2023 Toyota Prius Prime First Drive: Longer Legs, More Muscle

The new 2023 Toyota Prime plug-in hybrid gets all the stunning good looks of the redesigned 2023 Prius hybrid along with up to 44 miles of all-electric range.

That’s up from just 25 miles in the 2022 Prius Prime. It’s an increase that makes the plug-in hybrid truly competitive after years of lagging behind most other PHEVs in the critical category of pure battery range.

Additionally, the new Prius Prime gets a more powerful front-wheel drive system, boasting 220 horsepower. Its predecessor was a relative weakling at just 121 ponies. The 2023 plug-in also outmuscles the front-drive version of the standard hybrid ’23 Prius, which is rated at 194 hp.

The 2023 Prius Prime also comes with a heftier price tag, starting at $33,445, including delivery. On a trim-to-trim basis—there are three, SE, XSE and XSE Premium—the five-seat small hatchback sedan is about $5,000 more than its predecessor.

But the hike covers a multitude of improvements in design, standard features, interior quality, safety and driver assistance systems, performance and, of course, the bigger battery needed to provide that 76% increase in range.

Still Tops in Efficiency

The chief reason the Prius has done so well in the 23 years since it was introduced in the U.S. (Japan got it almost 3 years earlier) is its efficiency. Always somewhat of an ugly duckling, it boasted segment-leading fuel economy year after year. 

The Prius Prime didn’t come along until 2012, a dozen years after the standard hybrid model, and is now starting its third generation. Like its plug-less sibling, the Prius Prime has been at the top of the class in fuel efficiency since day one.

That won’t change with the 2023 redo. 

In addition to its improved all-electric range, the new plug-in Prius gets an EPA-estimated rating of 52 miles per gallon for the base trim and 48 mpg for the two upper trims when operating on conventional hybrid mode after the battery is depleted. That’s better than any other plug-in hybrid in the market.

The Prime also holds the lead in range in its class at an EPA-estimated 44 miles for the LE and 39 miles for the upper trims. The next closest small hatchback, the 2023 Kia Niro PHEV, is rated at up to 33 miles.

Real-world driving usually is no match for the test circuit used by the EPA to determine range and fuel economy, but the XLE trim delivered almost 32 miles of electric-only driving during a 45-mile test loop on hilly country roads in Southern California’ San Diego County.  That’s 18% less than the EPA estimate for that trim, but the drive involved numerous jackrabbit starts and other accelerator-pedal abuses designed to get a feel for the new Prime’s potential.

Not a Charging Champ

The 2023 Prime’s substantial range increase is due largely to a 13. kWh battery pack that’s 55% larger than its predecessor’s 8.8 kWh pack. 

But that larger battery takes longer to recharge, and while there are three levels of regenerative braking to help capture and store energy while on the go, the new Prime didn’t get a quicker charger. It still uses a 3.7 kW system for Level 2 home charging at 240 volts, so it takes 5 hours to replenish a fully depleted battery and more than 11 hours for a Level 1 charge using a standard 120-volt outlet.   

The Niro PHEV, with an 11 kWh battery, can recharge in just over 2 hours on a Level 2 system and 9 hours at Level 1. 

Like most PHEVs, the Prius Prime isn’t equipped for DC fast-charging. That’s both a cost-saving measure and acknowledgement that unlike a proper EV, a plug-in hybrid can operate on its gas engine alone and rely on its battery to make a long trip.

Toyota is offering a solar roof option for the top trim in place of its standard glass roof, but the output is mostly intended to help power accessories. The solar panel can send juice to the battery, but Toyota engineers said that at best—if every day were a sunny one—it would barely add 5 miles of range per month. Better than nothing, but not 

Good Road Manners

The “S” in Toyota’s trim level nomenclature stands for “Sport” and indicates that the automaker thinks the new Prius Prime is a sporty car—or at least sportier than the 2022 model.  

