One of the first things that the person will realize about this particular car is the updated look. While it still looks like a Prius, this one is definitely a lot sharper than what we’ve seen in the past. And when it comes to fuel efficiency, the Prius is impressive. In fact, since its unveiling in 2000, this car is one that has been known as a clear leader in the industry. There haven’t been too many cars outside of this that have better gas mileage. A lot of auto critics agree that everything about this year’s model is sufficiently better than pretty much every other Prius in the past few years, and that’s something that we can agree with.

If you’re looking for one of the first and best hybrids on the market, see what the Prius has to offer.

The new Prius hatchback adheres to the original hybrid philosophy of combining a petrol engine with an electric drive unit but the performance of this combination has improved to such an extent that both performance and driving are really quite competitive with the latest low emission diesel models.

With the new Prius there is no longer to need to sacrifice performance in return for green credentials. This car really delivers on both. The 1.8-litre engine delivers 98bhp and when you need some extra bower then that is supplied by the electric motor. With both electric motor and petrol engine working in your favour the power gets a boost which takes it up to 134 bhp and will accelerate up to 62 mph in just slightly over 10 seconds.

The batteries are topped up by a kinetic energy recovery system which charges them when the car brakes or decelerates and the overall fuel consumption is around 72 mpg, so it can cover over 700 miles on a single tank of petrol and when driving in town you can rely entirely on the electric motor

The transmission is via a seamless continuous variable transmission (CVT) automatic gearbox and in the power mode provides rapid acceleration for safe overtaking. When you are driving it, it feels no different from a normal petrol engine car and its handling characteristics which are well balanced between stability and comfort are ideal for a family car. The beautiful aerodynamic shape means that there is very little wind noise and there is plenty of leg room all round. There is a generous boot which can take up to 445 litres and has a low bottom lip for easy loading and unloading.