2012 Toyota Prius

The popular Toyota Prius hybrid receives a mild facelift for 2012, featuring a new front end and interior. Prices start at £21,350.

At the front, there's a new bumper, headlights and lower grille design, with relocated foglights and daytime running lights. The new car is 20mm longer as a result.

Toyota promises that softer suspension settings and additional soundproofing materials have improved comfort, especially over longer distances. The Prius' hybrid powertrain continues to deliver up to 72.4mpg and produces 89g/km of CO2.

Toyota has also developed the interior to give the cabin a higher quality feel. Improvements include new seats, new upholstery and more soft-touch materials.

All models now feature the Toyota Touch touchscreen system for audio, multimedia connectivity and Bluetooth, plus a rear-view camera. The centre console box has also been redesigned.

Prius T Spirit models come as standard with Toyota's Touch & Go Plus premium package. This adds sat-nav, voice recognition for phone calls, music search and play, plus phone contact search and call functions to the standard touchscreen set-up. Occupants with compatible mobile phones can also gain access to online services provided by the Google Local Search feature. Touch & Go Plus is available on T3 and T4 models at extra cost.

Other optional equipment such as black leather upholstery and a Protection Pack, which includes parking sensors and a boot liner, are available at extra cost on all models.

Later in the year, the Prius range will be joined by the new Prius Plug-in Hybrid and the Prius+ people carrier. The 2012 Prius goes on sale in the UK in March.

To view the full Toyota range, visit CarBuyer's Toyota reviews page.