2018 Toyota Prius Hybrid

"The 2018 Toyota Prius has a generous standard features list and an expansive cargo area, but its sluggish highway power and limited rear-seat space keep it mired in the middle of our compact car rankings." Cars.USNews

The 2018 Toyota Prius offers a vast list of options, starting with its seven-trim lineup. It comes with a single powertrain, across the seven trims, a 1.8L 4-cylinder gas/electric engine. This powertrain comes mated to a 1-speed CVT transmission system that transfers 121 hp and 105 lb-ft of torque to the FWD drivetrain system in place.

The seven trims available are One, Two, Two Eco, Three, Three Touring, Four, and Four Touring. It is offered at an MSRP range of $23 475-$30,565. While the basic trim offers only basic features such as a 6.1-inch touch screen display, heated mirrors, telescopic steering wheel, and its kind, the high and trim offer a safety plus package, vehicle locator, roadside assistance, a premium JBL audio system, inbuilt navigation, an 11.6-inch HD multimedia display, premium interiors and more.

We Recommend

Considering the Toyota Prius to be a pocket-friendly vehicle, we would recommend the most economical yet feature-packed trim, the 2018 Toyota Prius Two. Apart from getting all the features that are offered in the basic Prius one, it also gets rear window wipers, fabric-trimmed front seats with seatback pockets, and adjustable passenger seats.

"The 2018 Toyota Prius has some of the best gas mileage figures for a compact car." - Cars.USNews

This is the aspect that all of the audience has been waiting for, built to deliver specifically in terms of fuel efficiency, the 2018 Toyota Prius does offer a fabulous fuel economy. It puts up a fine reading of 54 miles to a gallon for city drives, 50 miles to a gallon for Highway cruises, and 52 miles as its combined reading. The Prius Two Eco trim offers the best economy amongst all the Prius variants available.

In competition, it is the 2018 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid that offers the best fuel efficiency amongst the hybrids in consideration. It delivers 57 miles to a gallon for city drives, 59 miles to gallon for Highway cruises, and 58 miles as its combined reading. On the other hand, we have the 2018 Chevrolet Volt that offers the least mileage in class, with only 42 miles to a gallon as its Highway and combined reading.

The Prius’s interior is unchanged for 2018. It’s still not what we’d call impressive, but it is comfortable and seems sturdy. - Caranddriver

Styling and comfort of the 2018 Toyota Prius

The 2018 Toyota Prius offers a spacious passenger room, though the offering isn't the most comforting or out of the ordinary. It can accommodate up to 5 individuals, but we would recommend only four as the space for the fifth one would be cramped. With regard to dimension, it offers similar to its rivals, both for the front and rear row of seats. Overall it is a spacious offering.

In competition, it is the Hyundai Ioniq hybrid that offers the most in terms of passenger room, measuring a total of 96.2 cubic feet. It is closely followed by the Toyota Prius with an offering of 93.1 cubic feet for its passenger room. The least room in class is offered by the Chevrolet Volt, it measures only 90.3 cubic feet.

Infotainment System of the 2018 Toyota Prius

The availability of an 11.6-inch touchscreen infotainment system in Priuses Four and Four Touring variants marks the only change for 2018. Toyota's standard Entune audio system comes loaded with the following:

• USB port
• CD player
• Auxiliary jack
• Bluetooth compatibility

Prius Three and above trims carry the premium version of Entune, which offers additional features like navigation, Toyota's App suite, and a Qi-compatible wireless charging pad.

Interior features of the 2018 Toyota Prius

The interiors, as discussed prior, aren't very impressive, being more functional than appealing. The dash-mounted gear shifter is easier to reach than a traditional one, although it takes a little getting used to because of its unique gear shift pattern and separate parking button.

• Integrated backup/rearview camera
• Entune Audio with 6.1-in. touch-screen display
• 4.2-in. color dual Multi-Information Display (MID)
• Tilt/telescopic steering wheel with audio, climate control
• Cruise control

The subsequent models add more bells and whistles to these basic features.

Cargo Capacity of the 2018 Toyota Prius

In terms of its cargo space offering, the 2018 Toyota Prius is quite impressive as it offers a room that measures 24.6 cubic feet. A lot of credit has to be given to the research and development team that has toiled to develop a compact battery as compared to the previous model years, this plays a vital role in increasing the carbon space on offer.

