No,your eyes don’t deceive you: Prius has turned street-sharp with front, rear and side skirts, 17-inch smoked-finish alloys and dark-tinted privacy glass.

It's not going to worry an Evo or a Focus RS but it should give the Prius a dash of street cred among non-Save The Whale types.

Shame the changes couldn't run to even wider tyres and bigger alloys. Fitting those would have a negative impact on fuel consumption. As it is, the Prius still looks over-bodied.

The new look belongs to a special edition model that celebrates the world-beating hybrid’s first 10 years in the UK.

And don’t assume that dressing up Prius for this landmark occasion compromises its environmental performance.

The new Prius 10th Anniversary is every bit as fuel-frugal and tax-friendly as its more sober-suited stablemates, with 70.6mpg and 92g/km combined cycle consumption and CO2 emissions.

Prius’s birthday makeover extends to the car’s interior, too, with high-quality black leather upholstery, embossed with the 10th anniversary logo.

In other respects, Prius 10th Anniversary shares the same equipment specification as the top-of-the-range T Spirit model, so comes equipped with HDD satellite navigation (with integrated sound library), rear parking monitor, Bluetooth, Intelligent Park Assist, cruise control, smart entry and start, rain-sensing wipers and head-up display.

Only 1,000 examples are to be built, making this the most exclusive production Prius yet. White Pearl or Astral Black exterior paint finishes are available, and the on-the-road price is £26,150, Orders are being taken now, with first deliveries to customers this winter.