2023 Toyota Prius Prime First Test Review: Bridging the EV Gap

Is it worth considering the 2023 Toyota Prius Prime, given how good the standard 2023 Prius is? Abso-freakin'-lutely. This plug-in hybrid drives great, and with up to 44 miles of all-electric driving range, it could use vastly less fuel than its non-plug-in hybrid counterpart.

If you're still unsure about going all-electric, the 2023 Prius Prime will give you a compelling primer to fuel-free driving with fewer hassles—such that some drivers who've already bought an EV might think they jumped the start.

Toyota is proud of its hybrids. It's a leader in gas-electric powertrains, offering and selling more hybrid vehicles than any other automaker. The Prius is its best-known, and with the millions Toyotas sold, it knows it has a good thing going. So why would it want to change?

It doesn't, and that's caused dissonance as the automotive world goes all-electric. Toyota's been somewhat recalcitrant in making the switch, insisting hydrogen and hybrid powertrains remain viable even as it works to catch up with automakers that've gone all-in on EVs. Those rivals may be better future-proofed than Toyota, but look at right now: EV adoption remains tepid. Most drivers' needs can and should be met by an EV, but road trips, problematic charging networks, and above-average pricing remain oft-cited apprehensions. Compelling plug-in hybrids like the 2023 Prius Prime could be a smart solution for this moment.

Combining a 2.0-liter I-4 engine with an electric motor powered by a 13.6-kWh battery, the Prius Prime puts 220 hp and 139 lb-ft of torque to its front wheels. With 26 more hp than the standard 2023 Prius and a whopping 99 hp more than the outgoing Prius Prime, that makes it the most powerful Prius ever.

This is also the quickest Prius ever. Its 0-60-mph acceleration takes 6.4 seconds, and it crosses the quarter mile in 15.0 seconds at 95.4 mph. The standard 2023 Prius hits 60 mph in 7.2 seconds and the quarter in 15.5 seconds at 91.7 mph. Amusingly, the Prime's also quicker to 60 mph than the automatic-equipped Toyota GR86 sport coupe, which needs 6.6 seconds.

Compared to the prior Prius Prime, this one's seriously rapid. With the combined might of its engine and electric motors, the outgoing car slogs to 60 mph in 10.0 seconds and through the quarter mile in 17.4 seconds at 79.9 mph. Lock the new Prime in EV mode, where it uses only its primary electric motor without assistance from the 2.0-liter I-4, the 2023 Prius Prime is right behind the old model, silently reaching 60 mph in 10.5 seconds and the quarter-mile mark in 17.8 seconds at 77.1 mph.

On the road, there's more than enough power. The Prius Prime is biased toward its electric motors for a strong and ready torque response. With the engine working as a willing partner, zipping away from stops or passing slower vehicles takes no preplanning. As before, the Prius Prime uses a CVT automatic, but it seems tuned to minimize unpleasant engine groaning.

All-electric driving capability is the Prius Prime's main appeal, and it moves just fine in EV mode. Dedicated EVs have stronger and more responsive motors, but the Prius Prime has no trouble pacing traffic without its engine. In EV mode, it won't wake the engine even when the accelerator is pushed to the floor, provided speeds stay below 84 mph.

The Prius Prime needs 122 feet to stop from 60 mph, marginally better than the standard Prius' 123-foot result and similar to popular Toyotas like the Camry, Corolla, and RAV4. Where the Prius Prime earns praise is in its brake feel. Many hybrids and EVs struggle with smooth transitions from regenerative to friction braking, but the Prius Prime's brake pedal always feels natural and consistent. However, it offers nothing like the one-pedal driving that some EVs do, even when its "B" regen mode is set to maximum strength.

In our handling tests, the new Prime bettered every other Prius we've tested, with the exception of its 2023 Prius counterpart. The Prius Prime rounded the skidpad at 0.82 g average, whereas the normal Prius stuck with 0.88 g average grip. Likewise, on the figure-eight course, the Prius Prime's best lap was 27.2 seconds at 0.63 g average, behind the 2023 Prius' 26.8-second, 0.65 g average result. The Prime's 3,589-pound weight—460 pounds heavier than the standard Prius—is mainly to blame here, as they both wear identical Michelin Primacy all-season tires. Regardless, the outcome is a Prius that's legitimately pleasant to drive. Crisp steering and impressive composure give it a fluid, intuitive handling feel. That, along with peppy acceleration and predictable brakes, makes the Prius Prime unexpectedly enjoyable to take down a twisty road. With a set of sticky tires, the Prius Prime could become something of a hybrid hot hatch.

