Used Toyota Prius+ (2012-2020) Review

Toyota offers a range of increasingly desirable and compelling vehicles. As a result, the Prius+ is starting to look like an also-ran, struggling to keep pace with the bright young things at the front of the pack.

There are many factors working against the Prius+. It’s an MPV in the era of the SUV, it’s based on the previous generation Toyota Prius and it’s expensive to buy. Since the switch from NEDC to WLTP fuel economy testing, it’s also lost some of its eco car lustre.

On the, ahem, plus side, it offers space for seven, comes loaded with a generous level of standard equipment, and is an easy car to live with. You also get a sense that it’s built to last, which will come in handy if the Prius+ is to be used as an Uber workhorse.

The Toyota Prius+ is powered by a 1.8-litre petrol-electric hybrid engine, which is the same as you’ll find in the Lexus CT 200h. That’s it – you’re limited to one engine. Take it or leave it.

It’s fine, but nothing more. You’re constantly aware the powertrain is doing its best to maximise efficiency at all times, which can make rapid progress a frustrating experience. Not that this matters – maximum efficiency is one of this car’s best selling points.

There are two trim levels, with the entry-level Prius+ packing the basics required for a successful mum or dad taxi operation, including Toyota’s excellent Safety Sense driver assistance pack.

Upgrading to the next trim level adds the likes of heated seats, an improved infotainment system with navigation, park assist and rear sunshades. Toyota calls this model ‘a treat, inside or out’. If this is a treat, we’d rather take our chances with a trick…

Toyota launched the Prius+ under the banner of the ‘world’s first seven-seat full hybrid vehicle’. Eight years on, it’s hardly overloaded with direct rivals. The truth is, if you’re after a hybrid, you’ll need to sacrifice a couple of seats. If you’re after an MPV, you’ll have to ditch the hybrid powertrain. The main competitor is probably the BMW 225xe Active Tourer - which is a PHEV but not a seven seater.

The seven-seat Lexus RX L 450h SUV is significantly more expensive than the Prius+, so you’re left with the crop of conventional MPVs. The Citroen Grand C4 SpaceTourer and Renault Grand Scenic both offer a terrific blend of style, practicality and fuel economy. If you want sensible, look at a Volkswagen Touran or indeed, Toyota's own Toyota Verso. If you want a hybrid, the Kia Niro is an excellent choice.

Quality is excellent, especially when you take into account the fact that the Prius+ has been on sale for eight years. You need to look beyond the cheap looking dashboard and absence of soft-touch materials, because the cabin has been built to last. Everything feels robust and hard-wearing, albeit without the premium feel of many other cars at this price point.

All versions get a leather steering wheel, automatic air conditioning, front and rear electric windows and cruise control. Upgrading to the Excel model adds heated front seats, privacy glass, rear sunshades and synthetic leather seat bolsters. However, the fake leather feels cheap to touch and isn’t a huge improvement over the standard fabric seats.

Our experience of pre-owned examples of the Toyota Prius+ suggests that you’re unlikely to hear any annoying squeaks or rattles in the cabin, even after a lifetime of hard use and abuse. This car has been built to withstand attacks from unforgiving taxi passengers and boisterous children.

All versions of the Toyota Prius+ come with a 6.1-inch Toyota Touch 2 touchscreen infotainment screen. It boasts the features you’d expect, including DAB digital radio, Bluetooth, a reversing camera, car data and telephone info. The fact that it also features a CD player highlights how long the Prius+ has been on the market.

The Excel trim level features the upgraded Toyota Touch 2 with Go, which adds navigation, real-time traffic information and a range of connected services. Touch 2 with Go is optional on the Icon grade.

In both cases, the infotainment system feels a generation behind rivals and doesn’t offer the option of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The 6.1-inch screen is also too small, especially when viewed in the context of the system found in the Renault Grand Scenic.

Earlier versions of the Prius+ could be equipped with an Entertainment Pack. There were five versions of this, including one with twin docks and a twin DVD system – standard on the Excel Plus.

The basic version featured twin powered docks and a single iPad holder, while the next step up added a second iPad holder. The mid-grade option had twin docks and a single DVD player, while a fourth option included twin docks with a single iPad holder and a single DVD player.

The Toyota Prius+ offers seating for seven, but the cabin isn’t as spacious as some rival MPVs. There’s plenty of headroom for people in the front, while three adults can sit comfortably in the second row. Unfortunately, the Prius+ suffers from the same problem as many MPVs - space is limited in the third row. The seats are fine for children, but adults won’t enjoy sitting there for any length of time.

Fortunately, it is possible to slide the middle row forward, but this simply reduces the amount of legroom for passengers sitting there. All three middle seats fold individually, with the centre seat designed to act as an armrest when not in use.

With the third row of seats folded down, the Prius+ offers a generous 768 litres of space. There’s a relatively high lip to get over, while the wheelarches eat into the available space, but thanks to Toyota’s Easy Flat 7 system, you’re presented with a flat floor when the seats aren’t in use. In two-seat mode, the Prius+ offers a van-rivalling 1731 litres.

With all seven seats in use, the luggage capacity shrinks to 232 litres – a figure more commonly associated with small hatchbacks and city cars. An optional luggage box offers an additional 410 litres of capacity and is designed to fit the Toyota roof bars.