The new 2.0-liter gas engine pumps out 150 horsepower when working solo, while the electric motor is rated at 161 hp. Output is blended in full hybrid mode. The peak rating of 220 hp, while not enough to make the new Prius Prime a race car, is good enough for a zero-to-60 mph time of 6.6 seconds, according to Toyota. That’s 4.1 seconds quicker than the previous generation Prime and nearly half a second better than the ’23 Prius hybrid. 

The Prime’s low center of gravity and big boost in power makes it a lot more fun to drive than earlier Prius plug-ins, especially when coupled with the new suspension tuning that comes with the redesign. 

While the standard Prius feels light and easy to toss around, the Prime—while only 94 pounds heavier—feels more solidly planted and road-hugging, especially on twisty country roads. Its extra power, tighter steering and new suspension place it miles above previous Primes in road manners. 

The narrow sidewalls on the upper trims’ 19-inch alloys don’t do the greatest job of absorbing road imperfections, so the new Prime can feel a little bouncy on rutted or potholed roads. But overall the ride quality is fine with a 2-inch wheelbase increase helping smooth things out. The new sport seat design for the front buckets helps as well. The seats, resplendent with their red contrast panels and stitching, are thinner than in previous Priuses, but still well-bolstered and supportive. 

Fine Features

While the 2023 Prius Prime gets different trim-level naming than the standard Prius, most features are the same on a trim-by-trim level and elevate the new Prius into near-premium territory.

The Prime shares most of its modern-minimalist interior with the plug-less Prius. An 8-inch, center-mounted infotainment screen is standard for the SE and XSE trims while the XSE Premium gets a 12.3-inch screen (and it is an option for the XSE). Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard and the upper trims get a wireless phone charger as well. 

There’s too much hard plastic surrounding the driver information screen, but nicely grained soft-touch material on the rest of the dash and the door panels. 

The 2023 Prime gets the upgraded Toyota Audio Multimedia system with easy-to-use voice commands and an intuitive menu system. The Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 package of advanced safety and driver assist systems is standard as well. The Prime also debuts Toyota’s Traffic Jam Assist feature, which enables hands-free driving at speeds of under 25 mph to help with stop-and-go traffic. 

How Much Does the 2023 Toyota Prius Prime Cost? When will it be Available?

The base SE trim, with 17-inch alloys and cloth seats, starts at $33,495 including Toyota’s $1,095 destination fee.

The XSE starts at $36,695 and the XSE Premium at $40,265. The upper trims get 19-inch wheels, heated front seats, faux-leather upholstery, LED projector-beam headlights, an auto-dimming rearview mirror and a few other goodies. The Premium gets a glass roof, heated and ventilated front seats and heated rear seats, a digital key system, the big infotainment screen and an eight-speaker JBL audio system.

The new Prius Prime, with its longer range, more powerful hybrid system, class-leading range and fuel efficiency and a sleek and sporty, coupe-like exterior it shares with the standard 2023 Prius, stands out in the small—and diminishing—competitive set.

The Kia Niro, Subaru Crosstrek and Mini Cooper SE Countryman PHEVs are boxier and more SUV-like. None can match the Prius Prime’s range and fuel efficiency. The Mini Cooper, with only 18 miles of all-electric range, starts at $2,200 more than the top-trim Prime. The Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid ends production this year and won’t be around to compete. 

Toyota dealers will start receiving the new Prius Prime in May and with only eight months left in the calendar year, Toyota is allotting a mere 10,000 of the PHEVs to the U.S. While rooted in ongoing chip and component shortages, the small numbers also pretty much ensure that prices will remain strong and that many prospective customers will wind up in a long queue. 

The waitlist in most areas for the standard 2023 Prius after its remarkable fifth-generation remake can be as much as 12 months—and Toyota’s U.S. dealers are getting more than twice as many standard hybrid Priuses as Primes this year.

For calendar year 2024, Toyota has allocated 15,000 Prius Primes to the U.S., along with about 35,000 standard Priuses. Neither amount is likely to do much to reduce pent-up demand.  

Toyota provided lodging and meals to enable us to bring you this first-person report. Although Forbes Wheels sometimes participates in manufacturer-hosted events, our coverage is independent, unbiased and aimed at offering consumers an objective view of every vehicle we test.