2023 Toyota Prius Prime Gets Optimized, Goes Much Farther

[@tommihelich2613]

Here’s the problem with Toyota regarding this car: they aren’t providing enough cars. Everyone I talk to about my RAV4 Prime gets the advantages of a plug-in hybrid and want one. My next door neighbor. Several people I play Pickleball with. My kids. They want an electric car for town driving and an efficient gas hybrid for longer trips. But 10,000 units this year!!!? And 15,000 next!!? How do you get the word out when you’re only putting 25,000 cars on the road in two years?

[@Billybobthor]

Agreed. What he was basically saying is we are going to make them, but don’t plan on there being enough for the people that want them.

[@anydaynow01]

So true, that is one of the biggest strengths behind the PHEV argument, an automaker can conservatively make at least 4X the amount of PHEV than BEVs considering our limited battery resources at the moment. They should be pumping these out like no tomorrow, maybe they will ramp production next year once they secure more battery materials. Then in a few years, once all the responsible mines and battery factories have ramped up people can be free to hoard batteries with a BEV, like toilet paper and produce/meat during a pandemic.

[@tpolerex7282]

They are, effectively unobtainable. It’s an impressive car, but not worth the $5-10k ADM and years long wait. Im lucky to not drive enough miles to worry about hyper efficiency, just ordered a $31k Subaru at invoice and will be enjoying a solid, practical 30 mpg ride with a 500+ mile range for the next decade or so.

[@TomTom-gn9mp]

In Canada 80% of buyers will get the Prime. Here in the US less than 20% of people want or will get the Prime.

[@moombakamberra4206]

Sad but true. Same with RAV4 XSE Prime. Even worse is the Z grade they are only putting out in Japan that gets 65 miles (17 inch wheels, why do we need 19 inch wheels another head scratcher) on a charge and cannot get in the U.S. Just some decisions Toyota makes that are questionble, maybe still reeling from covid and chip shortages? Who knows. Can you say dealer markup.

[@jeffcohen1934]

2017 Prius Prime Advanced owner. I do plug in every night. The car is great. Perfection doesn't exist. Like your delivery. Thanks.

[@DrivenCarReviews]

Quick to the point. I like your delivery.

[@B9M3]

Such low volume availability makes it somewhat irrelevant.

[@loriallen67]

I’m dying. 😂 John Voelker nailed Prius drivers. Totally. 😜

[@DrivenCarReviews]

John is a national treasure

[@madlucio70]

Thanks again Tom! You were one of the most helpful and insightful reveiwers when I was researching my purchase of my Crosstrek PHEV. I need a second vehicle and your Prius Prime and Prius videos have given me a lot of information and I put a deposit down on a 2024 Prius Prime XSE. I have to wait 12-18 months up here in Canada though :/

[@DrivenCarReviews]

Glad I could help!

[@SandysVideoChannel]

Toyota, why the limited numbers? 10k/15k this and next year will all but insure dealers will gouge us with "additional dealer markup". You still can't get a Rav4 Prime near me without paying a minimum of 10k OVER MSRP. The few people I know interested in those went and purchased Tesla Model 3's instead.

[@jminaya90]

Don’t pay markup on any new Toyota just order it from Hudson Toyota in Nj with my friend Braulio Santana

[@DrivenCarReviews]

John and I figure it's all about compliance with regulations.

[@anydaynow01]

@@DrivenCarReviews That's interesting, I will have to look into that. I initially thought it just came down to an economics and profit margins thing with Toyota needing to spread their limited battery supply over many different vehicles.

[@HJC1950]

The running average of my 2017 Prius Prime over more than six years and 60K+ miles is 97.3 mpg. Of course I plug it in - to a standard outdoor outlet on the side of my house. It makes no sense to buy a plug-in hybrid if you won't plug it in.

[@robertpettigrew3862]

Plug in hybrid makes the most sense to me. Most of my driving is less than 25 miles per day. Great to have the ICE to take hundred mile plus trips

[@anydaynow01]

Yep why hoard 4Xs the batteries to cure range anxiety when our battery resources are limiting at the moment. I understand Tesla's forward thinking in not developing an ICE, but traditional auto makers should just do the PHEV thing with a meaningful range until they get their battery factories up to speed. Like if you can charge at home or at work and have a reasonable commute, a PHEV would be perfect.

[@vicwigner]

It mentions in the video that PHEV's require more servicing like oil changes. Why is that?

[@DrivenCarReviews]

Because it has an engine which needs maintenance. Like oil changes (though those are reduced if you plug-in often and don't use the engine as much).

[@vicwigner]

@@DrivenCarReviews Oh, I see 🙂. Thank you for the response and for all the great videos you guys do 👍

[@phillyphil1513]

re: "Optimized Prime..."

[@seymorefact4333]

🔥 The Volt range was much less than the Prius.

[@DrivenCarReviews]

Maybe total range but not on the electric side. Ours can easily hit 50 miles in summer months. We've seen 55 at times.

