2023 Toyota Prius gets big power boost and bigger battery

Toyota Prius is not an electric car and neither is it an EREV - an extended range EV. But it is the car that converted the world to hybrid drive. Along with the Honda Insight, Prius was the trailblazer for hybrid cars, a pioneer of eco-friendly motoring and its latest incarnation is finally fun to drive - so it deserves to be written about.

No less than 5 million Priuses are driving around the planet, most of them clocking high miles dutifully ferrying passengers between airports and city centers. If you want to buy a used Prius you have a 95 percent chance that you are getting an ex-taxi with enough miles to go around the Earth a few times. That just proves the incredible reliability of the unassuming Prius.

The new model is a complete departure from the slow eco-friendly mile muncher. Gone are the laughable tiny wheels and in are the new 19” rims with low-profile tires. The wheelbase is longer so there’s more room inside but the car actually shrunk a bit - it is 4.6 cm shorter and it lost 5 cm off its height. The wedge shape remains and is even more pronounced but the car has curves now and the rear wheel arches stick out proudly hugging a wider axle.

The front is almost sporty and in the yellow color with black accents the car actually looks like it can do some spirited driving. Turns out the color is not the only outrageous thing about the new Prius - the plug-in hybrid (first for Toyota) has 223 HP on tap. That’s right - 127 HP more than the model it replaces. If you thought getting in the Taxi at JFK was a life changing experience, wait for this one to join the yellow fleet.

223 HP is enough to literally catapult this former tree-hugger from 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) in 6.7 seconds, by the time the new model is flying past speed limits, the 2022 model is only half way there. That’s not progress, that’s a giant leap for hybrid kind. But there is more.

The new model comes with 2.0 liter petrol engine (yes, very bad)and an electric motor supported by a 13.6 kWh battery - that’s nearly 5 kWh more than the outgoing model and the range is up to an eye watering figure of nearly 100 km - by Prius standards and if the numbers are actually confirmed by WLTP at some later point.

There is an optional solar roof that’ll keep the battery topped up and will run the aircon on hot days. This is a second-generation solar panel apparently capable of adding 1,250 km of free driving every year.

There are two more models, both parallel-hybrid and it’s the one with the 2.0 liter gasoline unit that’s interesting again. For the first time in Prius it features Toyota’s E-Four system - a four-wheel-drive Prius. Taxi drivers in Alaska will be thrilled.

That model has slightly less power with “only” 193 HP which is still twice as much as the outgoing Prius. The smaller 1.8 liter gas-powered hybrid manages to squeeze out 140 HP and in all honesty, it’ll be enough for city driving.

The interior has been nicely updated, there are new, bigger screens, the user interface is new and the cockpit has a whiff of Toyota bz4x about it which is a good thing. Everything is in place exactly where you would expect it to be, seats look really comfortable and fabrics appear to be nice, there is even some color thrown in, which is a big step for Toyota. It’s exactly how you would expect your Prius to look like - ergonomic, easy to use and easy to keep tidy. With all the info at your fingertips.

The new Prius is a completely new vehicle built on a second generation TNGA platform. It is much stiffer with improved sound insulation, the front suspension is the usual McPherson setup with double wishbone at the back. This car has been designed to be fun to drive - at least on paper.

When it comes to ADAS the new Prius comes with Toyota Safety Sense with front and rear facing cameras and built-in dash-cam. There is the compulsory Advanced Park with remote function and there are two 100V AC outlets (220V for European markets) capable of powering 1,500W load. It’s a taxi driver’s dream - coffee on the go. There is even a little attachment that allows for the cable to be fed through the open window without rain getting in - Toyota thought of everything.

New TNGA platform with E-Four AWD and the new 2.0l with bigger battery pack

Yes, it is not an electric car but this is a Prius and it’s quick this time around. Yes, Toyota is sticking to hybrid drives and dragging its feet with jumping into all-electric vehicles - at least in Europe and the US. But Prius will be a decent stop-gap vehicle for many people before the battery powered cars become more affordable and there won’t be two year waiting lists for them anymore. As a stop-gap - Prius is perfect. It launches in spring of the next year and you can expect the prices of used ones to plummet, everyone will want the new one.

Source (Japanese)