New Toyota Prius: more electric than ever

Highlight Toyota Prius

• Recognizable shape, slicker design
• Only as a plug-in hybrid to the Netherlands
• Plug-in Hybrid almost twice as strong as outgoing Prius Plug-in Hybrid
• 50 percent greater electric range: up to about 75 kilometers
• Second quarter 2023 to the Netherlands

The Prius can now be called one of Toyota’s iconic models. When Toyota launched the first-generation Prius in its home country of Japan 25 years ago, the brand had the first mass-produced hybrid in its hands. Three years later, the primal Prius also came to the Netherlands and that would certainly not be the last. The recognizable wedge shape that Toyota introduced on the second generation Prius has never disappeared. The fourth generation of Toyota’s hybrid or plug-in hybrid economy miracle is now seven years old, so it’s time for a completely new one.

Design

Despite the fact that the new Toyota Prius retains its distinctive, strong wedge shape, the completely new generation is almost unrecognizable as a Prius. It’s over with the face of the outgoing Prius and Prius Plug-in Hybrid that differs from any other Toyota model. The new one is with his hammerheadfront is immediately recognizable as a member of the new family of Toyota models. With its C-shaped lighting at the front, the new Toyota Prius is even technically in line with its fully electric bZ brothers: the bZ4X and the bZ3, which is not available in Europe. Even more than with its predecessors, the bonnet flows smoothly into the fairly flat windscreen.

The steeply sloping roofline flows into a flat rear window, which in turn ends in a straight sloping buttock, in accordance with Prius tradition. No elegantly shaped taillights, but a sleek bar of LED lighting that runs across the width of the tailgate. A characteristic Prius detail that has been thrown into the wastebasket with a smooth movement from behind the drawing board is the extra rear window in the tailgate. That’s a big break in Prius tradition, because the second, third and the very different hybrid and plug-in hybrid versions of the outgoing fourth-generation Prius all had this design feature. But where a design detail is lost, a new one often takes its place. As a result, Toyota has hidden the handles of the rear doors in the C-pillar. The fact that Toyota now believes that motorists should know that they are driving a Prius is evident from the large model name written on the lid. The wheel arches – with black edges for a subtle cross effect – are filled with up to 19-inch light metal.

Dimensions and platform

The new Toyota Prius, like the model it succeeds, is on the GA-C platform, although it is a new generation of this platform. In addition to the outgoing Prius, this is also used by cars such as the Corolla, C-HR and Lexus UX. According to Toyota, the new Prius is a step stiffer than its predecessor and the center of gravity is lower again.

If you suspect that the new Toyota Prius is a size smaller than the previous model when looking at the photos, we can agree. The wheelbase has increased by 5 centimeters, but the new Prius as a whole is 4.6 centimeters shorter than its predecessor. In addition, Toyota’s important newcomer is 5 centimeters lower than the outgoing version. Shorter and lower, but the Prius has become 2.2 centimeters wider.

It is done with the tailgate with an extra rear window.

Only as a plug-in hybrid

The Prius that you can still find at Toyota dealers is undoubtedly available in two forms. After all, it is available as a hybrid and as a Plug-in Hybrid that differs greatly in appearance. Although there is also a regular hybrid version of the new Toyota Prius elsewhere in the world, it will only come to Europe as a Plug-in Hybrid this time. Toyota is not yet sharing extensive technical specifications, but the figures it does release from the powertrain are promising.

Toyota has developed a completely new plug-in hybrid powertrain for the Prius Plug-in Hybrid. It no longer has a 99 hp 1.8, but a 2.0 liter four-cylinder petrol engine that kicks it up to 148 hp. The electric motor is also a lot more powerful. The copy in the new Prius Plug-in Hybrid delivers 160 hp instead of 92 hp. The system power of Toyota’s latest plug-in hybrid is a certainly not childish 223 hp. You read that right, the new Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid is almost twice as strong as its predecessor (122 hp).

Up to 75 kilometers electrically

With a plug-in hybrid, little is as relevant as the electric range. Toyota does not yet provide an electric WLTP range, but it does report that the electric range of the new Prius Plug-in Hybrid is 50 percent greater than that of the outgoing model. The outgoing Prius Plug-in Hybrid can drive up to about 50 kilometers electrically, which means that with this new Prius Plug-in Hybrid you can travel about 75 kilometers on electric power alone.

That greater electric range draws the new plug-in Prius from a larger battery. With 13.6 kWh, its capacity is more than one and a half times that of the previous Prius Plug-in. Because the cells of the new battery have a higher energy density, Toyota has been able to place the entire battery pack under the rear seat. With the outgoing Prius Plug-in Hybrid, the package is located under the load compartment floor, resulting in a smaller load space. So that problem is gone. Those who wish can also equip the new Prius with solar cells on the roof.

No more centrally located clock shop for the new Prius.

Interior

Toyota also makes a recognizable Prius element disappear in the interior of the Prius. Since the first generation Prius, Toyota has placed the clock shop and later the digital instruments centrally in the dashboard. In the new Prius, just like in the electric Toyota bZ4X, we find a 7-inch digital instrument panel behind the wheel that is housed in a tube-like unit. There is also a screen in the center of the dashboard in the new Prius, although this belongs to the infotainment system. The screen is significantly larger than that in the outgoing models.

Where many new models have a round rotary knob to operate the transmission, the new Toyota Prius retains its lever. However, this does not protrude horizontally from the center console in the new Prius, the selector stick is now simply in the center tunnel. Slightly less recognizable, but just as common.

The first four generations of Toyota Prius.

The Netherlands

The new Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid will come to the Netherlands in the second quarter of 2023. More extensive technical specifications will undoubtedly follow in the run-up to the market launch. Toyota has an even more extensive presentation of the Prius Plug-in Hybrid intended for the European market on the agenda.

Prius was almost obsolete

It is not very surprising that Toyota has worked out a lot with the design and technology of the new Prius. The brand hopes to put the Prius back on the map in Europe by simply bringing the Plug-in Hybrid version here. In Europe, the Prius has suffered from in-house models in recent years. Prius sales in the Netherlands have also fallen sharply in recent years. Toyota has expanded its hybrid range enormously in recent years. So strong, in fact, that almost every model of the brand in our country always has a hybrid powertrain.

An example: in 2014, Prius sales fell from 3,730 units in 2013 to just 286 units and from then on Prius registrations in the Netherlands continued to fall, with 70 units sold in 2021 as a provisional low. The drop in Prius sales coincided not entirely coincidentally with the arrival of the hybrid second-generation Auris that came to our country in 2013. The introduction of the current generation hybrid Corolla has further pushed the Prius out of the market. However, there is no plug-in hybrid version of the Corolla and by supplying the new Prius only as a Plug-in Hybrid, the Prius’ right to exist suddenly becomes a lot bigger.