Hybrid Reborn: 2023 Toyota Prius Revealed - 57 MPG, 196 HP

Unsure as I don't know what BLE is. I do know the 'phone as key' uses Bluetooth.

 

Correct.
Toyota Connected North America | Digital Key

 

A nice video. As I thought, it still has a split rear window unlike @Trollbait and some others incorrectly claimed.

 

I must have mistaken the split glass roof for a split rear window when I was fast-browsing through the video on my phone. LOL

 

apologies to @Trollbait

 

Do you guys think the car in that video is Wind Chill Pearl or Cutting Edge Silver? It feels silver, but maybe it's WCP and the pearl is picking up silver tones from the surrounding contrast of light floor, dark middle, and bright lights above.

 

It is silver. Silver is blending well with the trims as in Gen 4, but I find it a little drab.

They wouldn't showcase a white car in an auto show—they need a little more spice.

 

My current gen3 is silver. I was so hoping to get something with more pop, but they took away my yellow.

I want a color that makes the roof arch stand out, but it seems like only the silver does that for me out of the colors that are left. The whites make it look like negative space, the gray mutes it to almost nothing, the black mutes it to completely nothing, and the red(and blue) aren't strong enough to stand apart and make a super clean separation from the black trim above and below.

Final decision for me won't happen until I can see some actual examples in person on a lot in daylight. At least I have the benefit of waiting for a Prime so I'll be able to see regular Priuses on the lots first.

 

I am glad that they replaced the cheap matte rubber bumper with a shiny, sleek-looking one. Hopefully it doesn't scratch as easily as the predecessor.

I am not sure about the white taillights on Prime XSE and XSE Premium. I always thought white taillights looked wannabe, and I am not sure if they are reflective enough at night with lights off.

She thought the wheels on the Prius were nicer than on the Prime. Perhaps she is right. However, the wheels on the Prime looks nicer in motion.

As for the colors, we don't have much choice. Red and black kill the trim as you said. White is good if you want it. Silver is good too but quite common. The new guardian gray seems to be a nice unique gray with a blue–green tint. Grays are common colors, too, but the unique tint of this would add a little Prius character to the car, just like blue magnetism, sea-glass pearl, tideland pearl, etc.

I am guessing that it will be a nightmare to find a Gen 5 Prius or Prius Prime, let alone the color, trim, and options you want given the scarce availability and extremely high demand. I suspect wait lines for a year or more to get a Gen 5.

 

Hopefully there’ll be Prius sitting on lots. It’s been a while…

 

It will be all preorder or nothing in high-demand areas like Southern California.

 

I expect dealerships will try to keep a single display model on the lot(or inside), and I might start talking to dealers when the time comes to see if they'll let me know when a ordered model comes in so I can pop by and see the color before it's ready for the owner to pick it up.

 

Oh, wow. The leaked specs from bestcarweb.jp show that the AWD version is going to be the real thing.

Gen4 AWD rear motor: 7.1hp/5.3kW - 40.6ftlb/55Nm
Gen5 AWD rear motor: 29.6hp/30kW - 62.0ftlb/84Nm

317% increase in horsepower and 52.7% increase in torque.


edit: I don't remember who was interested in spare tires, but the Japanese HEV models at least will come with a compact spare as an option. But no dice on the Prime PHEV.

 

Almost none of the videos show the back seats folded down, so we can see how flush (or not) the space is with the storage area behind.

I also note that the videos mostly show the inverter as 100V, which is a Japanese output voltage. A few show 120V at 1500W. But is there any confirmation that this will be available on all trim levels? I hope so, because that will be a very attractive feature.

No back wiper, sigh...

 

The 120V and 230V inverters are so far based only on button labels from photos and videos.

 

Beautiful redesign that hits everything on the wish lists, like take the ugly out of the Prius and make it faster. Problem for this older driver is that this vehicle is even lower to the ground. Access to my Gen 4 touring feels more difficult All The time. I imagine my next car will in the style of a RAV4 hybrid.

 

would love a rav 4 prime, but not at the price and availability

 

The 'first drive' reviews are annoying me a bit. I have not seen a single reviewer try the base model. Or is that a Toyota problem?