TOYOTA Prius 2011-2016 Photos, engines & full specs

The Prius was the car that started the hybrid era in automotive history. It wasn't the only one, but it was the most successful model on the market. But the Japanese didn't forget to upgrade the car and, in 2011, the Prius received an update.

On the outside, the third generation of Prius had a new headlight design and a smaller grille under the hood. It almost looked like a slot to allow the air to go inside the engine bay. But the cooling was achieved via a larger air-scoop in the front-bumper. The overall shape of the car remained the same since the first generation was introduced. The three-box bodywork was long forgotten.

The third generation of the Prius came up on the market in 2009 and, in 2011, it received few design updates and interior features to make the car even more appealing for its customers. The head-up display projected useful information onto the windscreen, including vehicle speed, Eco-Drive Monitor and Active Cruise Control systems. An interesting idea for the display was a touch-tracer which showed the driver where the thumbs are on the steering-wheel buttons, without the need for the driver to move the eyes from the road.

The 1.8-liter Atkinson-type gasoline engine was built to recharge the batteries whenever are needed. With the upgrade from the previous 1.5-liter engine to the 1.8-liter, the car had a better fuel-efficiency.