prius as a company car- good choice?

I’ve recently found this forum as I’m looking at a Prius as a company car. I thought I would post to introduce myself and ask people opinions on the Prius and other Toyota hybrid options.

To give a bit of detail I’m Rob, I live in Bedfordshire UK so I mainly drive in towns, on country roads, single and dual carriageways. I do some motorway driving, that’s usually longer trips away to places like the lakes, peaks, Wales, Cornwall etc a few times a year. I currently drive a Vauxhall Insignia 2.0 L diesel that averages about 50mpg, sometimes I can get 55mpg on a motorway.

The Prius is light years ahead of the insignia in terms of fuel efficiency, safety features and styling. Having never driven a hybrid car before I was a little apprehensive but had the option of a 3 day demo/test of a Prius from Toyota Fleet. I’m currently part way through the demo and so far I’m very impressed with the Prius. It drives nicely and fuel efficiency is pretty amazing (Ive been getting 60-70 mpg over a mixture of town and dual carriageway driving). I was looking through the vehicles monthly trip info. The fleet car has been regularly getting 60-70mpg over 800-2000 miles per month since it was new in July 2018 (it’s overall average over 11,000 Miles is 64mpg, that’s very impressive considering it’s likely had numerous drivers).

Currently I’m 90-95% sold on the Prius as it meets majority of my requirements as it’s got excellent fuel efficiency, good safety features (blind spot warning and cross traffic warning are two nice features), passenger space front and back is great and the boot is a reasonable capacity. To be honest after driving a Prius I’m really surprised they havent sold in higher numbers in the UK. What I’ve found surprising it that I’ve found the Prius to be a more relaxing chilled drive. I’ve not trying to get from A to B as fast as possible and it’s made me feel calmer. That can only be a good thing.

I have also looking at other Toyota hybrids such as the CH-R but found that to be too cramped and dark in the back. There is the new Corolla touring sports that looks interesting, the main draw being the big boot but that’s very likely to be at the expense of fuel efficiency (I just can’t see it doing a real world 60-70mpg like the Prius). I have a Corolla hybrid demo booked but its not for another 6 weeks. I’m not sure it’s worth waiting that long if it’s not going to come close to the Prius. My feeling is the Prius is near perfect for me. I don’t need a huge boot and the Prius boot capacity looks like it could meet my needs 99% of the time. I also like the fact the Prius has been built from the ground up as a hybrid, there are no compromises to incorporate a manual petrol model into the model range.

As the car will be a 4 year lease I want to make sure it’s a good choice. I’m currently thinking a Corolla has more compromises such as fuel efficiency and model features just for the advantage of a bigger boot. I think I would be unlikely to feel should have gone for the Corolla if I get a Prius. I feel I’m more likely to kick myself not going for the Prius if I went with a Corolla, especially when paying for extra in fuel costs.

I would be grateful to hear some real world experiences especially from others who were/are in the same predicament (I would be interested in others who chose between the Auris v Prius gen4 so that would have been a similar choice). Sorry the post is so long, hopefully you stay with me whilst I rambled.

 

Thank you for all of the replies.

So far I’ve seen the Corolla hatchback but not the touring sports (estate). I didn’t know the Corolla hatch was cramped in the back. The boot wasn’t huge but it looked about the same volume as the Prius (I’ve seen quite a few capacity volumes from 360 to 500 litres for the Prius so I’m not sure what is right. The Prius is quite roomy and has plenty of leg room even behind the drivers seat (I have it quite far back), that’s useful as there is nothing worse than a knee in the drivers back if it’s too cramped.

As it’s a company lease the list is limited in models and engines (far more open than it ever was as previous we only had the choice of two diesel Vauxhall’s either hatchback or estate). With the the Prius and Corolla I can only choose the 1.8 petrol hybrid option so can’t opt for the larger engined Corolla. regarding model specs I have the option of the base model icon on the Corolla estate or up to the buiseness edition plus on the Prius. That’s another reason the Prius shines as the spec level I can get would be higher than the Corolla. So far the Prius looks a great option, I just can’t understand why it’s not more liked in the UK other than by taxi drivers! I’ve been surprised how relaxing the Prius is to drive and how much it’s changed my driving style compared to my current car.

Are these Corolla or Prius issues? I’ve found the seat is ok in the Prius. The only slight issue is the brake pedal is very slightly higher than the accelerator pedal so I can’t pivot on my heel between the two. I’m hoping better seat adjustment will sort that out as it makes my leg ache very slightly. I’ve not got the seat perfect yet as various people have sat in the Prius drivers seat and changed the seat position. I’m hoping I can make small adjustment to sort that out.

You are right the lease would be limited to 25,000 miles before extra mileage charges come in. I’ve asked my company about that, they said they will be sorting out any excess milage charges as they will be leasing the car not me. Currently I do around 22K per year with business and private use so hopefully won’t happen. All I should need to do is pay the monthly company car tax value and charge back business mileage (I will be paying for all petrol at the petrol station). I could get a monthly cash for cars option but with the mileage I do I don’t think it’s worth it and there would be extra hassle sorting any issues if they arise.

 

I had heard anout it being at home in city/town traffic but was worried that it’s performance would nose dive on UK country roads and dual carriageways/motorways. I didn’t need to worry as it did 75mpg over a 137 miles return trip. Never been so relaxed in the traffic around Cambridge, absolute pleasure to drive.

It’s a reference to SKF bearing in Luton and the football club.

The brake pedal wasn’t a problem yesterday. I’ve now got used to it being a little higher. I find the seat relatively comfortable but you are right it won’t suit everyone.

I hadn’t noticed the window sweeping. The back side windows was the reason we discounted the CH-R. Just nothing to look through and very dark in the back.

I’ve had it the last few days and really like it. It’s going back today and I’m going to miss it. It’s lovely to drive and definitely more relaxing with the CVT auto gearbox.