I initially caught site of the updated model during its press launch at the New York Auto Show in April. I was impressed by its sportier lines, especially its 5-door fastback profile. The vertically stacked headlamp clusters are attractive too, while the taillights are tall and purposeful, with stylish clear lenses adding to the upscale appearance.

The Prius' new 5-door fastback profile is attractive and improves aerodynamics. (Photo: Trevor Hofmann, Canadian Auto Press)

The Prius' liftback sits high, improving aerodynamics to a very slippery drag coefficient (Cd) of just 0.26, while providing additional rear downforce at high speed. Its tall profile also adds to cargo volume. The new model sports a narrow strip of glass at its rearmost edge, a handsome addition when viewing its backside, but more importantly enhancing rearward vision when inside.

The new Prius, with its increased interior size, has moved up into the midsize range. (Photo: Toyota)

The new Prius interior has grown up considerably, now classified as a midsize car instead of a compact. That's significant for more reasons than just increased head, hip, shoulder and legroom. Now, while its $28,500 Honda Civic Hybrid competitor is stuck in the compact class, fighting it out with everything from its own, much less expensive gasoline powered Civic to the Toyota Corolla, Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra, Mazda Protegé, Nissan Sentra, and others, the $29,990 Prius, a price that incidentally has not gone up despite the many improvements, does battle with the Honda Accord, Ford Taurus, Hyundai Sonata, Mazda 6, Nissan Altima, etal. That means its value quotient has risen measurably, or in other words, if you're already in the market for a midsize car it no longer costs much more to go green.