Toyota has broken with tradition in its marketing for the 2016 Toyota Prius focussing on driving dynamics ahead of fuel efficiency.

THE NEW 2016 Toyota Prius will launch in Australia next month and Toyota seems to have drawn inspiration from a letter, noted US outlaw, Clyde Champion Barrow, wrote to Henry Ford saying “For sustained speed and freedom from trouble the Ford [V8] got ever[sic] car skinned and even if my business hasn’t been strickly[sic] legal it don’t hurt anything to say what a fine car you got in the V8”.

Clyde was infamous for being able to evade the police even when virtually surrounded and credited the Ford V8s he stole as the reason why he could stay one step ahead of the law… until 1934, anyway.

The Prius ad also borrows from the OJ Simpson Ford Bronco car chase…

Yep, the latest TV campaign for the Toyota Prius, which debuted just before half-time in the recent US Super Bowl, shows bank robbers stealing a Toyota Prius and then evading police. Toyota said the ad was “a light-hearted look at Prius becoming the getaway car for bank robbers – outfoxing the law with brisk acceleration, sporty drifts through corners and (of course) sneaking past police cars in silent electric-vehicle mode”.

Toyota Australia executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb said the tongue-in-cheek Super Bowl presentation highlighted the fact Prius brings new dimensions beyond fuel economy with its platform, design, powertrain and technology.

“New Prius will be even better at being a Prius with its innovation and efficiency, but this entertaining and creative idea emphasises how the Prius has totally changed the way it delivers driver engagement and pride of ownership,” Mr Cramb said.

“Fourth-generation Prius is the first car to adopt a platform under our Toyota New Global Architecture philosophy, which marks a revolution in the way Toyota designs, engineers and manufactures vehicles.

“The new platform is 60% more rigid and the centre of gravity is significantly lower for improved body control while a new double-wishbone rear suspension delivers greater road-holding, stability, handling and comfort.

“New Prius will also meet expectations for efficiency with the biggest percentage gain in fuel economy since the first Prius arrived, including the ability to operate in EV mode up to 105km/h,” Cram said.

We’re not so sure a Prius would be your first choice as a getaway car, not that we condone evading the police, but moving away from fuel efficiency alone is a good move of making the thing more appealing to the masses.