Toyota revealed the new 2023 Prius Prime today and there is plenty of press coverage and photos available online. It appears to offer a lot of new and evolved features, styling changes, and most importantly (to me), a significantly increased EV-only range. However, I think the most note-worthy part of the announcement is Toyota re-positioning the Prime as "an EV with an engine" -- the exact opposite of the way most people have been thinking of the Prime as a hybrid which you can plug in. This is very clever marketing because it is easily understood and builds upon the trendiness of electric vehicles in general. It's also an honest and accurate description, unlike the ad agency which one described a hybrid as "an EV that charges itself."
I think informed users will decide for themselves which vehicle they prefer and work for them and their life style. I understood the reference the presenter made when they first got to the stage. Commercial or Love? On the one hand do you love your Prius and everything it stood for? Or are you in it for the practical natural of the machine. Prius to me is a very practical vehicle. Very much standardized parts. Commercial availability. Fleets of taxi's deploy Prius and so do many government entities due to the practical costs of the device. Whatever marketing they want to float, I am all for it. Vehicle manufacturers will market their vehicles to their audiences and I believe at this point there are many many many vehicle manufacturers that sell their vehicles solely on marketing a certain life style. For example $10,000 or $15,000 dollar self driving. Marketing or the truth? For those with the current Prime's and future Plug-in buyers, we already know that choice is the best option. Having the choice between high/low gasoline prices versus high/low electricity price is the best choice. In my area our electricity rates have gone up to $0.44 cents per kWh. And we only have one choice in electricity provider.
There were a few articles in the news today. The Prime has 220 HP and goes to 60 mph in 6;5 seconds. Rather than 25 miles in EV mode, looks like it is somewhere between 35 and 40 with a 17.6 kWH battery pack. It is a totally different looking car from the 2022 model, both inside and out. Not sure if it is an option, but the top model has solar panels on the roof that are used to charge the 12V battery. They say the regular Prius will be on sale this winter and the Prime in the Spring. My only question is if I buy one will I keep my 2017 that only has 25K miles.
The big question is: Will the Prime be remodeled into similar styling as the new Prius (which I REALLY like!) ?
Man - OK might have to give my current Prime to the wife and get one of the new Primes. That is a sweet looking design. Correction on the above: the wife has made it clear no such trade will occur and she will be keeping the new Prime
It comes with traffic assist. Under 25 mph stop & go cruise. Also electronic brake so no more foot brake that may get in the way during an accident. (Leg injury). In addition to all the above goods =) Of course you save more money staying with the current model. But this one is new and has a power lift gate. Game changer for me. =)
I have to admit, when I first read about it I wondered why they bothered with an engine. It could have been a great low-cost, short-range EV. That isn't to diminish what they've achieved as a PHEV, just a lament that (again) it's another exciting new car that doesn't meet my needs.
What I would like to know is the internal charging capacity and whether it will support a full 6.6kWh vs. current 3.3kWh, which I find too slow if you are at a public charge station recharging. 3.3kWh is ok for home charging but too slow anywhere else.
wow, that is really an ugly car! What happened? The Prime is one of the best looking cars I've ever seen, but this new design is awful. It looks like a Dodge, or maybe a Kia? They even moved the shifter off the dash and the speedometer etc in front of the driver! Although I like the new features, I am very turned off by the design. Guess my next car will not be a Prius! Hopefully they make a Prime version of the Venza.
i was sorry to see all that prime real estate taken up by the shifter, but maybe they feel it will help bring in more conventional buyers
They could have put it anywhere and it would have been fine. Now the style of shifter... I really hope they've finally freed themselves of that monostable nonsense from the previous model. If the knob doesn't stay where I left it, it's broken.