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Tesla Model Y vs Toyota Prius

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Tesla Model Y
Tesla Model Y

$55,900 - $82,900

2025 price

Toyota Prius
Toyota Prius

2021 price

Summary

2025 Tesla Model Y
2021 Toyota Prius
Safety Rating

Engine Type

Inline 4, 1.8L
Fuel Type
-

Unleaded Petrol/Electric
Fuel Efficiency
-

3.4L/100km (combined)
Seating
-

5
Dislikes
  • Drive mode selector is silly
  • Warranty below average
  • Feels very heavy when pushed

  • Polarising exterior
  • Dorky central instrument cluster
  • Not so engaging to drive
2025 Tesla Model Y Summary

I don’t think I’m overselling it to say that this is the car that could make or break Tesla in Australia and around the world. 

Crazy, right? That seemed impossible not so long ago, back when the brand appeared untouchable. But new competition, largely from China, plus the giant Musk-shaped elefant (it is German for elephant…) in the room, has seen sales and profit plummet.

Just last month, for example, the Tesla Model Y lost its best-seller crown in Australia to BYD, admittedly in the weeks before the new 'Juniper' version arrived.

The point is, a new version of its biggest seller is a Very Big Deal. But have they changed enough, and changed it well enough, to cut through the noise?

We put the cheapest variant, the Tesla Model Y RWD, to the test to find out.

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Interested in a Tesla Model Y?
2021 Toyota Prius Summary

What to say about the Toyota Prius in 2021? A car that was once a technology trailblazer seems now to have become properly retro, even while it’s still being built and sold.

The awkward-looking wedge, an eco-punk icon, not only brought Toyota’s hybrid synergy drive to the masses, it also debuted the brand’s excellent TNGA architecture and set the scene for the company's absurd hybrid success, which now sees the RAV4 version topping the sales charts.

So, after all these years (25 to be precise), is the Prius’s time finally over? Or does this quaint hybrid hero still have more to offer? I took a top-spec I-Tech for a week to find out.

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Interested in a Toyota Prius?

Deep dive comparison

2025 Tesla Model Y 2021 Toyota Prius

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