1.8 Plug-In Excel CVT 5dr

Comfortable, Reliable, Efficient

Coming from a 2005 Range Rover 4.4V8 Petrol, I wanted a car that would be cheaper to run, reliable and spacious enough for me to fit in, being a 6ft 3inch large man, with long legs.

When originally looking for this type of car I did try the Toyota Prius normal hybrid but found that the space in the front was too small, this Prius PHEV is built on a totally different platform, so looks different and has been designed specifically for what it is, that's maybe why it’s got more room in the cabin overall.

Car is definitely cheaper to run, I don't charge it as much as I should, without charging I get 75mpg on average, with charging I can do 33 miles on electric power alone and it costs (without an EV tariff) about 90 pence to charge, so 330 miles would be £9, 3330 miles would be £90, if I ever charged it.

When the car isn't charged it drives quite lethargically, slow to accelerate with the good old CVT whine and louder hum of the engine when wanting to get up to speed, but once at speed, be it 30,50 or 70 the car will be perfectly happy to cruise all day with minimum fuss, the adaptive cruise control making effortless driving on the motorway or A road.

When charged the car is transformed with instant power and feels totally different, good acceleration and can go up to 80mph on Electric power alone.

Around town the hybrid system works well going between the engine being on and not and is seamless.

The JBL sound system is good.

It’s quiet to travel in, no squeaks or rattles.

My version has 4 seats rather than 5 but I have never found this to be an issue and prefer it, as I find it gives 3 other people other than myself more comfort.

The boot is quite small, but I manage to get 3/4 large bags of shopping in, and the seats do fold down so have carried wood and stuff to the dump with no issues.

The version I chose has white and black seats with a white dash; I find this makes the cabin a lot more open and airy feeling.

Now that I have adjusted the Front Headlights the light from the Matrix LEDs at night are very good.

I have the car on a service plan £33 p/m including 2 Mots.

I can’t fault the reliability or the fact that by servicing at Toyota dealer they give a 10-year warranty and 15- year battery warranty.

I’m finding it hard to know what to change to next.

Negatives
The car is quite low so getting in and out can sometimes be more difficult, the doors like to catch on high kerbs and the front of the car is susceptible to sc***ing over larger speed humps.

Doesn’t have Apple Car Play so the Sat-Nav is old and a bit clunky, I rarely use it so not an issue but when I do it works okay.

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