[@seymorefact4333]

@DrivenCarReviews my prius just got 66.6. I got pic to prove it

[@DrivenCarReviews]

@@seymorefact4333 Miles of all-electric range? Also, this version of Prime is not out yet and the last one was rated at 25 miles.

[@COSolar6419]

I own a BEV but see a place for PHEV as well. We probably would have bought a RAV4 Prime had any been available. Very happy with our EV choice after a full year of ownership.

[@tmh44]

Great high-quality review as always, been watching you for years--you deserve many, many more subscribers! Cheers from California.

[@haserotmalach7324]

You sell plug-in hybrids to people who commute regularly like we do here at my house. We used to have a Clarity Plug-In and that car's battery was good for around 45 miles on a charge. My wife has to drive 12 miles to get to work and drove from and back home on electricity only. We only recharged the battery every other day and we went months without stopping at a gas station and, as a big bonus, electricity at the charging stations at our place and the office building where she works is 100% free. About the video, it went well until the preaching at the end.

[@louiearmstrong]

The Clarity is nice, shame that its not a hatchback or wagon

[@fabulousoffroaddesigns5080]

I am trading a Nissan Leaf and a Ford Focus Electric in to buy one Prius Prime. Ordered it last week. What I love is the near 1000 km range for those long Canadian drives, and the gas heat for those long Canadian winters.

[@phillyphil1513]

1:42 - # THE BROTHERS VOELK (no relation to the Brothers Grimm, okay maybe just a little).

[@firstlast1047]

l saw the most aggressive Prius drivers in the LA area

[@palaemon]

“You go girl.” 😂

[@Affalterbach1967]

Did not get the wife comment at 9:02, is wife thinner than the A pillar or short or fat or ??? The mini-windows by the mirrors are great for seeing pedestrians when driving thru a turn.

[@DrivenCarReviews]

When sitting up close to the wheel, a steeply raked A pillar can block your view to the left. Try it sometime.

[@Billybobthor]

Good job. I like that you include some of the product “education” portion.

[@MylesV]

3:11, surprised by this. The old Prius Prime's default EV mode would not switch the engine on under hard acceleration, only in EV Auto which had to be manually selected.

[@kevinsargent6282]

I noticed that too and I agree. I am not sure what they describe is accurate; why would it still have the same EV Auto and EV/HV buttons otherwise? Also, I have not heard any other auto reviewer mention this behaviour (which it certainly would be brought up when testing acceleration times in EV), so I am inclined to think they were actually in EV Auto mode for maximum power and didn’t realize the difference between the modes. Just a guess until someone else who has driven one can confirm otherwise.

[@jp93309]

Sure I’d buy this or a rav4 prime but sparse inventory and huge dealer markups are distasteful.

[@hardyk2010]

Tom, You should do a review on the Outlander PHEV..

[@DrivenCarReviews]

Haven't been able to snag one.

[@jeffreyanderson7629]

One of the things that bugs me most about my wife's hybrid cr-v is that the engine must turn on to heat the cabin. We're Minnesota drivers so our heater gets a lot of use and thus the hybrid aspect is lessened to a great degree. Does this Prius need the engine to produce heat?

[@rightlanehog3151]

Good question.

[@rammanohar8161]

The RAV4 Prime has a heat pump, so it doesn't need the engine to turn on.

[@PaulCyclist]

How much time to recharge the battery, after using rated miles, and using the 120vac charger?

[@timwattison4419]

Hi Tom, im really interested in the new Prius But will it be sold in the UK ? Also which one is the sporty version ? I own a Corolla GR Sport Hybrid and its a fab car. Id love to replace it with the new Prius at some point so id be pleased to hear back from you. Tim 👍

[@DrivenCarReviews]

Sorry but I don't cover the UK Tim. The US is tough enough.

[@TomTom-gn9mp]

The Prius reached it's "Prime" in 2012 with 237,000 sales. In 2017 those figures dropped to 108,000. Toyota only sold 44,000 in 2020. Toyota, if you are reading this why in the world did you not redesign this model in 2020 or 2017? An 81% sales drop in 8 years for the best selling hybrid ever was a total oversight. Between 2012 and 2017 sales dropped by 54% Toyota had 2 chances to bring the Prius back to life and failed. "Prius reborn" literally means this car came back from the dead.

[@bme7491]

My 2012 Prius Plug-In got 12 miles in EV mode. After a year, it went down to 9 miles (25% drop). I gave up charging it after that. I hope this one doesn't do the same.

[@BTC909]

The Delta II platform also helped the Volt's demise.

[@TomTom-gn9mp]

Usually headroom is reduced with sunroofs. Can someone please confirm if that's the case on this car? (EDIT) I just sat in both a non sunroof and sunroof Prius and both of them only had like 3/4 of an inch of headroom!

