[Auto] 2023 Toyota Prius Prime Tested: Catching Up to the Joneses

[[X]pErT-]

.Newfound horsepower and range make the plug-in Prius Prime relevant againUPDATE 6/6/23: This review has been updated with test numbers.

 

Toyota claims that the raw materials required for just one EV could instead go on to power seven plug-in hybrids or 90 traditional hybrids. Given Toyota's goal to spread electrification of any kind as far and wide as it can, hybrids will remain an important part of the automaker's portfolio for some time. And if they're sticking around, they may as well be good. We've already driven—and enjoyed—Toyota's new Prius, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that the plug-in Prius Prime is a fabulous little hatchback too, eliminating many of our concerns with the outgoing version.The Prius Prime has been around since 2017, and in recent years it's been feeling its age. We tested a 2022 model ahead of its retirement, and while the PHEV's fuel-economy benefits were hard to ignore, it was even harder to ignore its time-it-with-a-sundial acceleration, middling electric-only range, and frustrating interior controls.For 2023, Toyota sent all those frustrations to The Bad Place and gave the Prius Prime a massive aesthetic and mechanical glow-up. With minor exceptions in badging, wheel design, and some silver trim around the lower air dam, the Prius and Prius Prime are now nearly indistinguishable—which is great, because the Prius looks better than it ever has. The second flap on the rear fender, which hides the SAE J1772 charging port, is an easy way to tell the two apart.But it's the upgraded mechanicals that are truly transformative. The Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder grows from 1.8 to 2.0 liters, boosting output from a sad 95 horsepower and 105 pound-feet of torque to a more respectable 150 horsepower and 139 pound-feet. The engine works in conjunction with a 161-hp permanent-magnet AC electric motor driving the front wheels—a second motor is integrated into the Prime's planetary gearset—for a net output of 220 horsepower, a huge leap over the 2022 model's 121-hp rating.In our testing, the 2023 Prius Prime XSE reached 60 mph in just 6.5 seconds in hybrid mode; not only does that beat Toyota's estimates by a tenth, it represents a massive improvement over the outgoing model, which required 10.3 seconds for the same feat. If you feel like racing your Prius Prime for pink slips, it'll cruise through the quarter-mile in 15.1 seconds at 94 mph. When it's time to jam on the clampers, the Prime will come to a halt from 70 mph in 179 feet with little fade over repeated attempts.

 

https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/a43485955/2023-toyota-prius-prime-drive/