Gas has jumped to an average of $4.25 a gallon here in Detroit, and the Toyota Prius Prime plug-in is ready for prime time. I plugged it into my home 240-volt wall charger and filled my battery with 25 miles of charge in two hours at a cost of $1.50. When the battery was spent after a day chasing errands, the gas engine kicked in with another 640 miles of range at my disposal at 54 mpg. Enough to drive nonstop to New York City to visit my son if necessary.
The Toyota what? Prius? Dude, that’s so 15 minutes ago.
The last time gas hit $4 a gallon in 2008, the Prius hybrid was all the rage. Sales soared to 158,884 units a year on their way to a record 234,228 by 2013. All the cool kids had one. Leo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz and Tom Hanks arrived at the Oscars in a Prius. Presidential candidate Barack Obama swaggered into Detroit and berated Detroit automakers for not making a Prius. So morally righteous were owners that the Japanese hatchback gained the nickname “Pious.”
Today, despite soaring gas prices, the Prius is all but forgotten despite the addition of a plug-in model in 2013. Green elites have moved on to other shiny toys. Pols shame Americans for not buying electric vehicles. Leo drives a Polestar 2 and Stephen Colbert brags he never has to visit the gas pump in his Tesla. Model 3 is the new Pious.
But for Americans tired of shelling out $60 each time they fill up their Toyota Camry, the Prius is an appealing bargain.
Indeed, my loaded, top-trim Limited tester clocked in at $35,000 — that magical, affordable number that Tesla’s Model 3 sedan once promised but never delivered. Of course, there is always a better value, and Prime is pricey compared to one of my all-time favorite Detroit fuel sippers: the $15,000 (in today’s dollars), 1995 Geo Metro three-cylinder that returned an impressive 47 mpg. It didn’t last.
Prime presents itself in a package as instantly recognizable as a Tesla: Angular profile, split-rear window, vertical running lights. That, and my tester was as bright blue as a newly-dyed Easter egg.
I flung it around Oakland County, the Prius’s compact, stiffened chassis much-improved over the first-gen’s pasta noodle.
But you won’t mistake it for a Tesla. I floored Pious out of a stoplight and the front-wheel-drive electric motor briefly woke up as if startled, then settled into a slow trot. When the gas engine kicks in, it drones on like John Kerry at a Davos climate change conference. Prime offers a POWER sport mode to complement NORMAL and ECO, but I couldn’t tell the difference.
Leave it in ECO because the real charm of this fuel sipper is its double life as a daily EV/640-mile gas burner. Today, greens tout EVs with 500-mile electric range — but that’s for a $140,000 Lucid Air. For that price, you can buy four Primes that go farther.
Plug-ins are a solution GM once believed was the Holy Grail. Embarrassed by Prius hybrid getting all that Oscars attention, the Volt plug-in promised 53 miles before the gas engine kicked in, and 420 miles total range. But Volt ultimately joined the Geo Metro on the scrap heap.
“Hybrids didn’t sell very well,” GM President Mark Reuss told Fox News in explaining the General’s decision to abandon plug-ins. “You’re still carrying two propulsion systems. That’s not very efficient.”
The slow-selling Bolt EV followed. Next up? The Model Y-beating Chevy Equinox EV.
Meanwhile, Prius Prime plug-in soldiers on.
As satisfying as its gas price-defying range is, however, it comes at a cost if you want quick, two-hour recharges. A 240-volt Juicebox charger plus installation could set you back $2,000 in a 1970s-vintage-house like mine.
Better to plug in to a standard 120-volt wall socket for 5 ½ hours every night. That’s because a comparably-equipped $25K Corolla compact hatchback also comes in Easter egg blue and also answers your gas budget woes with 35 mpg. Prius Prime, EPA tells us, gets a whopping 54 mpg. Let’s do the math. If you’re traveling an average of 15,000 miles year, that means Prime will save you a whopping $640 annually with petrol at $4.25 a gallon.
Here comes the “but” you’ve been waiting for.
Gas prices would have to continue at $4.25 a gallon for nearly 16 years before you would recoup the costs of your Prime premium over the Corolla. What if you only (improbably) used the Prime on electric charge? EPA says you’d get 113 MPGe and save $1,061 — in which case gas prices would have to continue at $4.25 a gallon for nine years before you would recoup the costs of your Prime premium over the Corolla. Qualify for the federal $4,500 tax credit and payback is in five years.
That’s a lotta math, which is why battery-powered vehicles remain a market niche. Last year, Prius only sold 60,000 units. Prius faithful enjoy a unique driving environment.
Prius beat Tesla to market by remodeling the vehicle dashboard. It removed the instrument display behind the steering wheel, then relocated it at the base of the windshield with digital graphics so you can watch the powertrain transition from electric to gas power. Redundantly, Prime offers a head-up display for 2022. I barely noticed it was there. The Toyota’s signature stubby, dash-mounted shifter frees up console space for a smartphone charging pad.
If it’s an Android smartphone like mine, however, it is useless for navigation on the Prime Limited’s big 12-inch screen, which doesn’t offer Android Auto. That’s a drag as disappointing as the Prius’s lethargic acceleration. Despite the promise of its Tesla-sized screen, Prime is half-hearted about tech. I craved Android Auto because the native nav system is stuck in the last century.
Toyota clearly understands customers want SUVs and it has equipped its best-selling RAV4 ute with a plug-in model featuring more power and electronic capability (yes, it has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto). I could see my little Prius smiling with fatherly pride in the driveway. It may not be as hip as it was 20 years ago, but it has spawned a new generation of plug-ins.
The bigger RAV4 Prime is a chip off the ol’ block with 94 MPGe and range of 20 miles on a charge. It has significantly better acceleration, too. But it’ll cost you, ahem, $49,000 for a loaded, top trim model. That’s a $13,000 premium over a comparable gas-powered RAV4. More math.
My guess is the average Toyota buyer is yelling: Drill, baby, drill!
2022 Toyota Prius Prime
Vehicle type: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive, five-passenger hatchback plug-in
Price: $29,245, including $1,025 destination fee ($35,284 as tested)
Powerplant: 1.8-liter inline-4 cylinder with two AC motors and 8.8-kWh lithium-ion battery pack
Power: 121 horsepower
Transmission: Continuously variable automatic
Performance: 0-60 mph 10.2 sec. (Car and Driver); top speed, 101 mph
Weight: 3,375 pounds (Limited as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA, 113 MPGe (electric and gas combined); 54 MPG combined (gas only)
Report card
Highs: Easy on the gas; 25 electric miles for daily commute
Lows: Slug-like acceleration; no Android Auto
Overall: 3 stars
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