[@signpost5596]

195/50-19 tires of any type or brand is basically non-existent as the moment. To stick with the same wheel diameter, 215/50-18 seems to be the only commonly available option (e.g. Michelin CrossClimate 2 and other brands). Whether the car can accommodate the wider tires I have no idea. Also no idea how fuel efficiency will be affected. So the fact that the Prime is FWD only is something to consider if you live in snow country.

[@rightlanehog3151]

Yes, the tire and oversized rim combination is a bizarre decision from Toyota. I suppose it was done to demonstrate their newfound commitment to a style-over-substance Prius.

[@BanBiofuels]

I would buy one.

[@johnborges5938]

Such an intelligent and thought-provoking review … not surprisingly! I'm happy the Prius played the ugly duckling game with it's swan conversion, but it does seem a bit too swoop-y with that steeply raked windshield and low rear roof height for my tastes. I guess I will have to hope Toyota eventually produces a Corolla Cross Prime. Ultimately I think PHEVs will be the sweet spot for a lot of American car buyers - at least until the problem of limited battery production is solved. About 90% of a 300- or 400-mile-range EV's battery isn't doing the environment any good on those typical days when the car is only driven 30-40 miles, but divided into multiple PHEVs or hybrids the same battery capacity could provide the full 300-400 miles of fossil-fuel-free driving nearly every day. In my own personal case, my vehicle has to have a range of at least 300 miles to allow for evacuation in the event of hurricanes (my family lives on the Gulf Coast). If you've ever driven out in a hurricane evacuation, you know you do not want to be forced to refuel anywhere nearby when hundreds of thousands of people are evacuating. To my mind that makes a PHEV the best choice for my next vehicle.

[@gianniclaud]

If it were my choice, I’d go with the RAV4 Prime. Otherwise, the Prius AWD is the better choice out of all the Prii.

[@warrenb9343]

Another great review Tom. I immediately went to the Toyota site to build mine. However, they only have one color. Red. I am OK with red, just not sure I like that one. The rest of the dreary shades are for someone stuck living in a black-and-white movie. Next, only black interior. That's two strikes. I will not buy a car that is not a color and will not buy a car with a black interior. Too bad, I so wanted one of these. By the way, I saw one of these driving I5 south bound about Mountlake Terrace a few weeks back. Couldn't see who was driving. It was a silver one. You?

[@ram64man]

the lack of a rear wiper and poor choice of the rear door handle location over the standard layout, and forced to pay a subscription to get what was standard fit before that should be banned is the reason why I will stick with my mk4 as my a to b car

[@robertbaxter2684]

Tom, you were so close. So very close. Close to what?? Close to making a video about the Prius Prime - without a negative comment about the original Prius Plug-In that ONLY got 11 miles of electric range. Well, as a owner of the original Prius Plug-in and the very first year it came out - 2012 - let me tell you they are FANTASTIC cars and the 11 miles of EV range makes a difference. After 90,000 miles of driving I am getting @ 95 MPG - and that is measured at the gas pump. I record every fill up. So, a humble 4 KWH battery effectively doubled my MPG. Yes I drive a lot of short trips and always plug it in. Back of the envelope math tells me I have plugged it in well over 5,000 times. It takes about 20 seconds to plug it in my garage. I use a 110 dedicated circuit. It takes about 2 hours to charge. The car now only gets about 8.5 miles on electric range but even that makes a big difference. For example, yesterday I took a 30 mile drive and only plugged in when I left the house. It returned 82 MPG. So that single plugin made a 30 mile travel event at 82 MPG vs what would have been a 50 MPG trip. As far as reliability I have only replaced the 12 V battery - and that lasted over 8 years and one set of tires. That's it. I do get it serviced regularly. Thanks for the great review Tom on the new Prius Prime. However, for the time being I will continue to drive my 10 year old Prius Plug-in. It stills puts a smile on my face.

[@DrivenCarReviews]

Well, I'm glad you like yours and see the glass half full. My neighbor was borderline angry about the real world range (7-8 miles in the winter) even if it did increase the overall efficiency.

[@TomTom-gn9mp]

All the extra power that doesn't go to 4 corners.

[@jermainec2462]

Gm should have kept the volt ... 🤦🏾‍♂️🤦🏾‍♂️

[@slscamg]

GM seems to be of the mind that we are going to go right from ICE to EV. I think they are missing a big step of HEV PHEV

[@jermainec2462]

@@slscamg GM seems to be in the mindset that they don't know what the fuck they doing LOL they've been half stepping longer than I've been living !!!im 34 😂😂😂 Every time they come out with something that is good that you do cancel it or they fucked up or it had potential to be a good product but they fuck it up smh... If they ask go under this time I hope they stay under no ballouts .... Because GM is hardheaded...

[@TJDST4]

That's the story of GM. They create something great, don't market it, then squander it, and kill it. Then spew out more mediocrity.

[@grahamstefaan]

If hybrid mpg were better volt woulda been perfect.

[@anydaynow01]

@@TJDST4 Yep GM has great ideas and engineers, it's their "bean counters" and executives that have been hamstringing the company since they refused to let Duntov build a midengine Corvette in the '60s. Sixty years later they finally relented to science.

