The 2023 Toyota Prius Prime is fast, furious, and frugal

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This is a new Toyota Prius. Not “new” as in “redesigned” but all-new, as in “re-imagined and re-invented.” The re-imagined part of the equation is — or should be, if you’ve paid even passing attention to Priuses past — immediately visible. Gone is the deliberately quirky, look-at-how-green-I-am nerdiness that always seemed a boast — or a condescension — that the environmentally-friendly looked to lord over those less “enlightened.” In its place comes a modernity — dare I say sophistication? — that transforms the Prius from sandals-with-socks dorkiness to Manolo Blahnik fashionista.

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Style is always a personal judgement, but it’s hard to imagine anyone not preferring the new Prime’s swoopy sophistication over the previous version’s overly-earnest pointed-finger. The electrified automobile — starting with Tesla’s ground-breaking Model S — long ago left virtue-signalling styling behind. It’s about time the Prius did, too.

The even bigger news, however, is that—

The new Prius Prime is a bullet

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Okay, maybe not quite a “bullet.” More of a slingshot, perhaps. But a really powerful slingshot. You know, where you swapped out the standard elastic for a piece of really stretchy rubber cut out of an inner tube. A truck-tire inner tube, not a bicycle’s.

That’s because this new Prius boasts 220 horsepower. In fact, that “system” horsepower — that’s the peak when you combine the outputs of the now-more-powerful 150-horsepower 2.0L inline-four gas engine; and the 161-hp electric motor — almost doubles its predecessor’s. In terms of performance gains, few recent model revisions, hybrid or otherwise, can match the Prius’.

And it’s immediately evident as soon as you touch the gas pedal for the first time. Even at low throttle openings and poodling speeds, the new Prime feels more confident, the larger electric motor’s increased torque readily apparent. Priuses holding up traffic cause the hyper-miler behind the wheel is trying to stay on “electric power” are definitely a thing of the past.

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Said class-leading power increase is even more noticeable when you put your foot deep into it. Toyota claims a 6.8-second sprint to 100 kilometres an hour. It feels like more, perhaps because the launch off the line is, again, the result of electric-motor torqueiness. Or maybe it’s ‘cause its predecessor took a my-God-this-is-an-eternity 11.1 seconds to accomplish the same feat. Whatever the case, it’s almost implausibly impressive.

Oh, said impression of speediness does fade a bit the faster you go — mainly because that much-credited electric motor isn’t as impressive at higher speeds — but the Prius Prime’s performance is a huge leap forward. But perhaps more impressive is that—

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The Prius’ fuel-sipping ways have not been compromised

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We didn’t get much time to confirm the new PHEV’s gasoline-fuelled parsimony — mainly because we were too busy testing the electric range provided by its new, larger 13.6-kilowatt-hour battery — but, despite its increased power, it appears as parsimonious as ever. My test route took me through the rolling hills surrounding San Diego on roads with precious few stops and little braking, both conditions that don’t traditionally play to hybrids’ strengths. Nonetheless, I averaged 4.5 L/100 km in the XSE Premium version of the new Prime, an excellent performance considering that the top-of-the-line trim is actually rated at 4.9 L/100 km (more on that in a minute).

As for that electric autonomy, it is dramatically improved. Toyota claims 72 kilometres on battery alone for the base SE; and 64 klicks for the upscale XSE (more on that later, too). Well, without much effort, I managed 69 kilometres in the XSE, which suggests the base SE, the slipperiest of the bunch, might manage as much as 75 km on a charge. Very impressive. In fact, it’d be damned near perfect were it not for the fact that—

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The Prius’ gas engine is still a little buzzy

The gas engine, despite its increased power and larger displacement, is still a bit of a weakling, the twinning of hybrid halves favouring by far the more robust electric motor. So, when you are accessing all of that 6.8-second-sprint-to-100-km/h 220 horsepower, the gas engine is spinning pretty hard and can get a bit noisy. It’s not as bad as the RAV4 Prime (largely, I suspect, because of the Prius’ increased sound-deadening material) which sounds a little like a horde of ants not quite in sync with its queen.

