And this is all before you consider the way it drives. With 220bhp available, it accelerates with the eagerness of a hot hatch, and the relationship between throttle, motor, engine and power delivery is now carefully honed to deliver a more natural feel with almost none of the elastic-feeling CVT lag.
There’s also a rare fluidity to the chassis, which allows the car to scythe quickly and accurately through corners yet ride the lumps and bumps with impressive deftness, even on our example’s larger 19in rims.
Better still, the brakes are now brilliant, offering a firm pedal and a progressive action. This is a genuinely satisfying car to steer, one that might just tempt you to abandon the well-worn groove of your commute and seek a more interesting alternative back home.
If you love cars for their innovative design and engineering as much as you do for the way they go down the road, then you’ll have plenty of time for the Prius. And as with the older models, once you’ve tuned into the hybrid’s way of doing things there’s a peculiar satisfaction in getting the best out of it.
Moreover, in the clarity of its thinking and unwillingness to follow the herd, it captures the spirit of Citroën at the height of its hydropneumatic pomp, or Saab at its single-minded best. After 25 years and millions of sales, the Prius doesn’t need to justify its existence: like it or loathe it, the Toyota is a bonafide success.
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