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Every time we have the opportunity to drive Toyotas original hybrid vehicle, the Prius we make a game to see if we can actually use a full tank of gas during the week. The thing is, no matter how hard we try we have never been able to use an entire tankful during the week and this time was no different, we did however mange to get down to a quarter tank.

Getting to that point was difficult and involved a very long Sunday drive on Highway six out through Eureka and down to Lyndal, and from there over to Nephi and home to Springville again, over 180 miles. Then on Memorial day after a long day of yard work we took a trip to Salt Lake for dinner, and normal everyday driving we only got to the quarter tank level and still could have gone over 100 miles.

Our average for the week even with the longer trips was over 58 mpg, and this is from a vehicle that is said to do better around town than out on the open road. This new completely redesigned fourth generation 2017 gas sipping Prius is even better looking now with the redesign, as the new looks are more mainstream now looking as far outside of the box as the first few generations of the vehicle.

Of course Toyota chooses to send us one of the best in the four versions complete with a Touring package. Although this is one of the most expensive ways to come by the Prius, we did enjoy our time getting reacquainted with this new design. This year the 2017 stays mostly the same as last year, only getting all of the Toyota Safety Sense features as part of the standard package.

The redesign really should have been called a re-engineering effort as every part was looked at and evaluated individually for ways to make it stronger and lighter, just to continue to eek out every last mile per gallon possible in this segment leading non-plug in hybrid. From the onset the goal was to make it more exciting or maybe better and more engaging to drive around town, yet continue to achieve better gas mileage numbers.

This really could prove to be a difficult task as it is not usually possible to get the best of both of those worlds, excepting maybe for a the new Tesla, which is very engaging and only uses electricity, but with a starting cost of over $65,000 it is very hard for us to think that going green at that price would ever pay off. With the new Prius, Toyota would be hard pressed to come up with something better, that would continue to keep customers coming back with a new look, especially with falling gas prices.

At first glance the Prius looks very different, both lower and sleeker than previous generations, in fact in our humble opinion it looks way more car like now than a ‘Prius’ as it has in the past. When it first arrived on the scene years ago it was easy to pick them out from the crowd with such a different look. Not now, they are going to get mistaken for other vehicles out there on the road!

The folks from Toyota pointed out that it took a very long to time to come up with a new look for the Prius that everyone was happy with. It is very evident with a much lower and way more aggressive looking front end; there are actually side accents in the design, one low and another higher on the doors, and with what really looks more like a fastback design rounding out the rear end, mission accomplished it appears to be a completely different vehicle.

Inside the cabin seems to have much more room as the B pillar has been moved to allow a better view out of the rear passenger windows. The view out the back is still kind of difficult however with the rear back up camera and blind spot monitoring, we never felt as if we could not see something coming.

The driving console has not moved still occupying the center of the dashboard just below the windshield. However, instead of being completely monochrome in nature it has been replaced with two 4.2-inch LED screens that do all kinds of magic tricks when entering the Prius. The first time we drove a Prius we had to describe it like getting into the cockpit of the Starship Enterprise, well it is even more so now in living color. Combine that with the 7 inch center touchscreen it was quite a visual experience every time we drove the car. If that were not enough it can also be changed to different unique user configurations.

About the only thing we didn’t like about the design of the Prius 4 was an addition of a white plastic around part of the middle console, we just couldn’t come up with why the white was chosen and was the only option. It might have been more agreeable if it has matched the outside of the Prius in color.

The new Prius is the first Toyota to get what is being dubbed as Toyota New Global Architecture or TNGA for short. We understand this new concept to be simply that different car models can now be manufactured on the same assembly line at the same time. No more putting together 50 red Corollas, changing the line and then making 50 blue Prius’s. In essence an order will come in for a Blue Prius and that vehicle will be made, the next order might be for a brown Rav 4, so the computers will change everything and that will be the next car built.

Definitely a new way of thinking and doing things, and on top of that, most of the robotics are gone as Toyota has found out that humans can do some things faster and they don’t break down causing the entire production line to stop. It will be very interesting to see how this plays out as more and more models are added to the line.

The batteries in the Prius have also been moved to under the back seat instead of in the trunk giving more space to the back, and the type of battery has changed for everything above the Prius Two to a Lithium Ion structure, thus saving 24 pounds of weight on the vehicle.

There was also an intuitive air conditioner to help save battery life, that was pretty cool and we didn’t notice when it made subtle changes as we stayed as cool as needed, even in the 90 degree June heat.

A new rear suspension will help to make the ride even nicer and handling more car like in the Prius than ever before. The Four base models come with all the great safety features that we have come to count on every time we drive a new Toyota. Blind spot monitoring, lane departure and lane keep assist, pre-collision warning with safety sense that will stop the car, and of course rear cross path detection that works on both vehicle and pedestrians.

Automatic high beam headlights and dynamic radar cruise control were also part of the base package. About the only upgrade our Prius got was the Premium Convenience Package that for the most part upgraded the radio to a fine JBL system, and enabled the touch screen to be a split screen and show different information, like the radio, navigation and phone all at once.

All in all we enjoyed our week this time with the new Prius more than any other time we have driven this gas miser of a car, it is now way more engaging, and dare we say, it also fun to drive. See the new Prius today at Brent Brown Toyota at 1400 South Sandhill Road Orem,

(801) 224-1320.

Base Price: $30,000

Price as Driven: $32,935