2012 Toyota Prius Plug-in promises 1.8L/100km

Toyota has announced the official EU emissions and economy figures for its new 2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid. Prepare to be impressed.

The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid is exactly what it sounds like – a version of the Prius that you can plug into the mains to charge the batteries. This gives it a new electric-only range of some 25km, a vast improvement over the 2.5km of the regular version.

As a result, the EU has awarded the car a combined cycle fuel economy rating of 1.8L/100km with just 49g/km CO2 emissions.

Now, you might say so what – Volvo’s shown the same results with the considerably larger V60 Plug-in Hybrid. But the Prius’s batteries are fully charged in just 90 minutes using a regular plug socket, and it's set to cost significantly less than the Volvo.

To put this into context, a regular, top spec regular Toyota Prius is currently rated at 3.3L/100km with 92g/km CO2 emissions. Even in full hybrid mode the new Prius Plug-in beats this with 3.1L/100km and 85g/km CO2.

The new car is the most efficient Toyota to ever be available on our roads – though in terms of outright petrol-electric efficiency it will face stiff competition from the Holden Volt.

Total range without refuelling in the Prius is around 1,250km.

On top of this, the upgrades come without compromising passenger room or boot space, with the Prius Plug-in offering the exact same 443 litres of luggage capacity as before.

The production version of the new Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid gets its public debut at the 2012 Geneva Motor Show in March.