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Toyota Prius vs Volkswagen Polo

What's the difference?

VS
Toyota Prius
Toyota Prius

$39,990 - $45,635

2021 price

Volkswagen Polo
Volkswagen Polo

$22,490 - $39,880

2022 price

Summary

2021 Toyota Prius
2022 Volkswagen Polo
Safety Rating

Engine Type
Inline 4, 1.8L

Turbo 4, 2.0L
Fuel Type
Unleaded Petrol/Electric

Premium Unleaded Petrol
Fuel Efficiency
3.4L/100km (combined)

6.5L/100km (combined)
Seating
5

5
Dislikes
  • Polarising exterior
  • Dorky central instrument cluster
  • Not so engaging to drive

  • Solid service pricing
  • No rear centre armrest
  • No adjustable rear air vents
2021 Toyota Prius Summary

What to say about the Toyota Prius in 2021? A car that was once a technology trailblazer seems now to have become properly retro, even while it’s still being built and sold.

The awkward-looking wedge, an eco-punk icon, not only brought Toyota’s hybrid synergy drive to the masses, it also debuted the brand’s excellent TNGA architecture and set the scene for the company's absurd hybrid success, which now sees the RAV4 version topping the sales charts.

So, after all these years (25 to be precise), is the Prius’s time finally over? Or does this quaint hybrid hero still have more to offer? I took a top-spec I-Tech for a week to find out.

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2022 Volkswagen Polo Summary

The hot hatch wars, an on-going automotive conflict, fired up when Volkswagen lobbed a massive, Golf GTI-shaped salvo into an unsuspecting global car market in the middle of 1976.

Peugeot may have run a bold out-flanking manoeuvre with deployment of the 205GTi from the mid-1980s, and other skirmishes broke out soon after with the likes of Suzuki’s Swift GTi, but so far the German maker has retained majority ownership of those three little letters that mean so much.

Fast forward to 1995 and application of the GTI tag spread to the compact VW Polo, which close to three decades later brings us to the current, sixth-generation version.

It arrived in Australia in 2018, and four years down the track it’s time for an update, with subtle cosmetic tweaks and a significant safety upgrade included.

Volkswagen Australia invited us to the car’s local launch including a varied drive program, topped off with a hot-lap track session, to get a first taste of how it shapes up.

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Deep dive comparison

2021 Toyota Prius 2022 Volkswagen Polo

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