Toyota refreshes its Prius for 2019

Love it or hate it, the Toyota Prius is still here - and it's still selling, albeit in small numbers.

The current fourth-generation model, launched back in 2015, has been one of the more controversial models, with exterior styling that polarised opinion. Some liked it, but most hated it – especially those slanted vertical taillights.

So in an attempt to appease all the haters out there, Toyota has gone and given the fourth-generation Prius a facelift.

Those fugly rear lights have been flipped horizontally – a marked improvement over the old ones – while the front apron has been made to look more aggressive. The LED headlamps are more conventional now and have lost that quirky "slashed-by-a-ninja-sword" aesthetic. The foglamps, now also LED, have been shrunk and moved to a more traditional position.

Toyota has also introduced two new exterior colours: Fierce Red and Sky Metallic Blue. 

Inside, the only noticeable difference is the colour of the centre console. When it was first launched it was a kind of iPhone-white, but now it's changed to piano black. Meh. 

Fortunately, standard specification remains high with convenience features such as dual-zone climate control, cruise control, reverse camera, rain-sensing wipers, six-speaker touchscreen audio system and auto-dimming interior mirror all shipping as standard. 

Pricing? The new-look Prius is yours for R490,200 and includes a 90,000km service plan as well as a three-year/100,000km warranty. The warranty on the hybrid battery is eight-years/195,000 km.