World Premiere of 2023 Prius Prime in Japan

Why stop there? I'm thinking little skinny 13" Corolla wheels with 4-stud to 5-stud adapters...practically no rolling resistance

 

You mean behind, not in front of.

Interesting. We have the potential safety issue even in Prius HEV then.

I guess that also rules out a temporary spare for Gen 5 Prius Prime PHEV.

 

And the complaints of ground clearance

 

It is still better to have the gas tank under the trunk than the lithium-ion battery under the trunk as in the Gen 4 Prius. Lithium-ion batteries are a lot more likely to catch fire in a severe rear-ending than gasoline tanks.

So, I will still be on the waiting list for a black Gen 5 Prius Prime SE. I might get it sooner than I think, as early as in May.

I saw a blue Gen 4 Prius Prime like mine driving past me last night. It was washed and looked gorgeous. Most people don't realize what a grade shade of blue/green it is, and Gen 4 Prius Prime design is actually pretty cool. I will miss mine after I trade it in.

 

I am intrigued by your prediction of May...can you elaborate on that? I'm on a waitlist here in Ontario Canada, and wonder if your sources can estimate when I will see MY car.

 

We get the Toyota imports here at Toyota Logistics Services at Port of Long Beach.

Google Maps

Toyota has just started the production of the Gen 5 Prius Prime, and it will go on sale there in a couple of weeks. They should start shipping them to the US around the same time. The Ro–Ro takes about two weeks to travel across the ocean, but then processing at Toyota Logistics Services takes about a month. After that, the cars need to wait to be loaded on trucks and/or trains for transit. I am guessing Canada get their cars from there as well. So, perhaps it will be sometime in May if not June when you see Prius Primes in Canadian dealers, too. However, I don't know when your dealer will get their allocation and where you are on the waiting list.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for your thoughts- they’re much appreciated!

 

The high-sitting fuel tank also rules out a temporary spare tire in Gen 5 Prius Prime.

 

It looks like the first Prius was sold in the US about 42 days after the Japanese launch on January 10. Therefore, this would put the US launch for Prius Prime around April 26 (42 days after March 15). The first Prius Primes should arrive at the dealers in late April–mid-May.

 

Gen 5 Prius Prime PHEV has worse HEV fuel economy than Gen 5 Prius HEV (about 3% or 2 mpg or so).

Gen 4 Prius Prime PHEV had better HEV fuel economy than Gen 4 Prius HEV.

Source: Toyota Japan catalog and EPA site

Toyota Japan catalog | トヨタの車両情報 | トヨタ認定中古車 | トヨタ自動車WEBサイト

 

You sure you're comparing apples to apples? I'm not seeing the gen5 Prime stats listed on that page. The most current Prime listed on the page is the gen4 from June 2021 to Jan 2023.

edit: Ok, I see you must have put info together from the press release or something. Is the following data what you used?

Code:

                WLTC
HEV FWD 17"   32.6km/L    76.7mpg (1.8L engine)
HEV FWD 17"   31.5/km/L   74.1mpg
HEV AWD 17"   30.7km/L    72.2mpg (1.8L engine)
PHEV 17"      30.1km/L    70.8mpg
HEV AWD 17"   29.2km/L    68.7mpg
HEV FWD 19"   28.6km/L    67.3mpg
HEV AWD 19"   26.7km/L    62.8mpg
PHEV 19"      26.0km/L    61.2mpg

edit 2: Here is the full gen4 comparison for the final HEV and PHEV. Mostly follows the same pattern as the gen 5.

Code:

                 WLTC
HEV FWD ECO    32.1km/L    75.5mpg
HEV FWD 15"    30.8km/L    72.4mpg
PHEV 15"       30.3km/L    71.3mpg
HEV AWD 15"    28.3km/L    66.6mpg
HEV FWD 17"    27.2km/L    64.0mpg
HEV AWD 17"    25.4km/L    59.7mpg

 

Gen 5 HEV with 17" wheels and 2.0-L engine is 31.5, not 32.6. The one you have is with the 1.8-L engine. Perhaps include both engines in your list?

OK, so, Gen 4 HEV was slightly better than Gen 4 PHEV, but the difference is not as much as in Gen 5.

 

Bummer, cloth seats in LE base prime. Though maybe these are just for overseas.
https://www.evto.ca/2023-toyota-prius-prime-trim-levels/

 

No tax credit - not made in U.S.

Are these higher mileage readings based on premium gas or regular gas. Still huge improvement but I want battery miles based on 87 octane and not premium.

 

Gas type shouldn't make a difference in EV operation.

Toyota statements about 91 octane were likely in RON, not AKI that the US uses. 91RON and 87AKI are virtually identical.

 

This is the Prius HEV, not the Prius Prime PHEV.

Just get the XLE if you want faux leather—only slightly more expensive, paying extra mainly for the faux leather. Many people prefer cloth, and auto experts say cloth is clearly better for most purposes.

It is 87 octanes regular gasoline according to the owner's manual. Premium-gasoline claim was false.

The numbers you are referring to are for the WLTC test (worldwide standard). US EPA tests could result in slightly lower mpg than for Gen 4, but it will about the same for the 17" wheels. Definitely lower mpg for 19" wheels though.

Moreover, the gasoline range will be shorter because the fuel tank got smaller in Gen 5 Prius Prime PHEV.

 

Toyota Launches All-New Prius PHEV in Japan | Toyota | Global Newsroom | Toyota Motor Corporation Official Global Website
specs look good, when we gonna
get the US version?

 

April/may/June timeframe, but don’t expect to get one for quite awhile, everyone’s on a wait list, and they’ll trickle in like the hev’s are now