Tech Report: Everybody Loves the Hi-Tech Toyota Prius!

Who doesn't love a Prius? Really there is so much to love about these vehicles. They have such an outstanding record for reliability and they are just slick!

The Toyota Prius Prime is one of the most if not the most popular hybrid on the market today. The Prius Prime can easily cope with a 20-25 mile commute to work and back exclusively on cheap electricity! Despite the fact that it's a compact car, it comfortably sits four adults with ease.

All Prius Prime models combine the same front-drive layout, an 8.8-kWh, 265-pound lithium-ion battery pack with an EPA range of 25 miles, two electric motor-generators, and the “bridled fury” of a 95-hp 1.8-liter Atkinson-cycle inline-four gas engine (descriptor courtesy of Car and Driver). Total output, gas and battery, is 121 hp. The planetary gear system effectively works as a continuously variable transmission.

From personal experience I know for a fact the batteries that come factory standard with a Prius are absolutely amazing. My mom has been driving the same Prius for 10 years and has never had to replace the battery even once!

The Prius Prime starts up in EV if the battery pack is full but you always have the option of pushing a dashboard button for hybrid mode which will provide a lot of combustion engine power.

A separate EV Auto button lets the car decide when to run in hybrid or EV power. There are also Eco, Normal and Power modes. Eco makes the car accelerate slower; Power seems a bit quicker than Normal at doling out horsepower. In city or highway driving, there’s enough power, but this is not the car for passing on two-lane highways.

The hybrid option vs EV option seems quite useful but lets get a look at the inside of this beast! What kinds of cool features would you expect to find in a Prius Prime?

The Prius Prime is primarily a city cruiser but don't be fooled, this vehicle is extremely versatile and can easily be taken on long trips, because don't forget, it's not a pure battery-electric vehicle like the Tesla Model 3 or Nissan Leaf.

EV purists may not like that the Prius Prime in EV Auto mode jumps back and forth from gas to electric, but they can’t complain about the single-tank range: 500-plus miles.

Officially, it’s rated at 54 mpg combined city-highway and 133 mpg-e, a measure of the efficiency of the electric drive. MPG-e measures how far you can go electrically on the equivalent of the 115,000 BTUs in one gallon of gasoline, which is equal to 33.7 kilowatt hours of electricity. Charging takes 5.5 hours on 120 volts, or 2.2 hours on 240 volts.)

Just let me get my hands on one of these and I'd be pleased as punch! I think Tesla's are pretty slick as well but it does seem nice to still have the option to go petrol if you found yourself far from a good charge!

The base Prius Prime Plus, $27,995 list including $895 freight, comes with a 7-inch center stack LCD, Toyota Entune audio, navigation, an app suite, and TSS-P, Toyota’s suite of safety features: lane keep assist, stop-and-go adaptive cruise control, automatic high beams, and a pre-collision/pedestrian detection system with automatic braking. The only option (on all three trim lines) is premium paint ($395) on two of the six exterior colors.

This is quite a long list of cool features! The LCD looks amazing, Entune audio is supposed to be in the same ballpark as Bose sound systems and the safety features sound incredible.

I think Toyota has made one amazing vehicle here and I can't wait to rent one and give it a spin! What do you guys think of the new Prius Prime? Do you think it can hold its own vs other electric / hybrid vehicles on the market?

Please leave your thoughts and comments below!

Thanks for reading.

Source:

Toyota Prius Prime Review: The Best Deal in a Toyota Hybrid - Extreme Tech

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