10 Reasons the 2018 Toyota Prius is the AutoWeb Buyer’s Choice Best Alternative Fuel Vehicle

2016 Toyota Prius Four Touring front angle ・ Photo by Toyota

Toyota applies the Prius name to a number of different vehicles. All are gas-electric hybrids, meaning that they're powered by an electric motor along with a gasoline engine — with the electric motor reducing the need to burn gas. The model range includes the subcompact Prius c, the Prius v wagon, the Prius Prime plug-in hybrid, and a model that's just called the Prius.

It's that last Prius version that wins the Buyer’s Choice Best Alternative Fuel Award. Out of the whole Prius family, this is the model that best balances utility, value, ease of use, refinement and gas mileage. Indeed, this versatile fuel-sipper makes it easy to save on gas — promising more than 50 miles per gallon — without demanding many sacrifices in return.

10) Toyota recently reduced its price.

Most cars have prices that march up steadily year-by-year. Not so with the Prius, which got a price cut for the 2017 model year in response to increasing competition. The 2018 Prius holds off on any price increases, staying at $23,475 for the base One model. That's in line with comparably equipped non-hybrid hatchbacks such as the Honda Civic and Mazda3.

Given the cost of developing and building a more complex powertrain, no hybrid can be the cheapest vehicle on the market. That said, the Prius no longer commands the steep price premium that it once did over conventionally powered compact cars.

Photo by Toyota

9) Advanced safety features come standard.

Like most other Toyotas (but few other affordable cars), the Prius comes with a suite of advanced safety features as standard equipment: automatic emergency braking, a lane-departure warning with lane-keeping steering assist, automatic radar-based cruise control, and automatic high beams. Not only does this ensure that even the cheapest Prius meets a high standard of safety, but it also makes the car's already reasonable base price that much more appealing.

The Prius has also performed well in crash tests. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety named it a 2018 IIHS Top Safety Pick, and it scored five out of five stars overall from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

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8) You don't have to plug it in.

Today's trendiest alternative-fuel vehicles are electric cars and plug-in hybrids — automobiles that draw all or part of their power from the electrical grid rather than the gas pump. But the Prius outsells them all, and it's easy to see why: The Prius operates at maximum efficiency without the need to purchase a charging station or otherwise find a place to plug in an electric vehicle. Anywhere that gasoline is available, the Prius accepts it willingly and burns it slowly.

To be clear, the Prius does have electric components. The car just charges itself during normal operations. When the gasoline engine is needed, it's both running the car and recharging the battery. Even applying the brakes or coasting to a stop is also recuperating some energy, which is then reused to help power the Prius.

Photo by Toyota

7) EV Mode helps you go gas-free.

Even as a hybrid, the Prius is capable of being driven gas-free. By selecting EV Mode (standing for Electric Vehicle), the driver can order the Prius' gasoline engine to stay off except when needed. EV Mode is ideal for driving around in stop-and-go conditions or cruising through a quiet suburban neighborhood, where lively acceleration isn't needed and where coasting and braking to a stop can help recharge the battery.

The selectable EV Mode automatically deactivates under less-than-gentle acceleration, once the car's speed exceeds about 25 mph or if the electric battery runs down. But with gentle acceleration or steady-speed cruising, even the Prius' automatic operation can allow you to drive gas-free. While this is also true of some other hybrids, we've never found another one as willing as the Prius to drive around without using any gasoline.

Photo by Toyota

6) It has space-age styling.

We admit that not everyone likes the way the Prius looks. Critics have grown still more vehement since the current generation appeared as a 2016 model. But the Prius deserves distinctive styling to call attention to the sophistication of its powertrain, and no one could accuse Toyota's designers of delivering a boring design. The Prius' curves and slashes serve to decorate a body that's otherwise shaped for the purely functional purpose of minimizing wind resistance.

Toyota has also improved the cutting-edge feel of the Prius's interior for the 2018 model year. Now, upper trims are available with an 11.6-inch touchscreen — a massive interactive display that fills the instrument panel, and which was previously offered only on the Prius Prime plug-in. Not only is this screen a visually arresting cue, but it also serves a functional purpose: It allows the simultaneous presentation of multiple pieces of information, such as fuel-efficiency data and GPS navigation directions.

Photo by Toyota

5) It's more fun than you might expect.

To match the dramatic styling of the latest Prius, Toyota also improved the car's handling. While no one would call the Prius a sports car — the car now corners with respectable agility. The steering feels firm, natural and responsive, and the car also benefits from a new multi-link rear suspension and a lower center of gravity. The changes also improved the car's ride quality, which is now also quite good for a compact hatchback, lending the Prius a substantial feel that eluded past generations. 

The Prius can also be fun for a different kind of enthusiast; Many drivers will find it quite enjoyable to wring the maximum fuel savings from the car. And with its EV Mode and willingness to operate gas-free even at high speeds, the Prius happily rewards such an effort. With enough practice and dedication, many Prius drivers have no trouble beating the car's already-excellent EPA ratings.

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4) There's ample interior space.

Excess bulk is an enemy of fuel savings, so one might think the Prius is a very small car. Not so. A longtime Prius advantage has been its outstanding interior volume, making it far more versatile and functional than most competing alternative-fuel vehicles. There's an airy feel to the Prius' cabin, and its rear seat and trunk are among the roomiest of any compact car. And unlike the Prius Prime plug-in, the regular Prius can seat five passengers rather than merely four.

The Prius' spacious interior also helps improve its value quotient. With passenger and cargo volume that compares favorably to some mid-size cars, the Prius can be considered an excellent value based on its roominess for the money — even without factoring in its fuel savings.

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3) Its hatchback body style makes it versatile.

Further improving the Prius' utility is its hatchback body style. As on other hatchbacks, the Prius' rear seat can be folded down to open up a large open cargo hold. While a growing number of compact and even mid-size cars are now offering hatchback variants, sedans still dominate both market classes. The Prius isn't boxy enough to rival an SUV for hauling bulky items, but it fits an impressive total volume.

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2) It has a proven history.

When the Prius was first introduced as a 2001 model, skeptics worried that its electric battery was doomed to be an expensive failure point. But the fears never materialized — quite the opposite, in fact. Over the past 17 years, the Prius has consistently been a top scorer in reliability studies, and it's successfully faced the torture test of service in urban taxi fleets. 

A recent online search turned up more than 100 Priuses listed for sale with more than 200,000 miles on the odometer, including an original 2001 model. We have every reason to be optimistic that the 2018 Prius will continue to uphold this sterling reputation for quality and durability.

Photo by Toyota

1) Its gas mileage is fantastic.

For all its other merits, the Prius' defining quality is its gas mileage. Per the EPA, today's ratings are 54 mpg in the city, 50 mpg on the highway and 52 mpg overall on most models; an extra-thrifty Eco version bumps those figures to 58 city, 53 highway and 56 overall. Whichever model you get, that's an improvement of more than 20 percent over the original 2001 Prius.

True, the Prius does still burn some gasoline — but it does so at a pretty low rate. And it lets you minimize your fuel consumption without needing a vehicle that's expensive to buy, or that's slow or complicated to refuel. Instead, it's an affordable, spacious, pleasant, versatile hatchback with terrific gas mileage. Some buyers are willing to put in extra effort to further minimize or entirely avoid gasoline usage, but the Prius is a relatively painless way to make a difference.

Photo by Toyota