Fredxx wrote:
Is there any facility to charge the battery from an external source? I'm
assuming this is not a 'plug-in' hybrid?

Not the HV battery. It's 200V DC, and charging it would only allow a couple
of miles on electric alone. It's not designed to be an EV, it's an energy
buffer. The 12V battery is a regular car battery that can be charged on any
charger.

The Prius is quite a large car, the thing that concerns me is a 15 year
old diesel Mondeo can typically get 55mpg overall, without the
complexity of a hybrid.

People quoting mpg numbers typically quote them 'on a run', when
conventional diesels/petrols are most efficient at motorway speeds. They
are less clear what they get running around town.

https://www.fuelly.com/car/ford/mondeo
suggests 15 year old diesel Mondeos ('L4 diesel' being the most populous
category, not sure what 'L4' means) get 35-40 UKmpg overall.

If all you're doing is motorway driving, buy a diesel.
The hybrid makes sense when you do more driving at lower speeds.
It's the reason hybrids are so popular as taxis.

Complexity is not really an issue apart from upfront cost - I was looking
for a scrap part recently and the scrap Priuses were all 200-300K miles. I
presume they just ran until the owners just had enough and they were
worth more parted out.

Theo