Toyota has announced that its fifth-generation Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid will soon be available to order, with two different trims on offer.
This is the first Prius news we have heard for some time. We last reported on this new model back in late 2022 when the car was officially unveiled. Since then, Toyota has announced that the new Prius is coming to the UK pretty soon, with order books opening in March.
Built on the same foundations as its predecessor that was removed from sale in the UK two years ago, Toyota says that this new fifth-generation model is almost twice as powerful as the outgoing model. The car is powered by a 2.0-litre petrol engine paired with a 14kWh battery and an electric motor mounted to the front axle, providing a total output of 223hp.
Toyota now adds that the plug-in hybrid can travel further in EV mode than the previous model – 53 miles to be exact. The EV battery and the fuel tank have both been re-positioned too, which the manufacturer says makes the car’s driving dynamics more agile.
The new model inherits the sloping ‘wedge’-shaped silhouette synonymous with the Prius range, but the brand says it has made the car slightly wider, and lowered its height by 5cm. The car’s wheelbase (distance from front tyres to rear tyres) is 5cm longer too, and the new Prius sits on larger 19-inch alloy wheels.
Inside, Toyota has lowered the driving position to give the latest Prius a ‘sportier feel’ and has redesigned the dashboard to improve driver visibility and make things a bit more user-friendly.
A larger infotainment screen juts out of the centre of the dashboard, and a seven-inch digital instrument cluster sits behind the steering wheel – replacing the old driving information screen that stretched across the centre of the dashboard on the old model. The central screen is illuminated, and this backlighting changes colour when alerting the driver of safety hazards.
The launch line-up consists of the lead-in ‘Design’ and the top-spec ‘Excel’. The Prius sits on 17-inch alloy wheels, and comes with keyless entry, rear privacy glass, parking sensors and dual-zone air conditioning as standard. The latest generation Toyota Safety Sense active safety and driver assistance systems are also provided as standard.
The ‘Excel’ comes with larger 19-inch wheels, eight-way power adjustable front seats with heating and ventilation, and a digital rear-view mirror. Pricing for the range will start at just over £37k, with the first orders scheduled to arrive in July.
