The world’s most important modern car is a Toyota Prius

A few weeks ago the Auto Express team sat down to decide what we thought were the most important modern cars. We wanted to recognise the models that have shaped the way we drive today with their design, technology and/or engineering excellence. After the dust had settled, the Toyota Prius carried off a narrow but deserving victory from BMW’s new MINI and the Tesla Model S. 

Since then, the list of the top 50 most influential cars of the last 30 years has caused almost as much debate and argument among the wider public as we went through in the judging process. The comment sections on our website bulged and the mainstream press got involved with The Mirror, The Express and The Times all covering the story. The final august title in that list even prompted Jeremy Clarkson to weigh-in and call the poor Prius a rude word.  

The rules were simple. The cars had to be on sale in the year 2000. Thus we could avoid a list harking back to the older classics like the original Mini, Citroen’s DS and even the Benz Motorwagen horseless carriage. We wanted to focus on the recent cars that many people will have owned, or still do - models that the roots of the major car industry trends in recent years can be traced back to. Because, let’s face it, nobody in the car industry is shy about copying a good idea. We assembled a shortlist of 100 cars and everyone on the team ranked their top 50 to get the final result. 

The Prius won because it laid the groundwork for the electrification of mainstream cars that has been the overriding trend in the car market of recent years. Toyota went out on a limb in 1997 by betting big on hybrid technology and stuck to the task while many other brands were still trying to squeeze a few extra MPG out of diesel engines, some using unscrupulous means. 

It might not be one for the enthusiasts, but the terminally unsexy Prius went about its business with a quiet competence and ultimately encouraged the rest of the car industry to follow in its electrified footsteps. This may be one of the few instances where Jeremy Clarkson and Britain’s taxi drivers are not in broad agreement.   

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