[@moombakamberra4206]

I own a 2018 Prius Prime Advanced. S Average mileage - 95 mpg Level 2 charger in garage City it is 90% electric Up and down the Sierras 65 mpg+ Can charge up to 80% EV battery while driving This car gets 25+ miles on charge, the more the better (how about 100 miles on a charge with same setup, please). BTW: Z version sold in Japan gets 65 miles on charge. Comment on salespeople not being able to explain the PHEV concept. Everyone has the internet and they still can't figure it out, just can't fix that. My Prime does just fine on acceleration, enough already with people that tell you horsepower and 0 to 60 for the new Prime, like it matters. It's a highway not Indy, course many would disagree, thus all the accidents, but I digress. Design on new Prius, eh, looks just as jellyish as mine. Solar roof may be more a joke as putting back power in traction battery is terrible. Glass roof during summer, waste of time. HUD display especially with navi. in my prime is awesome, if not in new Prius, sad to see that go. Rather have 17 inch wheels to maximize on mileage over 19 inchers. Not sure who at Toyota made such a genius decision on that. Sometimes Toyota gets things wrong (in app took away ability to tell car to charge, you got to kidding me!!!) and it is just a head scratcher. Almost inclined to forgo some goodies (damn no seat warmers but my hands are warm, who is charge on that one!!?) and buy the lowest model would save coin too. AWD more waste of money. Low production numbers means tough to get a Prime in 2023 and 2024, plus dealers may do their BS markup and blame it on covid, but they tell you how award winning their service is. I can live with the 2018 for a while.

[@joelnehl]

I have a 2021 Prime Limited, you make a lot of great points.

[@frankfei2346]

I am happy with my older Prius Prime. The new one cost much more. I would rather get ev with 7500 tax credits😂

[@DrRussPhd]

Toyota keeps the price high by keeping supply low. I wonder what computer chip they are using for adaptive cruise and traffic control. Teslas are using Ryzen chips.

[@presoquin]

Just got mine 2 months ago. Love my Prime SE. 45mi on EV every day. My commute is around 40mi a day. So perfect. I have a charge level 2 where I live and it is free. So far in 2 months, I only put gas once and was only half a tank since I took a quick trip on a weekend. So I calculate I may put gas around 6 times a year. The only negative part of the Prius prime, its that is hard to find. Only that.

[@matthewlibanio8227]

I love plug in hybrids. My 2017 Volt is incredible and it is insane how much fuel we don't use.

[@toyotaprius79]

Insane why GM ditched its drivetrain, because it was a sedan based on the Cruze, which is still sold elsewhere

[@anydaynow01]

Yep, even with over 110k km on my 2017 Volt, (about 6k km on the ICE) I have over 95% battery capacity. Funny how it took almost 7 years for Toyota to catch up with GM. It really makes me wish they would come out with an Ultium version of the Volt, the EV range would be incredible, or have around the same range and give the middle passenger in the back some leg room! That's probably my only gripe with the Volt, but I can count on one hand how many times I was in a position where I needed to drive 5 people around town.

[@danhall3450]

Indeed, love my 2019 Kia Niro PHEV. At 25-30 miles per charge and 3-4 fill ups per year, I mostly wave as I go by gas stations.

[@krrk6337]

Toyota's argument about huge amount of materials needed to built EVs is solid. EVs carry huge batteries 20 hours a day doing nothing but to make sure you can go 200 miles once in a while are wayyy wasteful.

[@MetaView7]

What good is a car that you cannot buy? Even if it is available, it is a "used" one. They sell the car to a non-Toyota dealer, so that he can sell it as a used car for more money. That's how they skirt the MSRP.

[@donswier]

-No need to cramp your schedule, your vacations, your sleep & life to conform to a vehicle's charging needs on road trips. -Still get 90% of the benefits of BEV (cheap home energy, regen, quiet, smooth, torque, cabin preconditioning). -14,000 miles annually all-electric with simple 110v plug-in at home each night (40 miles x 365). - If and when battery slowly degrades, it won't interrupt your life except to awaken the engine sooner. -What could possibly be controversial about this?

[@anydaynow01]

Does it have active battery conditioning like the Volt? it's one of the reasons the Volt's battery is so massive for its capacity, all the cooling/heating plates. But the batteries, especially in the Gen 2s have been holding up really well. Personally I have >95% capacity after driving well over 100k km on the battery.

[@paulm6481]

Best of it is the basic goodness of this gen Prius. A bit too low for a man but good for young ones and women.

[@DrivenCarReviews]

Too low for a man?

[@Landrew0]

I set my custom mode for maximum fuel economy and maximum A/C. Comes in handy during really hot weather.

[@sephugus]

With my 4th generation Plug-in Prius during COVID, I didn't take any long trips for 1 year and a month. I spent only $6 on gas by just driving to work and around town. I always plug-in my car. Not ready for total EV since I need the gas engine for longer trips.

