CARLSBAD, Calif. — The plug-in model of Toyota’s redesigned Prius sedan, the 2023 Prius Prime, is now capable of journey as much as 72 kilometres on battery energy alone when its bigger battery is absolutely charged and can begin at $37,990 — each up considerably from the present technology mannequin it’s changing.
The 2023 Prius Prime’s stem-to-stern improve follows that of its conventional hybrid namesake, which went on sale earlier this 12 months.
The massive change from the outgoing Prius Prime is a bigger 13.6-kWh lithium ion battery paired with a extra highly effective 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine, enabling the 2023 mannequin to journey an additional 32 kilometres on battery energy alone, in contrast with the present technology’s 40-kilometre vary.
The upgraded powertrain, with its constantly variable transmission, provides the Prius Prime a internet of 220 hp and 139 pound-feet of torque, additionally an enchancment over the present mannequin. Mixed gasoline economic system for the 2023 Prius Prime is rated at 4.5 L/100 km.
The Prius Prime will are available in three trims: the bottom SE, the midgrade XSE beginning at $42,990 and top-grade XSE Premium, beginning at $46,990, all together with delivery. Toyota’s Security Sense 3.0, the model’s newest suite of driver help and security techniques, comes customary.
Assembled in Japan, the 2023 Prius Prime is predicted to start arriving in Canadian showrooms in Might. By way of the primary quarter, U.S. gross sales of the present technology Prius Prime had been off 62 per cent to 994 as sellers struggled to satisfy demand due to manufacturing constraints. Complete Prius gross sales in Canada had been down 78 per cent to simply 235.
David Christ, head of the Toyota Division for Toyota Motor North America, informed sibling publication Automotive Information that the model’s present plug-in hybrid fashions — the RAV4 Prime and Prius Prime — “are among the many most in-demand automobiles we’ve got.”
Christ stated that some sellers with too many pre-sold orders are sending clients to different Toyota shops “out of a way of transparency as a result of they know they’re offered out and will not be capable to assist that buyer.” The plug-in powertrain, he stated, is “a viable choice for purchasers. Lots of people like the power to plug it in, get round city on [battery] vary, and but have the pliability to take the lengthy journey once they need to.”