2024 Toyota Prius Prime: New look, new attitude

2024 Toyota Prius Prime XSE Premium: The Prius has always been a favorite. Hope they didn’t mess it up.

Price: $41,415 as tested. Advanced technology package added panoramic camera for $1,085; solar roof, $610; heated rear seats, $350; digital rearview mirror, $200.

Conventional wisdom: Car and Driver likes the “sexy — yes, sexy — styling, loaded with standard features, no longer asleep when you want to accelerate” but dislikes that the “slick design encroaches on rear headroom, lacks interior storage, overcomplicated gauge-cluster design.”

Marketer’s pitch: “Power your drive with Prius Prime.”

Reality: Nicer look, nicer interior, more fun to drive, super long electric range. A win.

What’s new: The plug-in version of the pioneering hybrid from Toyota joined the regular Prius hybrid in a redesign for 2023 (hence C&D falling all over itself like schoolkids above). But it is a nice, new look inside and out, and more power.

Competition: Chrysler Pacifica, Kia Niro, Mini Cooper SE Countryman, Subaru Crosstrek. (It’s a weird list, I know, but these are all the less expensive plug-ins that are not full crossovers.)

Up to speed: Car and Driver tests have the Prius Prime getting to 60 mph in 6.7 seconds. That’s a nice zip.

But be sure to set the drive mode to Sport before attempting any on-ramps. I left the Prius in Eco mode and switched to EV for one entrance onto Route 30 and wondered if I’d even make it — there, C&D recorded 11.2 seconds for 0-60.

Shifty: The Prius shift knob remains the same pattern — up and left for Reverse, down and left for Drive. But these days it looks less spaceship-like and sits at a more normal height. (Early Prius cockpits felt like miniature city buses, with a tall console, the weird shifter, and upright seating.)

On the road: The Prius Prime handles pretty nicely through the curves, but be careful at its limits — those tires are narrow and designed for efficiency, so the car loses its grip easily. I haven’t heard so many squealing wheels since I was teaching teens how to drive.

The XSE tested is designed to be the best handling of the Toyota trims, so expect less from lower trim levels.

On the bright side, owners say the tires will get you through the snow better than you’d expect.

Driver’s Seat: The Softex seat is almost Lexus level. It’s comfortable and even cushy, although it’s Prius-sized, so it’s not big.

I’ve been whining about Toyota’s cruise control since the company began dispensing with its nice steering column stalk, but this one is the worst. The set buttons are so small that it is almost impossible to set speed without hitting three other buttons, and my fingers are fairly skinny.

And now there are too many controls hidden on the left side of the dashboard behind the steering wheel. This is horrible place to put things for people unfamiliar with their vehicles.

Friends and stuff: The rear seats offer excellent legroom and foot room, but the rounded top of the sedan cuts off early and leaves Mr. Driver’s head against the ceiling. But heated seats!

The Prius also keeps up the sedan’s tradition of awkward exterior door handles in the upper corner of the door, a continuing case of function following form. I guess at least it reminds one to not hit themselves with the sharp corner of the door; they’ll probably thwack their head on the low doorway instead.

Cargo space is 20.3 cubic feet behind the rear seat and reportedly 26.7 with the seat folded. (Some of these numbers get a little weird. I know Nissan has some surprisingly low cargo capacities, based on different measuring standards.) I suspect the Prius space is really comparable to other vehicles advertising in the 30s.

Play some tunes: The stereo plays some pretty clear tunes, about an A-. Nothing stupendous, but at least Toyota has mostly moved away from poor aural quality from a few years back, the old Sienna owner whined.

There’s a volume knob that’s sits waaaay over there by Mrs. Passenger Seat, and it appears to be weaponizable. The rest of the magic happens in the touchscreen.

Keeping warm and cool: Controls are in a row along the bottom of the dashboard.

Night shift: The low beams might be a deal breaker. They sit really low and limit visibility.

The interior map light is pretty nice, but kind of bright.

Fuel economy: First, note that the XSE and most other trims have a 39-mile, electric-only range, while the SE stretches that to 44. But even 39 is pretty astounding. Plus, the XSE’s solar roof will really impress the neighbors.

The Prius tested averaged about 60 mpg, but I couldn’t tell you over what time frame or how many miles.

More annoyingly, the Prius trip odometer will not report fuel consumption as a standard feature; you have to go hunting for it. (I would think that’s something drivers really want to focus on no matter what.) And it won’t display at all unless you’re in the right drive mode.

Where it’s built: Aichi, Japan.

How it’s built: Consumer Reports predicts the Prius Prime reliability to be a 62 out of 100.

In the end: The Prius has always been roomier, more powerful, and more fun to drive than it ever got credit for. Despite the flaws noted, I’d still put it on my short list of next vehicles.