[@fist003]

The 2023 Toyota Prius Prime is transforming

[@beqakiknadze8846]

No auto parking?

[@capsule2326]

great review you guys

[@reserva120]

and it Cost the same as the other hybrid Prius..

[@MarioDallaRiva]

John - the road trip evil twin 🤙🏼

[@peterscott2662]

Toyota keeps making the argument that they can sell much more PHEVs than EVs, then only builds tiny numbers of PHEVs.

[@PaulCyclist]

What is the cost for this subscription item mention? What stops working if you don’t subscribe? Thanks

[@JOHNch4.v.v.7to10]

I thought that I was the only one that noticed heavy-footed Prius drivers!

[@germanr84]

Still less range than the volt. Long live the volt! I miss mine. But good improvement over the previous prius prime

[@pdd3]

It strikes a better balance than the Volt overall.

[@kabysummit5801]

Too bad Volt's gone

[@joelnehl]

I have 2021 Prius Prime Limited that costs less than $30,000 after tax credits, I don’t think I would pay $15,000 more for this Prime. I love the added range but have no need for all the extra power.

[@rammanohar8161]

This car is much better than any Tesla. Much better for the planet

[@paranoidhumanoid]

There's so many Toyota's on the road in this review!

[@93455Driver]

Volt used prices are strong,,,,,,maybe folks worked out plugged in hybrids or this is just the used car prices in general. :( the gauge cluster position in the new Prius is a step too far :(

[@alexcovid1912]

how long it takes to charge up with regular electric outlet?

[@DJAYPAZ]

Tom, you made some quite interesting comments about the role of of EVs in combating climate change.

[@loriallen67]

Visibility was what eliminated the Prius for me in 2007. I never looked at it again. Rear visibility was my issue. As a short woman with a shorter than typical torso, I couldn’t see out of the back of the car at all. Generally, It isn’t a great car for those of us 5’2” or shorter. Thanks for pointing out the visibility issue.

[@madlucio70]

I charge my PHEV every night, and I live in a condo without a home charger. Québec has a really decent electrical infrastructure, so I have level 2 chargers close to my place in all directions and I enjoy the nightly outings. I agree that it is worrying to hear that so many people buy PHEV's and do not charge them. Basically running the petrol motor and carrying around a lot of extra weight...

[@benjaminbomberg]

Wait a moment… I see what you did with the name tags there!

[@DrivenCarReviews]

We were wondering if anyone would catch that...

[@TheEquationSlayer]

The Volt had more EV range, but the Prius has better mpg on gas and more horsepower. The Volt also had a few reliability issues (first gen had motor bearing failures, second gen had the infamous “shift to park” issue). Toyota is usually late but reliable.

[@jef8278]

The volt is also full EV even when floored unlike the new prius prime

[@marcusvq]

Is the prius prime eligible for the federal tax credit?

[@DrivenCarReviews]

No. Made in Japan.

[@Megatron-sl5us]

I don't like this version of the Prius. The vehicle is small for a tall person like myself. Wish they brought back the Prius V. Vehicle companies talk about hydrogen, but so far are still mass-producing hybrids and EVs.

[@grahamstefaan]

Tough sell in XSE or XSE premium. Tesla 3 rwd is 41,990 then you get a $3750 tax credit. 270 mile range.

[@anydaynow01]

It's too bad they are making these is so few numbers. With the amount of battery resources they use compared to a BEV they should be cranking these out. Pretty sure wait times will be about the same for both vehicles.

[@ThorMaxx]

Its too had Canadian Customers cannot get the solar roof.

[@DrivenCarReviews]

I wouldn't waste my money on that.

[@unlvqasl]

Tom may be 5'9". My wife is 5'0" on a good day. She would not be able to see over the gage cluster.

[@DrivenCarReviews]

Mine is also 5'0" and does not have an issue with the cluster. Depends on leg/torso ratio. There's no substitute for test driving.

[@ZhihaoLou]

Is that John Voelcker with a Tom Voelk's sticker @ 6:25?

[@madlucio70]

I love my 2023 Crosstrek PHEV! I plug it in every evening and run full EV while tooling around the cities. On the highway, the Atkinson's Cycle Boxer gives me great mileage :) I also just went through the second highest snowfall amount in a winter season for Québec having to do 500 km's or more each week on the snow-covered highways, and my Trek made easy work of it.

[@jazzfan7491]

Always appreciate your reviews and commentary. Bought my Mercedes GLC300 back in 2016 because of your comments in the NYT. Now you've convinced me the plug in Prius makes a lot of sense (plus I recently moved to a new place with an existing Tesla charger). Gonna use your pricing service. Hope that helps you out.

[@DrivenCarReviews]

Let me know how it goes. Always looking for feedback.

[@jazzfan7491]

@@DrivenCarReviewsFWIW, I filled out the form a couple of days ago but haven't heard anything from a dealer. In contrast, a few months ago when I was curious about the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and filled out a lead form or two, seems I was on the "call on Sunday" list for about 3 months. Maybe no call from Toyota is a sign that this car is in demand and they don't need to scare up interest? Or maybe not that many dealers are on the list? When I filled out the form at quotes.driven only one dealer (North Hollywood Toyota) was listed...

