Throughout the huge upheaval of the coronavirus pandemic of 2020 and the years to comply with, our little automotive nook of the world was seeing some strangeness, too. Clearly, automotive reveals have been out the window, however with vaccines turning into obtainable and testing procedures being established, automakers and press discovered methods to satisfy up right here and there. In 2021 and 2022, Toyota hosted media at its sprawling campus in Plano, Texas for what principally have been Toyota-only auto reveals.
The occasions have been referred to as HQ Confidential, and so they featured a great deal of conferences and bulletins about up to date Toyota merchandise. However the extra attention-grabbing side was the “Confidential” side. Every occasion let press get a sneak peek at utterly new fashions. Teams can be taken down some giant halls to a convention room that had been emptied out to have a brand new mannequin on show. In 2021, they confirmed the brand new Tundra, and in 2022, they confirmed the Crown and the Prius. And in that latter show, I used to be way more intrigued and within the Prius. That ultra-low wedge form and clear flanks, even in a bland, fluorescent-lit convention room, have been eye-catching, particularly subsequent to the busy and considerably bulbous Crown.
What I used to be stunned by, although, was the truth that the Prius ended up being the final of these three to be formally revealed and launched. Fittingly, I am additionally driving the Prius after I’ve pushed the others. Not solely that, nevertheless it’s additionally my favourite of the trio. And it is most positively one of the best Prius ever made.
1. Yeah it nonetheless seems to be cool
I do know, I do know, we have talked about this numerous instances, nevertheless it’s nonetheless true, the brand new Prius is de facto cool trying. Nothing on the highway has as wildly swept again a windshield, and the low nostril rivals reliable sports activities vehicles. The rear doorways are properly deemphasized with the hidden door handles. And after years of kinda lumpy and cluttered traces on Prii (sorry, Priuses), it is superb to see one with clear, lean traces and panels. It would not sacrifice on the mannequin’s heritage, both, because it nonetheless has the kammback tail and fastback roofline. It is only a nice piece of design.
2. There are compromises for the seems to be
In fact, there is a worth to pay for the type, although not essentially within the methods you may count on. For example, getting within the entrance seats remains to be fairly simple. However when you’re there, you discover that you just get some fairly critical blind spots from these super-raked pillars. And within the cargo space, a mix of a excessive ground and low roof makes for much less house than you may hope from the hatchback. Whereas everybody’s wants are totally different, I believe the tradeoff is completely value it.
3. It is surprisingly sporty
Now, for those who’re in search of an precise efficiency automobile across the $30,000 worth vary, there are higher choices. However if you’d like a commuter with some playful spunk, the Prius can truly present. The suspension is on the agency facet, and the chassis feels fairly gentle and fairly inflexible. With all-wheel drive like my tester, having that little little bit of rear-wheel propulsion helps cancel out a little bit of the understeer in corners. And with 196 horsepower, proper on par with a Honda Civic Si or Kia Forte GT, it has some actual get-up-and-go. The one weak factors are considerably lackluster turn-in, and a transparent penchant for understeer if it weren’t for that rear motor. That and …
4. That engine, although …
What blunts a number of the enjoyable on the powertrain, although, is the inner combustion engine. In what’s turn out to be all too frequent on Toyotas, notably the hybrids, the engine is loud, coarse and droning. And because the engine contributes a considerable amount of that 196 horsepower, you will be listening to it steadily once you’re accelerating with any gusto. The CVT exacerbates the scenario, too. Fortunately, between the stable energy and comparatively gentle weight of the Prius, not less than you get to cruising velocity quicker than Toyota’s bigger or much less highly effective hybrids.
5. I would like extra now
I’ve come away very impressed with the Prius. It will possibly do absolutely anything now. However these weaknesses have had me considering that Toyota may do much more. For one factor, one thing that might immediately clear up the refinement drawback whereas doubtlessly rising the automotive’s environmental credentials can be to make an electrical model of the Prius. That is one thing I used to be even stunned at once I noticed the instance in Texas and noticed the shifter for the tried-and-true Toyota hybrid powertrain. It simply looks as if with the mannequin’s sturdy affiliation with inexperienced driving, and Toyota’s want for an EV win, the Prius can be an important candidate.
Then there’s the sporty facet. Some grippier tires, some extra aggressive suspension tuning like a powerful rear anti-roll bar, and a splash of energy and further type, and you can have a genuinely cool and enjoyable inexperienced machine. You possibly can name it a Prius TRD, or a GR Sport Prius. I do not suppose it could take a lot, and the reward could possibly be nice. Much more so with extra energy. May you think about a Prius Prime with a a lot greater rear motor, like from the RAV4 Prime? Or what if it was all EV? It may have a great deal of torque and fancy energy distribution.
A few of this could possibly be simple, a few of it much less so. However my level is, the Prius is nice, and it has potential to be even higher. I hope Toyota can reap the benefits of that.
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