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If plain and simple equates with beauty, the new Toyota Prius is a contender for the prettiest car of the year. If it doesn't, then the 2004 model is best described as still looking different, just not as different.

The pinched-down nose returns, helpful for knifing through the air with little resistance. But now it looks more like the front end of a car than the flattened-nostrils look on the 2003 Prius. The front quarter panels and doors are sleek and clean, sans the 03's deeply etched groove arcing up and over the front tire opening and fading to nothingness somewhere around mid-front door. The new car's rear flanks continue the theme, with no hint of the bulbous, bi-level blister running rearward from the back doors over the top of the rear tire arch on the '03. The 03's flow-through ventilation exhaust vents are gone, leaving a clean, smooth rear sail. The 2004's sole character line is a tasteful indentation in the lower region of the doors, visually connecting the creases marking the lower limits of the working area of the front and rear bumpers.

The side view makes clear the stylists' devotion to aerodynamics. A steeply raked windshield carries rearward the hood's acute angle to the horizontal. An even more steeply raked backlight (rear windscreen) ends in a high spoiler that breaks up the air flow as it leaves the car to reduce the drag the tallish, almost-vertical backend would otherwise generate. Front and rear quarter windows do more to visually enhance the car's aero-look than for outward visibility.

Pictures deceive when it comes to tires. Viewed in the paint, the 2004 Toyota Prius looks under-tired, almost as if the tires were left out when the rest of the car was made larger. This may have been in part in deference to the quest for maximum fuel economy, but visually it clashes with the car's enlarged proportions.

The headlights are geometrically complex, compound units, housing the running lights, side marker lights, and turn indicators. Vertically stacked, compound taillight units wear modish clear lenses and bookend the lower section of the liftgate. Integrated into the liftgate, and running its width beneath the rear spoiler, is a strip of glass adding critical rearward visibility to the view from the driver's seat.

While the 2003 Toyota Prius was classified as a compact by the EPA, the 2004 Prius is considered a mid-size car. Its wheelbase (the distance between the front and rear wheels) is about 6 inches longer than before, yielding more legroom.

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The interior of the 2004 Toyota Prius is significantly roomier than the 2003 model. Passenger room measures 96.2 cubic feet, up more than 6 cubic feet from the 2003 Prius. It's nearly 5 cubic feet roomier than the 2004 Civic Hybrid's interior.

The back seats are surprisingly roomy. The 2004 Toyota Prius gains a whopping 3 inches of rear legroom over the 2003 model. It offers more than 2 inches more rear leg room than the Honda Civic and even beats the Camry by an inch. In all but one dimension, the 2004 Prius betters its predecessor; only rear seat headroom stays the same, at 37.1 inches. Still, the new Toyota Prius is truly a four-passenger car. It's five-passenger in designation only, or when one of the rear seat occupants is much smaller statured than the other two.

Cargo space is 16.1 cubic feet, more than one-third larger than the 2003's 11.8 cubic feet and half again the Civic's 10.1 cubic feet and coming perilously close to the Camry's 16.7 cubic feet. The hatchback design makes the cargo area much more flexible than the Civic.

Seats are comfortable for commutes and short weekend trips; like the car, their forte is not the multi-hour, multi-state drive. The cloth upholstery looks durable and is grippy, compensating somewhat for the minimalist bottom and back side bolsters. Head restraints are adjustable in all five seating positions, although in their lowered positions, the rear seat's are close to dysfunctional for taller passengers. The interior finish is up to Toyota standards, with pleasingly close tolerances between body panels and interior plastic pieces, and plastics that look and feel better than the word plastic connotates.

The speedometer, fuel gauge, trip meter, and transmission selection indicator are tucked into a long and flat, eyebrow-like opening draped across and centered on the top of the dash where it meets the windshield. In a nod to the car's left-hand-drive configuration, these are located in the left half of the opening, albeit more toward the centerline of the car than that of the driver.

The climate controls are managed via an LCD positioned top-most in the center stack. This same panel displays user preferences and maintenance needs and intervals. It also allows tracking of the power and re-charging flows, monitoring battery and gasoline usage, which is entertaining. It also serves as the focal point for the navigation system, if ordered.

Directly beneath the LCD is the control head for the sound system. Toyota deserves high praise for keeping the stereo's most-used functions outside the onboard computer system labyrinth and, equally important, for giving it buttons and knobs that are easy to see, read, and use. The base AM/FM/CD 6-speaker sound system is quite capable, while enjoying the premium, JBL system to its fullest would benefit from a bit more sound deadening in the floorpan and doors.

Remote switches for the audio, climate, and cruise controls are conveniently mounted on the tilt steering wheel. There are two accessory power outlets. Dome lights grace the headliner, front and rear. Both sun visors have illuminated mirrors. These may seem small matters, but they distinguish between value and cheap.

A tall glasshouse yields exemplary outward visibility, with one exception: Even a 6-foot tall driver can't see the front of the car or the hood without leaning forward. This is not good for navigating tight spaces or congested traffic, precisely where the Prius is likely to spend goodly amounts of its time. But that's the trend for many of the latest aerodynamic designs.

Storage spaces are abundant and more flexible than in some cars costing much more than the Prius. The glove box is a two-parter, with an upper and lower bin opening like a clamshell. The upper compartment is good for, yes, gloves and long, narrow items. The lower compartment holds bulkier items. The front part of the center console opens up, also clamshell-like, into two cupholders. There are door-mounted map pockets, expandable magazine holders stitched into the back of the front seat backs, and an unexpected, semi-secluded storage bin below the stereo.

Two more cupholders pop out of the rear of the console for back-seat riders. An armrest folds down out of the rear seat back. The rear seats are split 60/40, each part of which folds to yield an almost-flat floor, without having to remove the head restraints. There are hidden spaces beneath the cargo floor, both below and on top of the mini-spare.

Gas pressurized struts ease opening and closing the hatchback. Raising and lowering the hood relies on good old upper-body strength, however, and requires a supporting rod when open. Doors close with a solid, if not truly impressive clunk; then again, weight savings have to come from somewhere.