Up front, you’ll find a pair of gloveboxes, the lower of which offers 8.5 litres of space, while the upper glovebox provides an extra 4.5 litres. The centre console storage box can be accessed from the front and rear seats. There are also large door pockets in the front and rear, plus a total of five cupholders distributed between the three rows of seats.

There are seat-back pockets for people in the second row, along with an underfloor storage compartment in the boot. Given the relatively compact dimensions of the Toyota Prius+, along with its petrol-electric hybrid system, the amount of boot and cabin space on offer is very impressive.

The Toyota Prius+ is powered by a 1.8-litre petrol engine and an electric motor. As a standard hybrid, it’s not possible to recharge the battery pack by plugging the car into the mains, with little more than a mile of electric range available at any one time.

Predictably, everything about the Prius+ has been configured to save fuel and the car will do its best to encourage you to drive with a featherlight right foot. The 0-62mph time of 11.3 seconds and top speed of 103mph hardly matter.

The 1.8-litre engine delivers smooth and linear acceleration, but feels strangled by the CVT transmission and hamstrung by the weight of the battery pack. Sticking the car in Power mode improves things a little, but the CVT transmission responds with lots of noise and little action.

Our advice would be to stick with Normal mode and allow the car to decide the best course of action.

For the most part, the Toyota Prius+ is remarkably refined. Adopt a relaxed and measured driving style to get the best from it, as the car doesn’t respond well to enthusiastic driving.

Because it starts in electric mode, you’ll enjoy the near-silent acceleration, which becomes rather addictive in the city. Toyota has a knack of making cars feel quiet and refined – and the Prius+ is no exception.

If you spend most of your time in urban traffic, you’ll swear blind that you’re in a car with a premium badge. It’s only when you reach the city limits that the Prius+ starts to show its limitations.

There’s a lot of wind and tyre noise on the motorway, while the CVT transmission becomes a frustrating companion when you’re trying to make swift progress on a fast road. The 1.8-litre engine also sounds laboured and intrusive at motorway speeds, and you’re left with an overriding sense that you’re not getting the best from the hybrid.

If you don’t require the benefit of seven seats, we’d recommend one of the new breed of Toyota hybrids. The Corolla, for example, is a class act and is available as a practical estate car. It’s cheaper to buy than the Prius+ and feels so much more refined on the road.

The Toyota Prius+ hasn’t been tested by Euro NCAP, but the previous-generation Prius was put through its paces in 2009. It was awarded the maximum five-star safety rating, with some truly impressive individual scores.

These were 89% for adult occupant protection, 82% for child occupant protection, 68% for pedestrian safety, and 86% for safety assist systems. We have no reason to believe that the Prius+ wouldn’t achieve a similar set of results.

All models benefit from Toyota’s excellent Safety Sense system, which uses radar and camera sensors to detect and prevent collisions. Safety Sense includes road sign assist, pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, lane-departure alert, automatic high-beam and adaptive cruise control.

Standard features also include hill-start assist, a tyre pressure warning system, seven airbags, whiplash injury lessening seats and Isofix child car seat mounting points on the outer second row of seats. Rear parking sensors are an option.

The flagship version also features intelligent parking assist. It uses a rear-mounted camera and electric power steering to calculate the steering movements required to park. You define the limits of the space you want to park in, then the Toyota takes over. It’s a little disconcerting at first, but the system is a boon for nervous parkers. Unlike many rivals, the Toyota Prius+ comes with a temporary spare wheel, not an inflation kit.

The Toyota Prius+ Icon receives an insurance group rating of 11, while the Excel model is a group higher. These are low ratings for a seven-seat MPV.

For example, the rates for the Renault Grand Scenic range from 12 to 21, while the old Fiat 500L MPW slots into groups 8 to 17. Prius+ owners in London will find the cost of insurance is higher, especially if they use the car for taxi duties.

With CO2 emissions of 132g/km to 135g/km, the Toyota Prius+ includes a first-year ‘showroom tax’ of £205. This is included in the original purchase price of the car. From year two, this drops to £140. The rate is the same for cars registered on or after 1 April 2017 and before 31 March 2020.

The rates for earlier cars vary depending on whether the Prius+ was registered during the NEDC or WLTP test cycles. For example, some early examples are listed with CO2 emissions as low as 96/gkm. As a result, these cars are exempt from Vehicle Excise Duty (VED).

The Benefit in Kind (BiK) rate for current Toyota Prius+ models is 29% for the Icon and 30% for the Excel.

The Icon trim level features 16-inch alloy wheels, automatic wipers, automatic LED headlights, a reversing camera, keyless entry and start, Toyota Safety Sense, a six-inch Toyota Touch 2 infotainment system, automatic air conditioning, front and rear electric windows, a driver’s seat with electric lumbar support and a leather-trimmed steering wheel.

The Excel trim adds 17-inch alloy wheels, parking assist, rear privacy glass, synthetic leather seat trim, heated front seats, privacy glass, rear sunshades and Toyota Touch 2 with Go navigation.

We’d recommend buying a Prius+ registered after January 2015, as Toyota improved the styling, tweaked the interior and enhanced the specification. It also introduced a flagship Excel Plus trim level, which is worth finding on the used car market.

The Excel Plus trim level was discontinued in January 2018, when Toyota Safety Sense became standard across the Prius+ range.