Toyota has had a busy 2022 with product launches, and its last big debut of the year is the all-new Prius. The once-seen hybrid has been teased extensively over the past few days, strongly suggesting that its design will be completely new. From what we’ve seen so far, the styling will follow the new Crown, but with a heavily sloped roof to reduce drag coefficient for better performance.
Aerodynamics have always played an important role in design, and the fifth-generation Prius will be no exception. It’s unclear if the change will come with a switch to another platform. Logic tells us that it will use an evolution of the TNGA architecture that originally debuted in 2015 with the outgoing model. Again, there should be another Prius Prime with a plug-in hybrid powertrain.
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A better powertrain and a sleeker look should contribute to even better performance for the 2023 Prius compared to the outgoing model. At its most frugal, the current car returns 58 mpg city / 53 mpg highway / 56 mpg combined. As for the Prime PHEV, it has an EPA rating of 133 MPGe and will travel 25 miles before sipping any gasoline.
Toyota has expanded its hybrid offerings rapidly in recent times and the Prius has fallen out of favor in the crossover/SUV era. It still deserves a place in the company’s growing portfolio, and it looks like the next-gen car could be the most beautiful yet. This should revive demand for the hybrid that was on everyone’s lips in the 2000s and early 2010s.
The live stream from Japan will begin on November 16 at 1:30 PM JST. It works from 4:30 AM GMT today, November 15th, or 11:30 PM ET on November 16th. Following its debut, the next-generation Toyota Prius is slated to go on sale in the US next year as a 2023MY. We should get our first chance to see it in the metal this weekend at the Los Angeles Auto Show.