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Let’s be honest. The Toyota Prius is ugly, slow, and an all-around bummer to drive, but it is the GOAT when it comes to pulling down crazy fuel efficiency. The 2016 Toyota Prius is continuing to deliver on all points; It’s still ugly, it’s still slow, and it’s still the most fuel-efficient used sedan in the hybrid game. 

2016 Toyota Prius against a white background
2016 Toyota Prius | Consumer Reports

Consumer Reports still has the 2016 Toyota Prius as the most fuel-efficient used sedan 

The fine people over at Consumer Reports made a list of the most fuel-efficient sedans from 2016. And, surprise, surprise, the 2016 Toyota Prius is the winner with an astounding 52 mpg. There are multiple versions of the Prius on this Consumer Reports list. Depending on which version you look at, the miles-per-gallon might drop by two or three. But, I think it is fair to say the Prius is dominating this list with no one even in the rearview. 

An image of a Toyota Prius outdoors, one of Consumer Reports' best used hybrid cars.
Toyota Prius | Toyota

The 2016 Toyota Prius is, of course, a hybrid sedan, as is every other vehicle on this list. So, what is it that makes the 2016 Toyota Prius so dominant in the hybrid segment? Is there some rule somewhere that states the most fuel-efficient sedans have to be ugly and slow? Well, maybe slow, but nothing is saying they have to be ugly. Whatever it is, the Prius has got it.

Is the Toyota Prius a good car? 

The question with the Prius has always been, “does being fuel-efficient make a car good?” I can’t answer that, but what I can tell you is that Consumer Reports was pretty pleased with this ugly little planet-saver, and so are its owners. 

It scored 5/5s all over the place. Reliability, customer satisfaction, and, of course, fuel efficiency were all off the charts. People who bought the 2016 Prius seem to be super satisfied with it. This trend continues all the way to the current model. Something is going on here that is almost Jeep Wrangler-esq in the way people love these things. 

The Prius is reliable, but it doesn’t do anything else that well. We’ve established that the poor Prius is uglier than the east end of a horse that’s headed west, but what about performance? 

How slow is the Toyota Prius? 

In Consumer Reports’ review of the 2016 Toyota Prius, it is hard to find many shining moments outside of reliability and fuel efficiency. The tester mentions that the 2016 model handles better than the previous ones, but that means about as much as something smelling better than a dumpster. There is almost an unwillingness to say it handles like an old boot. 

A Toyota Motor Corp. badge is displayed on a Prius plug-in hybrid vehicle (PHV), known as Prius Prime in the U.S., at the company's head office in Tokyo
The Toyota Prius Prime | Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The beating heart of the little uggo is a 1.8-liter gasoline engine paired with an electric counterpart. The entire system only makes 121 horsepower. If that feels low, well, it is. The two joined powerplants can get the Prius up to 60 mph in around 10 seconds. 

So it handles like a shopping cart and has the power of a lightning bug. Even still, the Prius is beloved and highly favored by Consumer Reports. 

Saving our planet is pretty important, I guess

I am all for hybrids and electric vehicles. After all, Earth is the only place I’ve ever lived like most of you, I assume. However, this does not make the Prius good; It simply makes it the most fuel-efficient sedan from this list.

If fuel efficiency is the only factor you care about, then the 2016 Prius is far and away the best bang for your buck. If you like any other aspect of driving, maybe settle for something, anything that is also polar-bear friendly.

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Staff Writer

Peter Corn

Peter Corn joined MotorBiscuit as an Autos Writer in 2020 and brings his quippiest Southern drawl to our table. Having, in his words, “helped” rebuild his dad’s 1959 MGA as a small child, Peter grew up loving vintage cars and trucks, adding motorcycles and all things 4×4 as he went.

Peter earned a Bachelor of Archeology and Creative Writing from the University of Alabama and has since melded his love of driving with storytelling. His voice, full of pleasantries and witticisms, can be enjoyed in The Gentleman Racer, The Vintagent, Gear Patrol, Iron & Air Magazine, and Classic Car Club Magazine.

Peter is a co-founder of both The Colloquial Magazine and The Fire Escape, the official podcast of The Colloquial. In an effort to increase his abilities in “ramping anything with wheels,” Peter has taken track training from Classic Car Club Manhattan and attended Rally School at Monticello Motor Club, where he was coached by eight-time Performance Rally motorsport champion Chris Duplessis.

On a lucky day, we get to hear Peter tell the story of his first car, a jewel of a 1958 Ford Fairlane, into which he dumped more time and money than made sense, but he has no regrets.