[@teamracing6]

I currently have a 2012 Prius, non-plugin, that i named General Privous. Would name this one Optimized Prime. LoL PS. I drive like John's 20% and i still get 45-50 mpg in the summer.. But my previous car was a 2007 Mini Cooper so am used to a slightly different driving experience than a Prius gives. However, I find that I like my Prius a lot more than i expected. Thanks for explaining plugin. I drive about 120 miles a day so never understood why i would want a plugin over a regular hybrid.

[@anydaynow01]

I had a similar commute at the time I bought my Volt, but Tesla's were still very expensive so I picked up a used Gen 2 and charged it at home and work. With the amount I was saving on fuel prices versus driving my old '99 Silverado the car essentially paid for itself!

[@teamracing6]

@@anydaynow01 my son has a Volt. Nice car. But he lives in a large city so only drives a short distance. He gets gas once a month at most. I can't charge a car at work, so didn't seem like it was worthwhile to get a plugin.

[@icekk007]

Tom: Hydrogen infrastructure is difficult to crack. No single company can do it on its own. This is an intrinsic property of hydrogen having low volumetric density be it liquid or gas.

[@DrivenCarReviews]

I'm well aware of the issues. And it goes deeper than just hydrogen production. There're issues when transporting it, permitting requirements on the state and federal level and so on. I'm surprised that Toyota continues to say hydrogen is an answer. I'm not aware of any significant contribution it's making to build out the infrastructure for mass adoption. Maybe it is doing things behind the scenes, but that's not been communicated.

[@icekk007]

@@DrivenCarReviews If you consider light duty vehicle sector, perhaps hydrogen does not make sense. However, if you consider holistically how to decarbonize a society, we need hydrogen to compensate for intermittency of solar and wind energy, and we need hydrogen for industrial processes. A hydrogen infrastructure would serve multiple sectors in an economy. You may begin to see hydrogen makes senses.

[@gregkramer5588]

In hindsight the Volt was so good for it's time. The Prius looks to be a very good car.

[@DrivenCarReviews]

In hindsight?

[@louiearmstrong]

And now I can get one for half the price of this Prime

[@anydaynow01]

The used Volt prices, especially the Gen 2s, is pretty crazy right now. I really wish GM would bring back the Voltec system for at least their light trucks (especially when considering towing). With well over 100k km on the battery and still having >95% capacity I will hopefully be driving mine essentially emissions free for a while, without having to hoard 4X the batteries to cure my range anxiety.

[@TinLeadHammer]

The Volt was a stupid concept. Basically, a diesel locomotive, only running on gas and driving on pavement.

[@seattleinternationalautosh4284]

@@TinLeadHammer You've kind of described the Honda CR-V Hybrid but not the Volt Mr. Hammer.

[@user-oo3uj5ku9r]

Way Too Expensive

[@thomaslawlor4200]

We have had an order placed for a Prime since last June (2022), and the other day were informed by Toyota we won't see it until November (2023), ! Brings up the question, should we wait a little longer and have a 24. It will be our third successive Prius but first "plug-in". Despite the ungainly appearance both previous models were (and number two continues to be), suburb runners and very economical. We highly recommend them to all. Now that the 22 is history we'll get the redesigned 23 due to the long delay. In our happy opinion that's a big bonus. However, I have one major concern with the new layout. Here, in Newfoundland, there's an extremely healthy moose population (Thanks State of Maine), and, on average, each day there are two vehicle~moose collisions. A car moose encounter is not like the ones that you see with deer. No, if you are driving a car at any speed over 25 miles an hour and hit one of these (Gangly Herbivores), they tend to slid up over the bonnet and either rip the whole roof off the car. Or, push through the windshield and hit you right in the face. Neither outcome is pleasant. This partly accounts for the huge number of full sized pick-up trucks we tend to drive in this place.

[@DrivenCarReviews]

If you take passion in Nov 2023, chance are it'll be a '24. Best of luck with the moose situation.

[@thomaslawlor4200]

Hey Tom, moose are a very real danger on the island. We're happy to know, we seldom will be traveling at highway speed and that makes a difference when it comes to safety. However, here, moose make regular visits to the downtown of the capital city. In North America the average population of moose is 1 per one square kilometer. On The Island of Newfoundland it's 2 per kilometer. We have a moose run in our back garden and see them all the time. You really don't want to hit one in a low roofed car, very good chance you'll die. @@DrivenCarReviews

[@DrivenCarReviews]

@@thomaslawlor4200 Completely understand. I grew up in Northern Minnesota where they might be less populous, but still lethal. Back in the day, my brother's friend hit one in a Fiat X1-9. The car's lack of height was an advantage, driving under the animal (but not completely). Totaled the car, killed the moose. Rich walked away with a bruise to his head and a sore neck.

