Overview & Reviews

The 2012 Toyota Prius gets slightly different styling cues along with additional standard infotainment features and the availability of power front seats and Toyota's Entune suite of smartphone and Internet integration features. A new Plus Performance accessory package lends the Prius sharper handling and a sportier, more aerodynamic exterior.

• Strong safety scores.
• Comfortable ride
• Abundant backseat room
• Available high-tech luxury goodies
• Superior fuel economy
• Spacious cargo area

• Excessive road noise
• Awkward driving position
• Overly busy gauge cluster.
• Disappointing interior materials

User Reviews:

Showing 21 through 30 of 46.00

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  Carefree car ownership - 2012 Toyota Prius
  By goodeyb - October 15 - 9:53 pm

  Traded my Jeep Wrangler for this Prius about 18 months ago...it is unbelievable how practical, reliable, and inexpensive this car is. Outstanding gas mileage, almost no maintenance, and much more space then one would think.

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  Pleasantly surprised with the 2012 over the 2011 - 2012 Toyota Prius
  By chipl - September 4 - 8:18 pm

  Was bargain shopping for a 2011 at a Tysons VA dealer last week. They dissed me on the trade and said to take it to Carmax for the trade. So headed to Laurel MD and glad I did! The 2012 is so much nicer inside than the 2011. Add to that $3900 better on my trade-in! Things people complain about, road noise, the stereo, and such - just arent there in my opinion. The ride/noise is as nice as my old 2003 Baja, maybe better at times except under very hard acceleration. Loving the CVT transmission, such smooth driving; but find myself needing to watch the speedometer more to be sure I am not speeding.

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  I will always own a Prius - 2012 Toyota Prius
  By Johnny Wang - May 16 - 5:06 am

  Bought my 2012 in 2011 brand new to replace an Infiniti G35. Was tired of wasting $350 in premium gas each month with all the driving that I do. My brother convinced me to get a Prius so I figured I would give it a try. I am hooked. It is a wonderful feeling to know you can go anywhere you want and gas will never be an excuse not to go. The car has really held up through all the miles and 4 minor accidents I was involved in. I took a look at the brake pads at 115,000 miles and they were only worn down halfway. Thats ridiculous. My G35 needed new brakes every 60k miles. All I do is change the oil & filter after 10k miles. Gas it up and go. Tires cost me about $260 every 3 years. I also take my Prius up to the mountains for snowboarding. I have studded tires and my car can pretty much go everywhere the Subarus and SUVs go. Have not had any issues with the battery pack but I already set aside $1500 from the gas savings over the last 6 years to replace it with a remanufactured one when it does fail. Everything still works on the car like brand new, the only things I have replaced are the headlight bulbs. I will always have a Prius. They are pretty much bulletproof.

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  More car than I expected - 2012 Toyota Prius
  By macungiee8 - April 15 - 10:21 am

  I lease, always get 15,000 miles. Got car in Florida and full pack with 6 months of gear including 2 sets of golf clubs got 50 mpg or more. I was totally amazed. Prior to that I had a hybrid from another Japanese automaker and milking it on a trip I got 44 maybe. The Prius actually does just as good stop and go driving and with the a/c on. I maybe get a tow bar to carry bikes, I know my other car go 10 mpg less with the bikes on, really underpowered dud. I am hoping the Prius can handle them.

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  After One Year - 2012 Toyota Prius
  By stef6 - October 26 - 7:15 pm

  The Prius has proven itself to be reliable and provide very good gas mileage. The seats are comfortable, however the road noise needs to be reduced. It may be the norm for cars of this class, but Toyota should do better. I have over 25K miles on the car now so I spend considerable time in it. The only complaint is the highway raod noise. I would gladly trade a mile or two per gallon for a quiet car.

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  Perfect car for everyone - 2012 Toyota Prius
  By Keanerouillard@gmail.com - March 29 - 9:00 am

  My mpg for everyday and every tank was 41mpg. This is combined over many miles. Short city runs get more. I got 50 mpg going to Indiana. On trip in city I got 61 mpg. I bought new and traded it with 73000 miles on it. I replaced tires at 62000 miles. I also need to replace the headlight bulbs once. I think it was year 2 I put bulbs in. Great car. Comfortable quiet and it is peppy. If you are on the fence on buying one. Get off the fence and get it. I bought 11-2012 just traded in on 4-2016

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  2 months of city driving - 2012 Toyota Prius
  By quentoncassidy - August 7 - 6:44 pm

  Just had it about two months. Very good handling vehicle around town and the mpg are fantastic! Im averaging over 50 mpg in stop and go driving. Took a relatively long trip of 350 miles and averaged 56 mpg. Seats are very comfortable and the NAV system and technology features are great. Sound system works very well; I have the Deluxe Solar Package and the upgraded stereo is excellent. There is a solar array on top of the vehicle that runs a ventilation system to cool the car on sunny days and this is another wonderful feature. Ive had sun roofs on all my cars since 1978 so I had to have this on the Prius.

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  Needs a little design rework - 2012 Toyota Prius
  By solarweis - July 17 - 4:29 am

  Its not a bad little car, we call it our "road rat", I use it as a commuter car mainly on the highway. Ive expressed concerns with the steering wheel not being straight while going down a straight road, about it pulling and having to hold pressure on the steering wheel to keep it going straight, Toyota says the car is fine. I dont agree, I dont want to exercise the entire time Im in the car driving. It wears out the edge of the left tire, it took a while, but both front and rear exhibit the same problem, due to tire rotations. New tires and alignment indicate the rear Toe is out of spec, but its not adjustable. The engine is noisy when your trying to speed up, it roars, so strange.

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  Poor interior engineering, cheap plastics, cheap fabric - 2012 Toyota Prius
  By malansworth - April 26 - 7:24 pm

  Interior engineering was not well thought out and is deficient in many areas relative to comparable cars. Insufficient storage compartments. The large storage area under the "bridge" is awkwardly placed and leaves objects exposed. Access to seat heater switches and the 12-volt auxiliary input under the bridge is inconvenient and a potential safety issue if you reach for them while driving. The console storage is large and deep, which means that you must pile up objects on top of each other. The USB port is inconveniently located near the bottom of the console storage, so there is the likelihood that the USB drive will break due to contact with the storage contents. Seats lack lumbar support.

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  Theres more to a car than mpg! - 2012 Toyota Prius
  By baldeagle8 - April 26 - 3:57 pm

  Bought 2012 Prius two four months ago. Unless speed control used cant get the 50 mpg. Road noise worse than my 69 Bug. Think all that interior plastic contributes to the noise issue. Display is almost impossilbe to see in the Florida sun. This is of great concern because you cant see the performance icons. Not worried about speeding, this car couldnt win the soap box derby. Cloth seats hard to get in and out of. High beam lights are not adjustable and need it badly. Selling dealer staff not knowledgeable about features. Lastly, never had a car hydroplane so badly whcih is a problem with the kind of rains we get in Florida. Has Toyota gotten overconfident?