What was Toyota's first popular hybrid car called?

Toyota's first popular hybrid car was called the Prius. Toyota developed it as a practical “car for the 21st century,” pairing a gasoline engine with an electric motor and battery system.

The first-generation Prius went on sale in Japan on December 10, 1997, across all four Toyota dealership networks. It became the world's first mass-produced gasoline-electric hybrid car. Toyota introduced the model to other markets, including the United States and Europe, in 2000.

The Prius name is associated with being ahead of its time, and the car helped make hybrid technology familiar to ordinary drivers. Its Hybrid Synergy Drive system uses regenerative braking and allows the electric motor to assist the gasoline engine, improving efficiency.

A common mix-up is confusing the Prius with earlier experimental or limited-production hybrids. Cars such as the Lohner-Porsche Mixte and Toyota's own Coaster Hybrid predated it, but the Prius was the breakthrough mass-market hybrid. Toyota has since produced five main Prius generations and several related Prius models.