[@thomaslawlor4200]

Thanks Tom. So many people have been killed and maimed in moose collisions here that a group was formed to sue the government because the moose were brought to the island by the government.@@DrivenCarReviews

[@kasio22B]

I wonder the Prius, the Ferrari Purosangue and the Lotus Eletre were all designed by the same guy...

[@davidd7175]

I currently have a ‘21 Prime. One thing that always concerned me, was say the car is driven on EV only for few months. One day I hop on highway doing 70, run out of juice and it switches over to engine. Engine is suddenly trying, yes trying, to go 70 without any warm-up time. Not to start the whole should or shouldn’t warm up cars debate, but it’s like starting a car up after it’s been sitting idle for months and immediately hitting the throttle to high speeds. Idk, maybe no wear occurs but just bothers me. Do plan on trading mine in after the first year, also hoping for GR version!

[@anydaynow01]

That's interesting, the gen 2 Volt still uses the battery reserve until the ICE has idled for a few minutes to get the oil up to temperature/pressure, then it engages the range extender with the sun gear transmission for HEV mode based on vehicle speed. The lion's share of the accelerating and decelerating is dealt with by the electric drive so there is very little stress placed on the ICE range extender, they even have a screen option which shows exactly how many kW the electric drive and ICE are putting in or harvesting as you hit or let off the accelerator. They do have some really good bearing coatings now for all their vehicle start stop at red lights these days. I have yet to hear about a Prius range extender getting trashed.

[@davidd7175]

@@anydaynow01 maybe the Prius does something similar? Guess I’ll have to do some research

[@DisjointedConversations]

10 years ago after the Long Island Expressway open the HOV lane to Prius’, it quickly became known as the Prius Lane. None of them looked as good as this one.

[@porsche558]

I think John Voelcker might be the “Evil Twin” in disguise LOL!

[@tom_hoots]

It frustrates me OUT OF MY MIND how so many of the "electric vehicle reporters" on any media source just seem to join hands and dance around the broken electric vehicle chargers, singing WE'RE ALL GOING TO DRIVE BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES, KUMBAYA. And boy, these people WILL NOT entertain even the slightest mention of plug-in hybrid vehicles. "Oh, how terrible it would be to carry a heavy engine around all the time," they tend to say. But the reality is that small 4-cylinder engines weigh around 200 pounds. Add around that much more if you want, to account for transmissions, gas tanks, and so on. But the average battery-electric vehicle still gets around 250 miles of range, and if you slice up the battery pack in one of them, the "extra range" beyond, say, 44 miles of range like the Prius can get on electric power, it's likely that there's an additional 1,000 pounds of batteries to get that "extra range." Meanwhile, the Prius has 644 miles of range -- that 'extra range" beyond that 44 miles is THREE TIMES as much range as in that battery electric vehicle's battery pack. Whatever the exact numbers are, it's very likely that we can see plenty of plug-in hybrids in the coming years that can do 50 miles on electric power, and 600 miles on gasoline power. Which would allow most people to run on electric power most of the time, yet have plenty of range to go anywhere on longer trips. And the "refill time" is around 3 minutes for the plug-in hybrid, versus perhaps 3 hours for a battery electric vehicle to cover the same range. Yes, that extra range comes from "burning fossil fuels" with the plug-in hybrid, but then again, in the United States, around 60 percent of our electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels. I care about global warming and such, but "tell you what" -- I'll be glad to burn zero percent fossil fuels when our world-wide electric generation burns zero percent fossil fuels. Deal? At any rate, there is a huge percentage of our population that can't do Level 2 charging at home, and the only way I expect that to change is if landlords will add it and charge for it, at rates far beyond what would be reasonable for any of their tenants. Therefore, this "huge percentage" will start showing up at non-functional charging stations near you. So, yes, simple hybrid vehicles make a huge amount of sense, and other countries are far ahead of the United States with hybrid vehicle adoption. And plug-in hybrids can truly work just fine with Level 1 charging, which might be possible for a substantial portion of people who couldn't possibly use Level 2 charging at home. Yes, there are people who can charge battery electric vehicles at home, and apparently can tolerate spending hours sitting around waiting for their vehicles to charge when they're on road trips. But I absolutely hope that governments and automakers and "journalists" will understand how many people just can't dive into the deep end of electric vehicle ownership. And thanks to Toyota for making hybrids "for the rest of us." Just.... "Please make more, will you?" 😁

[@johnborges5938]

30 to 40 miles of range is enough to cover the average daily commute for American drivers, and would allow most drivers to go without using the ICE most days -- and we are a lot more likely to be able to get the price of PHEVs down to levels affordable by most working class drivers than to get BEVs with 5 times the battery down to affordable levels. I suspect for a PHEV that you might not want to push electric range much beyond 40 miles, though - partly because the excess battery capacity needed for the extra range would be needlessly increasing cost and weight while doing nothing to reduce emissions on typical drive days, but also because I think you would want to make sure that the ICE is run at least weekly to avoid problems associated with extended disuse.