Although this pizzazz could (and should) draw new, more enthusiastic demographics to the Prius Prime, Toyota knows most of its customers prefer simplicity and frugality. Those drivers won't be put off by any of the car's behaviors. Refined suspension tuning nicely isolates the body from the wheels' motions. Enough road texture comes through that the ride can't quite be called smooth, but that's rarely bothersome. The body's extreme wedge shape produces little wind noise, and although the outside world remains audible, it's generally a comfortable car.

Yet certain factors compromise the Prius Prime. No question, it's the most visually intriguing Prius ever, but outside visibility suffers due to its extraordinarily raked front and rear windshields. Looking ahead, it's difficult to know where the bumper's leading edge is—the hood is invisible from the driver's seat. Looking behind, the view is but a slit. The optional digital rearview mirror is a must-have, as it significantly expands the field of view, but it also oddly magnifies whatever's behind, making it seem closer than it actually is.

Apparently cribbed straight from the Toyota bZ4X electric crossover, the Prius Prime's steering column arrangement can make seeing the digital gauge cluster difficult. Drivers short and tall on our staff reported issues with seeing the entire screen, as the steering wheel's rim partially obstructs it regardless of how it's adjusted.

Although modern driver aids are generally useful, one introduced in the new Prius is a bit odd. Proactive Driving Assist, which can be deactivated, senses if traffic ahead is slowing down and applies a small amount of deceleration, but never enough for a full stop. Although it's strange to feel the car braking automatically—often sooner than is necessary—it can also be a helpful reminder it's about time to move your foot to the left pedal.

But the most dislikable feature by far is the driver attention monitoring system. We'll preface this by saying it isn't installed on every trim level and can be turned off. But when it's there and activated, it's unhinged. If your gaze strays even slightly from directly ahead, it'll fire off near-constant "distraction detected" beeps. And this didn't just happen during cheeky glances at a phone, either; if we dared to check the side mirrors, look up the road through a curve, or watch for cross traffic when approaching an intersection, the sensor would trigger alerts accusing us of broken focus. Living with this so-called "driver assist" feature is torturous, and deactivating it changed our entire impression of the car.

In entry-level SE trim the Prius Prime has 44 miles of all-electric range, and the XSE trims (with their larger wheels) return 39 miles—enough to cover the daily needs of countless drivers. If those drivers are diligent about plugging in or letting the available solar roof panel work its magic, they'll need to worry more about stale gas than running out of charge. And a depleted charge is actually little to worry about—the Prius Prime will still return nearly 50 mpg combined in hybrid mode, sufficient to cover over 500 miles between fill-ups. Rub that in the face of an EV driver making their umpteenth road trip charging stop.

Drivers who've gone all-in on all-electric will also wince at how much cheaper the Prius Prime is than all but the least expensive EVs. It starts at about $33,500 and can run up to above $40,000, like our heavily optioned test vehicle. That puts its base price close to the average price for used cars and its loaded price still below the average sale price for new cars. It's a few thousand dollars more expensive than the standard 2023 Prius, so if you can't or won't plug the Prime in regularly, just get the regular hybrid.

If the growing popularity of EVs is any indication, drivers want to do their part to improve efficiency and reduce emissions. Yet anyone who's lived with an EV will tell you it's not always easy—us included. For those still on the fence about a full-on EV transition, the new Prime is as much of an electric vehicle as most people need it to be. And with the 2023 rework, it's a better, quicker Prius than any Prius that's come before it.

But what it represents in the whirlwind evolution away from fossil fuels is far more important. The 2023 Toyota Prius Prime elevates plug-in hybrids as a best-of-both-worlds solution at a compelling price. It won't stop the inevitable electric era, but it is solid proof of how PHEVs can ease the shift to its arrival—as long as those PHEVs are anywhere near as good as this one.