Compared with competition and once again we have the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid grabbing the first place for the most room offered. It measures a room of 26.5 cubic feet and is hence the winner here. The 2018 Chevrolet Volt fails to deliver in this aspect and offers a room that measures 10.6 cubic feet only.

We’ve called the Prius a number of things, but we’ve never called it handsome. Virtually every competitor is more attractive to our collective eye. -Caranddriver

Dimension and Weight of the 2018 Toyota Prius

In terms of dimension, the 2018 Toyota Prius borrows a lot from its predecessor. And in comparison with competition, it delivers about the average. However, it has the shortest ground clearance and smallest width to its name. On the other hand, it gets the most height, measuring 58.1 inches and a decent wheelbase of 106.3 inches.

Against its competitors, it is the 2018 Chevy Volt that weighs the most, at 3519 lbs. It is also the longest, shortest, and comes with the best ground clearance, measuring 5.5-inches. It further has a wheelbase of 106.1 inches and a width of 71.2 inches. The 2018 Prius weighs the next heaviest, at 3075 lbs., it is the second-longest at 178.7 inches, a best-in-class height of 58.1-inches, and a best-in-class wheelbase of 106.3 inches. The 2018 Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid gets average dimensions, with the least weight in comparison, it weighs 2996 lbs.

Exterior Features of the 2018 Toyota Prius

• Rear Bumper Applique
• Alloy Wheel Locks
• Door Edge Guards
• Paint Protection Film
• Body Side Moldings
• Special Paint
• Cargo Cross Bars
• Aero Side Splitter

"The standard Safety Sense pre-collision system earned the Prius a top rating of Superior for front crash prevention." - Cars.USnews

Safety Rating of the 2018 Toyota Prius

The 2018 Toyota Prius scores a perfect 5 out of 5-star rating for its overall safety, as awarded by NHTSA. Being the authority of road safety in the country, and known for its safety tests, we can surely rely on its ratings. The 2018 Toyota Prius scores 4 out of 5 stars in the frontal crash test and the rollover safety test, each. In all the other aspects it gets a 5 out of 5-star rating.

Just in order to make sure we also looked into the safety ratings As given by another private institution, IIHS. To our utter amazement, we find that the 2018 Toyota Prius bags the "Top Safety Pick" award here. In almost all the aspects it scores a "Good" grade, other than in the aspect of Small overlap front: Passenger-side, and for its Headlights, in both of which it gets an "Acceptable" grading.

Safety features of the 2018 Toyota Prius

Standard safety features include:

• Enhanced Vehicle Stability Control (VSC)
• Driver and front passenger Advanced Airbag System
• LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers for CHildren) includes lower anchors on outboard rear seats and tether anchors on all rear seats
• Vehicle Proximity Notification System (VPNS)
• Intelligent Clearance Sonar (ICS) with Intelligent Parking Assist (IPA)
• Color Head-Up Display (HUD) with speedometer, navigation and Hybrid System Indicator
• Blind Spot Monitor (BSM) and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert (RCTA)
• Hill Start Assist Control (HAC)
• Engine immobilizer

2018 Toyota Prius vs 2018 Hyundai Ioniq

Up against the 2018 Hyundai Ioniq hybrid the Toyota Prius faces a real tough fight. It is probably the best hybrid there is in the market right now, especially given its price tag. Putting up a better performance in comparison to the Prius in almost every aspect leaves us with no choice but to choose the Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid over it.

2018 Toyota Prius vs 2018 Chevrolet Volt

In comparison to the 2018 Chevrolet Volt, a hybrid that delivers more power than the Toyota Prius, it also offers better acceleration and braking performance. However, with regard to the range on offer, it is the 2018 Toyota Prius that offers more. Further, looking into the interior space it is once again the Prius that offers more, this is in terms of passenger room as well as cargo room. With all the cars in consideration having similar exterior dimensions, there isn't much to compare. We would any day recommend the Prius over the Chevy hybrid.

The 2018 Toyota Prius gets seven trims and is priced at an MSRP range of $23,475-$30,565. However, across this lineup, there is only one engine to offer, a 1.8L 4-cylinder engine, along with 2 electric motors. This offering strictly delivers on fuel efficiency and doesn't pay heed to speed and performance. Following a set purpose, the Prius does deliver perfectly on it. The interiors see just about the basics in terms of comfort and features. With an average exterior to offer, the 2018 Prius doesn't compromise on its safety offering and delivers phenomenally.