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 1 through 10 of 46.00

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  Be sure this is what you want - 2012 Toyota Prius
  By demetrios999 - March 7 - 5:01 am

  Run the numbers before making your decision. 50 mpg is impressive, but the Prius costs several thousand dollars more than a comparably equipped gas-only vehicle (think Corolla). If you drive 15,000 miles per year, the difference in annual fuel costs between a car that gets 30mpg and a car that gets 50mpg is only $600/year @ $3/gallon, or $800/year at $4/gallon. You may never make up the cost difference. Power is acceptable (not great) when you punch "Power Mode", otherwise it is a road hazard. I always punch that button when driving from a stoplight or getting on the highway, and turn it off when I am up to speed.

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  MPG - Yay! Everything Else - Meh. - 2012 Toyota Prius
  By missmytsx - May 8 - 9:22 am

  Toyota has made one efficient vehicle here. I achieve 45 - 55 mpg without really trying. In fact, I drive %100 of the time in "PWR" mode just to give this car some small modicum of driving enjoyment. But its very small. This car, simply put, sucks all the enjoyment out of driving. It is painfully slow. Those who claim it is not slow have probably not driven a normal car in a quite a while. It is very loud - lots of road and wind noise. At highway speeds Ive got to crank the radio nearly full blast just to hear the music or speech. If high real-world MPGs is your one and only criterion, then you cant do better than 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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  Really enjoyed the 51 miles per gallon. - 2012 Toyota Prius
  By Cheryl - August 28 - 10:27 am

  The Fuel economy was unbelievable. Good, excellent even, but: and its a big one. The machine rides like a buckboard. Rough, very rough. The struts do not do the job. If you live down the street from your work and all are paved roads in good repair then its worth considering for the fuel savings alone. The resale value/ trade-in was not all it was cracked up to be. The largest disappointment were the mice. Literally. We had mice in the battery compartment, mice in the spare, mice in the rear seat. Mice in the ac. The mice were colonies. The fought, they died, they stunk, and stunk and stunk until we had to give up the ride. They came in though the engine cowling at the hood, under the wipers. They chewed through the cabin filter. We had them cleaned out by the dealership once, very expensive, and the car sanitized. They came again, we cleaned it out ourselves and placed wire over the air intakes under the wipers (YouTube) but during the summer every time we hit a bump, you guessed it: The smell of decaying mice through the air vents. Finally we traded for a Subaru. its a much better ride but I sure do miss that 51 mpg.