gets a suite of advanced technology aids and as a blessing, the car also gets a Safety Sense suite of advanced driver technology as standard from this model year. Apart from these the car gets a strong chassis with crumple zones that take the brunt of the impact and keeps the shock away from the occupants. As for the driver-assistance features on-board, some of the highlighting features are:

• Rear-view camera
• Forward collision warning
• Lane departure warning and intervention
• Automatic emergency braking
• Automatic high beams
• Ultra low-rolling resistance tires
• Blind-spot monitoring system
• Automatic wipers
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Self-parking system
• Safety Connect emergency services

2017 Toyota Prius Vs. 2017 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid

The Toyota Prius is a sluggish car off-the-line and the Ioniq takes a pretty massive win over the Toyota with the DCt gearbox and a peppier engine. It is also more fuel-efficient and has a bigger tank which aids it in long-distance cruising. The Toyota seeks its win in the comfort and “poshness” of the cabin, a futuristic design, bevy of standard features, class-leading safety with Safety Sense, and a distinct and futuristic styling that grabs eyeballs. 

2017 Toyota Prius Vs. 2017 Chevrolet Volt

The Toyota Prius has a better interior with better styling, and a reliable track record given its Japanese roots. The car has an engine that is said to go for hundreds of thousands of miles without issues. Also, this engine is more fuel-efficient than the one on the Volt and provides more range due to the bigger tank. The Volt is a quick car with double the number of motors on the Prius and an early torque delivery. It also has a similarly big cabin to make the occupants comfortable, while also carrying excellent braking capabilities. 

The 2017 Toyota Prius adds “value” in “value for money” with all the comfort on offer by way of a nicely appointed and futuristic-looking cabin. Yes, the off-centre driver’s display can be a bit difficult to get used to but the practicality is unaffected. The features list on the car is solid and the comfort levels at the rear are unmatched by its rivals. The engine isn’t quick in any shape or form but the fuel economy on offer makes it a lucrative deal. As for the practicality, there are plenty of cubby spaces inside the cabin and the cargo area is massive. The safety on the car is top-notch with a bevy of features, making it a commendable proposition for the value-seeker.