Some people — most likely previous Prius owners already conditioned to the cacophony — won’t notice it, but, those newly drawn to Toyota’s hybrids because of the Prime’s increased performance and swoopy styling might. Still, it’s not nearly enough to forgo the combination of 220 horses and seemingly miraculous gas mileage. What’s that old axiom? Oh, yes: when it comes to performance, economy, and sophistication, you can choose any combination you want, but just two out of the three.

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The Prius’ fuel-economy numbers come with a caveat

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According to Toyota’s official figures, the base SE is decidedly more frugal than the better-equipped XSE and its XSE Premium sibling. It’s officially rated at 4.5 L/100 km — compared with the 4.9 L/100 km attributed to the pricier XSE and XSE Premium — and can eke out eight extra kilometres of electric autonomy. Both make for a not-insignificant nine-per-cent advantage for the base model.

Besides the lower cost of running, those two statistics dramatically affect the new Prime’s NRCan rated range. In SE trim, the Prime is rated to squeeze out some 960 kilometres from a fully-charged battery and a full tank of gas; the upper trims but 890 km. Now, while even that lower specification is a far greater range than anything purely battery-powered can manage, said difference in fuel management is not insignificant to those trying to save money — or the planet.

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As to the “why?” of such a large difference, some might point to weight. The SE, for instance, is 25 kilograms lighter than the XSE. The problem with that argument is that the XSE is also 25 kilos lighter than the XSE Premium, and they share the same NRCan rating.

See how the Toyota Prius Prime compares to rivals

So, what gives? The only other significant difference is the wheel and tire combination. The SE runs on 195/60R17s, while the XSE and Premium sport larger 195/50R19s. The two types of rubber sport identical widths — which would suggest similar road-tire friction levels — but larger rims and tires weigh more, and take more energy to spin. Also, spinning larger tires also disturbs aerodynamic flow as well. They’re seemingly minuscule differences, but with noticeable consequences.

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It’s also worth noting that, of the major specifications listed in the spec sheet for both SE and XSE versions, only coefficient of drag isn’t included on all three models: We know the SE version’s coefficient of drag of drag is 0.27 with 17-inch wheels, but no figure is specified for the XSEs and their 19-inchers.

As to whether the trim upgrades are worth the fuel-economy penalty—

The Prius’ base trim is sparsely equipped

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Getting the SE to its $37,990 MSRP means the base Prius Prime makes do with fabric seats and some now-considered-basic safety features like Blind Spot Monitoring and Rear Cross-Traffic Alert. More noticeable in the cost-cutting is the 8-inch screen for the Toyota Multimedia system. In these days of dashboard-wide touchscreens, it feels way too small, sort of like digging up your old iPhone 5 out of the discarded electronics bin — everybody has one, right? — and wondering how you ever got by. If it weren’t for that last complaint, I’d probably recommend the SE trim highest. Its combination of performance and parsimony really is compelling.

But upgrading to the $42,990 XSE gets you that thoroughly modern-looking — and more easily manipulated — 12.3-inch touchscreen. The seats, now covered in SofTex faux leather, are also heated, and wireless charging and rear-seat heaters are standard. Getting right to the nitty-gritty, you’re basically exchanging the fuel efficiency of the SE’s 17-inch tires for the improved user-friendliness of the larger touchscreen — and paying $5,000 for the privilege. Oh, and the XSE also gets Toyota’s latest Traffic-Jam Assist, a radar-controlled self-driving feature that works up to 40 km/h. I’ll leave it up to you to determine if you think that’s a worthwhile mark-up.

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As for the $46,990 XSE Premium, well Toyota has tossed the kitchen sink at this one, hasn’t it, as it ups the XSE’s ante with a JBL premium audio system; ventilated front seats; a panoramic-view monitor; and a digital rearview mirror. As for the value of the additions versus the increased fuel economy equation, If you’re opting for the top-of-the-line trim, I’ll assume you couldn’t care less about that 0.4 L/100 km — that works out to less than a cent a kilometre — deficit.

Whatever the case, this latest Prime is a giant step forward. Now less a political statement and more a real car, it’s easier on the eyes, more fleet on its feet, and just as cheap to fill up. Or, as the headline implied, it’s now Fast and Furious, but still just as frugal.