SPEAKER: What if I told you that behind me is a new Toyota Prius that actually looks really cool? Would you believe me? I probably wouldn't either, but check this out.
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The Toyota Prius has been in the US market now for over 20 years. And during its time here, the Prius has conjured up a reputation for being the eco-friendly vehicle. But in a world that's now dominated by EVs, is it still relevant? I'm here with the new 2023 fifth-generation Toyota Prius and its sibling, the plug-in Prius Prime, to find out.
Before we get to know the Prius better, let me remind you to please subscribe to the Edmunds YouTube channel so you don't miss any of the fun stuff we're up to. And if you're looking to sell your car, head over to edmunds.com/sellmycar for an instant cash offer.
When the Prius first hit the market, hybrids were not nearly as popular as they are now. The Prius basically created the hybrid movement and became the poster child for being green. This is what you bought if you wanted to make a statement.
Now the world is a much different place. Toyota itself now has 10 hybrids in the lineup, and America's eco-conscious buyers seem to have moved on to EVs. So this new model needs a lot in the way of efficiency and tech to get its street cred back.
The car will be offered in Prius and Prius Prime models. The former has a manufacturer estimated 57 MPG combined, while the plug-in Prime can do almost 40 miles on EV alone. On sale date and pricing information will come in the first half of next year.
Just in case you needed a reminder, here is what all of the Priuses-- maybe it's Prii-- of the past look like. Not exactly an all-star cast of good-looking vehicles. But sometimes function is more important than form. This time around though, wow. We actually end up with a really handsome-looking vehicle. You can still tell that it's styled to be aerodynamic, but it's not just a mash-up of hard angles like the current car. This has real curves, and it's a Prius.
I can definitely see other Toyota products in the face. I see a little bit of Crown, maybe some bZ4X. But the Prius is unique because of these very cool wraparound headlights. And they actually preview what will become the bZ3x EV, which we saw in concept form this week. So a little bit of family lineage going on there.
Here in the side profile, we have that traditional wedge shape which we've come to know with the Prius. But this fifth gen is a lot more elegant in how it pulls it off. These body lines, they kind of gently taper into the rear of the car. It's not just hard angles that run into each other. And at the back of the Prius, we get the single tail light, which reminds me a lot of new Toyota Mirai. Same deal with this wordmark across the back of the car. A bunch of new Toyotas are rocking this. You can see "Prius" in giant letters so you know exactly what you're driving.
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Was I supposed to go up front first? I think it's just force of habit that I get into the backseat of a Prius. I'm normally on the way to an airport or a restaurant. This is the Uber car. But you know what? You're going to have a better time in your Ubers going forward because the legroom back here is actually really decent. And this top trim model gets two heated seats in the rear as well, in addition to USB-C ports to charge your phone.
Legroom-- pretty generous, I have to say. Of course, I'm under 6 feet tall, so not really a huge problem in that department. Head room, on the other hand, might be a problem for taller passengers. That tapering roofline just kind of tucks back right here, so you might run into some issues.
Finally, a Prius interior that is modern. This is an area where this car has struggled in the past, but not this time around. More convenience features than ever before-- heated seats, ventilated seats, a heated steering wheel, soft touch materials on either side of me, and an overall design that's just really nice. There's ambient lighting, some of these cool materials across the dash.
This is a big deal too. It's Toyota's multimedia system, a 12.3 inch infotainment screen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. There's a wireless charging pad. Tech is looking really good.
The only thing that I don't quite like is this cluster in front of me. We first saw it on the bZ4x, the electric car in Toyota's lineup. And I don't know if it's just me, but I've talked to plenty of other people too. When you move the steering wheel to a comfortable spot for you as a driver, it ends up blocking half the screen. I think Toyota's going to need a different solution for that, going forward.
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I mentioned the headline figure at the top of the video-- 57 MPG combined, at least according to Toyota. Now the current Prius, for context, and the super-frugal Eco model, does 56 MPG. So one more doesn't seem like that much, until I mention that this car has 196 horsepower. The current Prius has 121, so that is a huge improvement. And the result is that this car does 0 to 60 in 2.6 seconds. Sorry, 2.6 seconds faster than the current Prius. It'll hit 60 in 7.2.
But joking aside, that actually is a big deal. And most of it has to do with the bigger engine. That's right, they put a bigger, naturally-aspirated engine in one of their most green cars. This is up to 2 liters now. And the batteries are new as well.
Up until this point, Toyota has insisted on using nickel metal hydride batteries because the company said they would stand the test of time better. This time around, Toyota is joining the mainstream and going with lithium ion, so the battery pack is now lighter and has a higher electric capacity. The question is whether this car will have the same reliable reputation.
And over here on the Prius Prime, we have the same 2 liter, 4 cylinder engine, and an even bigger battery pack. This car should do almost 40 miles of electric driving alone. It's a big improvement over the current Prius Prime. It also has more horsepower-- 220 total horsepower, which means 0 to 60 happens in about 6.6 seconds. Big things happening here for the Prime.
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Truth be told, the Prius has outlived the majority of its competition. The Hyundai Ioniq is gone. The Honda Insight is gone. The only real competitor left is the Kia Niro, which also comes in hybrid and plug-in form. Of course, you can also go to other Toyota models, like the Corolla hybrid for example. The question I have left is, will this car work as a stepping stone to EV, like Toyota wants it to? Or will consumers just jump right over it to bZ models?
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