Order a taxi or Uber in Auckland and you have a way better than average chance that a white Toyota Prius will turn up. That’s just the way it is.
TOYOTA PRIUS Z PHEV: Engine 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine with 13.6kWh battery and single electric motor Power 164kW/188Nm (ICE)/208Nm (electric motor) Gearbox continuously variable transmission, FWD Consumption NZ figures n/a; Toyota USA lists 4.9l/100km as a hybrid and 2.0l/100km as a PHEV Price $71,990.
The Prius is massively popular as a taxi for the same reason it is popular with ordinary people: Toyota reliability and extreme frugality.
While it has always been incredibly good at being frugal, it has also always been desperately uncool and quite nerdy. But taxis aren’t bought for their style.
Toyota New Zealand dropped the Prius in 2021, saying it had largely done its job and made itself redundant; pretty much all of the brand’s range was hybrid by that time anyway.
So, of course, the new-generation Prius that we wouldn’t be getting here was revealed and was a complete reinvention by Toyota, becoming a sleek and, yes, even sexy sporting liftback. Yeah, so the timing on that was great for us.
While Prius has always been incredibly good at being frugal, it has also always been desperately uncool and quite nerdy.
But there was another reason we wouldn’t be seeing the new Prius here; the upgrade in looks, tech and athleticism also came with an uptick price.
Still, Toyota NZ was keeping track of the extremely positive response to the new Prius, and has had a change of heart. Well, of sorts, because it has started offering it here as a near-new Signature Class used import.
The PHEV is only available as a 2WD, but the larger battery provides an electric-only range of between 87-105km.
The new Prius lands in New Zealand in a number of variants (U, G and Z), with a choice of either 1.8 or 2.0-litre engines in either 2WD or AWD, with a range-topping PHEV (plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) also available.
The Z PHEV here is the top of the range model and retains the 2.0-litre engine, but adds a larger battery and the ability to charge from a three-pin plug in your home. The PHEV is only available as a 2WD, but the larger battery provides an electric-only range of between 87-105km (when on 17-inch wheels).
The PHEV has more than enough power to take advantage of this reinvigorated handling, with 164kW combined.
That “ability to charge it from a three-pin plug in your home” thing is worthy of note, because that is pretty much the only place you will be able to charge the Prius PHEV. It comes with a Type 1 plug, which is very few and far between on public chargers these days. Still, that is where it makes most sense to charge a PHEV anyway, so no great loss.
Our test car on the larger 19-inch alloys easily exceeded its claimed 87km during the weekly commute. In fact, if I had plugged it in at home for a single night during the week, I wouldn’t have used any petrol at all.
But I couldn’t, as the charging cable had been left out of the car when I collected it, so the Prius had to do duty as a normal hybrid after the electricity ran out.
And guess what - it was still extremely frugal. That’s no real surprise, right? But the fact that it did half a week of commuting, several longer distance trips on the motorway and a good thrashing on a winding back road and was still reading 4.5l/100km fuel consumption is quite impressive.
Was a thrash on a back road necessary? Well, yes. The Prius has always favoured comfort over dynamics, but this new one has turned that dial in the other direction. To a degree.
While it is still a very comfortable car, it is noticeably firmer than it has ever been before and boasts a surprisingly agile approach to going around corners.
The Prius boasts an impressive amount of grip, with nicely direct and precise steering, making it a satisfying thing to drive in anger. The PHEV even has more than enough power to take advantage of this reinvigorated handling, with 164kW combined power.
Yes, the Prius still uses a continuously variable transmission, but the utterly seamless interaction between the combustion engine and electric motor produces a very EV-like power delivery.
However, just because this is a used import doesn’t mean it comes cheap. “Used import” really only applies in the broadest technical sense here, as the Z PHEV we drive had just over 2000km on the clock, while examples on Toyota’s website show as little 20km. It essentially is a brand new car, and the prices do reflect that, with the Z PHEV range-topper landing at a still rather hefty $71,990.
Which is quite a lot for a used Prius. But then it is a barely used, remarkably good looking, impressively high quality and extremely frugal Prius that is also actually enjoyable to drive.