[@anydaynow01]

@@johnborges5938 Agreed, the magic 100 km of BEV range number is the most a PHEV should have (though closer to 80 km is more reasonable), otherwise they are just compounding the hoarding problem we have with BEVs now when resources are temporarily limited.

[@anydaynow01]

At my old house I actually put in a Level 2 charger and used it for the most part unless a buddy stopped by and needed to top up, and too k it with me when I moved. With my new place I have yet to install it, the standard 8A120VAC has been topping off the battery just fine every night I can't charge at work the next day.

[@nicolespruitt675]

I just noticed the name tags 😂

[@TheWezguy]

Test drive? My guess is with these in such short supply there isn’t going to be a test drive? We ordered a rav4 prime. Never got to test drive it until we bought it

[@Ryanstuff]

Personally I think it's easier to explain a plug-in hybrid than a regular hybrid because people don't understand how regular hybrids do what they do without being plugged in. I think Volvo's ad campaign for their plugins says it best. An electric with a back-up plan.

[@donswier]

Amazing how many (otherwise smart) people I've talked to who presumed all generations of Priuses have needed to be plugged in. General public is now as unaware of how cars function as I am of sports 😅

[@rightlanehog3151]

Tom, Thanks for the time spent specifically dealing with the space and height restrictions of the 'cool' new Prius. At a time when it is so difficult to test drive or rent cars one might be interested in buying, it is extremely important to emphasize that this Prius is no longer the sensible-shoes transportation unit of the last two decades. It so happens that just this morning I had a pleasant chat with a taxi driver in a totally uncool yet highly accommodating Prius V. The first taxi driver who expects me to pay for a ride in the rear sensory deprivation chamber of his cool Prius will hear an entirely different tone. Too bad the new Corolla Cross Hybrid does not have a sliding second row seat like the Prius V, it could have been an excellent cab. 🤔

[@DrivenCarReviews]

Cars are personal things. What works for one person doesn't for another. It's always been that way and always will be. I will note the Prius V is a dangerously slow vehicle. Not just uncool.

[@rightlanehog3151]

@@DrivenCarReviews C&D test records show 10.3 seconds 0-60 for the Prius v. Do you really consider that to be dangerously slow?

[@ElijahsAba]

Been waiting for this, Tom. I bought a previous generation Prius Prime and it felt like I sold my automotive soul, so I got rid of it after about a year or so. This one looks like it could be a viable prospect, but how would I ever actually find out for myself if a test drive is basically out of the question?

[@anydaynow01]

I did also when I got my Volt since I do track days and I love my ICE sports cars. After about a month of driving the Volt and not having to stop at a filling station the entire time and not even putting a visible dent in the fuel level in the tank, plus having the electric torque, I was sold! I will never go EV for my track day car though.

[@donswier]

9:10 -9:55 Tom & John: Most relevant, non-tribal conversation ever about the current direction of the auto industry. Buyers are confused. Consumers are mostly unaware of how their car functions (FWD? RWD? 4cyl? 8cyl? ) Add the choice of Hybrid or PHEV to the mix and it's now Information Overload to many non-car people. Amazing how many people think 40 miles range is useless until you point out how many gallons and $$ that saves them annually.

[@anydaynow01]

Yep, I've told people, reset your trip odometer at the end of the day when you pull into your driveway to realize just how few km of EV range they actually need to drive >90% emissions free.

[@Maplenr]

I would have gotten this in a heartbeat, but the near impossible chances of getting one made me get a hybrid Corolla LE instead. Great, Great car.

[@donswier]

This Prime (and the Volt before it) seem like the perfect 1-car solution: -Practical 5 door shape -Vast retail network -Cheaper than long range BEV -Long trips no prob -Inonsistent access to a plug is no problem -Volt was simply ahead of its time. In 2023, this Prime should have strong appeal to practical people who've seen benefits of plug-ins but value their time too much to surrender to being hostage to public charging (BEV)

[@bryanherr1093]

This might be the car that finally replaces my 2013 Leaf.

[@crsp76691]

Love my 17 volt as well. After 7 years it still goes 52 miles all battery in the summer! Gets 46-50 mpg on road trips. Charging a non tesla EV in tne wild is a nightmare. Gotta still have gas for at least ten more years

[@westhavenor9513]

Excellent comments toward the end of your video, Tom.

[@antster7]

prius gen 4 owners: 😞

[@ejohnson3131]

I wish they offered the Prime with AWD, but that would be a very un-Toyota thing to do.

[@mart0225]

The Prime’s battery is where the rear motors would go.

[@daves1646]

Tom, Thanks for the review AND your getting JV’s opinions on some of the aspects of the PP that can be controversial at times. Good turn of the phrase: “It’s gas when you need it, and electric when you want it!”.

[@DrivenCarReviews]

@@daves1646 John pointed out that an automaker actually used that as a slogan. We just couldn't remember which one.