Car review: Toyota Prius Prime 2023 (2023)

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The future is electric. At least that's what our political leaders seem to think.Politicians love to push electric vehiclesas the future of personal mobility because they can get on their feet and not have to worry about building a high-speed rail line, orpedestrian-friendly cities. Electric vehicles take up the same space as a gasoline car, whether on the street or in a parking lot, and they get stuck in the same traffic jams and also cause pedestrian safety issues in inner-city areas. But! They areelectric,so it's better.

Toyotais one of the few manufacturers who apparently think differently on this subject. And the new 2023Toyota Prius PrimePlug-in hybrid (PHEV) may be the best ambassador for why electric vehicles shouldn't be the future of cars.

The Prius Prime isn't all-electric

It uses a 160hp 2.0-litre petrol engine coupled with two electric motors to produce a total system output of 220hp. Those are big numbers for onePriusand that means this gas-guzzler can accelerate to 60 mph in just 6.7 seconds. This is V6Mustangperformance from a few years ago. The previous generation set new standards for how ugly a vehicle could be. But the new 2023 model really packs a punch, especially in some of the bolder paint colors available. The new Prius looks sleek and sporty like never before.

He also drives like no other Prius before. As he propels the Prius through corners, he conjures up words like nimble, funny and other adjectives never before associated with the Prius. Handling is smooth and cornering is neutral. It's a wonderful car to drive.

Interior of the Toyota Prius Prime 2023

Inside, it still looks fairly Prius-esque, with the standout feature being the instrument "cluster" that juts out above the steering wheel. Even though there was no screen, glare never affected use, and looking over the wheel instead of through the wheel for information seems such an obvious improvement that I wondered why it hadn't been tried this way before . The seats feature attractive red accents and offer comfort on long journeys.

Fuel economy and driving range of the Toyota Prius Prime

I drove the Prius 200 miles to Port Colbourne and back and the fuel economy results were impressive. I started the trip in Toronto on a full charge, but the full EV experience only lasted about 50km at highway speeds. I checked my mileage on the return trip and even with a dead battery, the Prius Prime averaged an impressive 4.1L/100km over nearly four hours of driving.

Charging the Toyota Prius Prime

And that brings me to my overarching point about why the Prius Prime and PHEVs are better than EVs in general. During the week that I had the Prius Prime, I used it to shop for groceries, go to the gym, and drive myself to the various shoots I do forDrive. The average commute to work in Canada is only 5.5 miles, so I spent the entire week running on battery power alone, recharging overnight from my modest 110V outlet at home.

During the week the PriusWara V. And then for the weekend on a longer trip there was no fear of range or the need to plan charging stations. The Prius simply becomes an incredibly efficient gas-powered vehicle. Basically it's an electric vehicle five days a week and a petrol car with unlimited range on the weekends.

We also have to talk about the expensive, flavorful slime that goes into a battery to make it tangy. TheFirst Primefeatures a modest 13.6 kWh battery. It weighs about 265 pounds (120 kg). Conversely, Toyota's own (awfully named)bZ4xhas a 72.8 kWh battery. That means with the same amount of lithium and other rare earth minerals you could make a bZ4x or 5.3 Prius Primes. To top it all off, the recently announced but not yet on sale productRam EVhas one of the largest batteries ever. Its huge 229 kWh battery alone weighs 1,318 kg! If you chopped that battery into Prius Prime-sized chunks, you could power a fleet of almost 17 Prii!

Well, since rare earth minerals are... rare, I think there's a much stronger case for adopting PHEVs than EVs. In all honesty, the most efficient electric vehicle is a train that runs on rails and is powered by overhead wires. But that aside, I think PHEVs like the Prius Prime are the strongest case for the car of the future. The future is here, now.