2022 Toyota Prius Prime

　　

2022 Toyota Prius Prime Review

byMichael CantuCorrespondent

　　Michael Cantu has worked in the automotive industry since 2014. He has written over 800 car-related articles and tested and reviewed over 100 vehicles over the course of his career. Michael is a contributor at zzdcar and has also contributed to MotorTrend, Digital Trends and InsideEVs. Michael was featured on a few InsideEVs YouTube channel videos on the topic of electric vehicles. Michael was a MotorTrend Car of the Year judge for 2019 and was a driver in MotorTrend's World's Greatest Drag Races 7 & 8.

　　Many people enjoy poking fun at the Toyota Prius because it's slow, a little odd-looking and known to be driven by eco-friendly individuals. They don't understand that the Prius has provided safe, reliable, affordable and practical transportation for more than 20 years while delivering exemplary fuel economy. Not many other, if any, vehicles can claim that. With an increasing amount of competition (which includes the Corolla Hybrid), the Prius has lost some relevance in the segment it created, but the little oddball will go down in the history books.

　　Continue reading zzdcar Expert Rating below

　　

Toyota Prius Prime PHEV Insights

Trim:Prius Prime LE

　　LE 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl gas/electric plug-in hybrid CVT) - $28,770 MSRPXLE 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl gas/electric plug-in hybrid CVT) (Most Popular) - $30,550 MSRPLimited 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl gas/electric plug-in hybrid CVT) - $34,550 MSRP

　　

All Electric Range

　　25 miles

　　EPA Estimated Electric Range

　　The Prius Prime will automatically switch to gas when the electric battery is low.Electric cars typically experience 1-2% of range loss per year with slightly faster degradation over the first 50,000 miles as the car settles into its long term state, according to Recurrent's study of 15,000 EVs.

　　Estimated range mapThis map is a visual representation of the possible one-way and round-trips by this vehicle (on a full charge) from the geometric center of Rutland, North Dakota. The depicted ranges are based on the estimated new vehicle range value provided by the EPA, rounded down to miles for one-way and miles for round-trip. Actual range will vary depending on the condition of this vehicle’s battery pack, how you drive, driving conditions and other factors.Map display generated using: © openrouteservice.org by HeiGIT | Map data © Recurrent contributors | Recurrent

　　from 58067

　　

Hybrid Parts Warranty

　　8 yrs or 100,000 milesHybrid batteries are federally mandated to carry at least 8 years or 100,000 miles of warranty coverage from the manufacturer. Batteries that lose capacity more rapidly than expected should be eligible for replacement under warranty. Coverage of additional hybrid components beyond the battery itself will vary by automaker.

　　

Charging at Home

　　2 hours

　　Total Charging Time (240V outlet)

　　

EV Tax Credits & Rebates

　　$400

　　Available Rebates. Restrictions apply.

　　Utility EV Charger Offer

　　$400

　　Restrictions: Otter Tail Power offers EV owners a rebate of up to $400 towards the installation of a Level 2 charging station. To qualify for this rebate, the customer and/or charging station must meet the following requirements: Receive electricity from Otter Tail Power.

　　To learn more, visit Recurrent

　　See All PHEV incentives

　　

Cost to Drive

　　$60/mo

　　Prius Prime

　　vs

　　$165/mo

　　Car Avg.

　　Monthly estimates based on costs in North Dakota

　　See All PHEV Insights

　　The 2022 Toyota Prius Prime is the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version of the regular Prius. Toyota adds a charging port and a larger 8.8-kWh battery pack to give the Prime an EPA-estimated all-electric driving range of up to 25 miles. Once the electric juice runs out, it becomes a regular hybrid and gets an EPA-estimated fuel economy rating of 54 mpg combined. Charging the empty battery to full takes about two hours with a 240-volt charger or five and a half hours with a 120-volt charger. Essentially, the more frequently you can plug in and recharge, the less gas you'll use.

　　As with the regular Prius, the Prime offers a comfortable but otherwise unexciting driving experience. The hatchback body style offers more cargo space than a sedan, but because of the larger battery pack, it has a bit smaller cargo area than the regular Prius. There aren't many plug-in hatchback rivals for the Prius Prime to compete with, but there is the duo from South Korea: the Hyundai Ioniq Plug-in Hybrid and the Kia Niro Plug-in Hybrid. For a thorough review by our test team, check out the zzdcar' Expert Rating below.

　　zzdcar Expert Rating

　　Our VerdictThe zzdcar Vehicle Testing Team evaluates a fresh batch of vehicles every week, pairing objective assessments at our test track with real-world driving on city streets, freeways and winding roads. The data we gather results in our Expert Ratings. They’re based on 30-plus scores that cover every aspect of the automotive experience.

　　Average

　　7.2

　　out of 10

　　zzdcar TESTED

　　Rated for you by America's best test team.

　　

Performance

6.5/10

　　How does the Prius Prime drive? You're not buying a Prius Prime for its performance. In zzdcar' testing, our Prius Prime Limited test car accelerated from 0 to 60 mph in 10.8 seconds, which is slow no matter how you look at it. Merging onto the highway or passing at higher speeds takes quite a bit of time, throttle and determination. We also tested its emergency braking performance. It stopped from 60 mph in 128 feet, which is slightly below average for a vehicle of this type. The Prime is also pretty tepid when it comes to agility and handling precision.

　　On the upside, the Prime has an easy-driving nature and smoothly transitions from EV mode to hybrid gasoline-engine power. And should you do most of your driving in EV mode, you'll find there's adequate acceleration for city traffic.

　　

Comfort

7.5/10

　　How comfortable is the Prius Prime? The front seats are softly padded and should be comfortable for the long haul. Taller drivers, or those with long legs, might find the seat bottoms to be a few inches too short. The cabin is generally quiet unless you floor the gas pedal, at which point the underpowered engine gets rather raucous.

　　Another downside is the Prius' ride quality over broken pavement and concrete expansion joints. The impacts from these types of bumps can make the car feel jittery. Since the car is so quiet, this road noise is more noticeable than it would otherwise be in a non-hybrid. The climate control works well and has clever touches such as the ability to isolate the system in favor of the driver to aid in fuel efficiency.

　　Continue reading zzdcar Expert Rating below