Toyota took the wraps off three significant new vehicles Wednesday night in advance of the Los Angeles auto show.
Appearing at the show, which opens to the public Friday:
- The bZ Compact concept, a small SUV that foreshadows the second installment in the company’s electric vehicle strategy. Toyota initially revealed the concept in Japan last December.
- The 2023 Toyota Prius hybrid and Prius Prime plug-in hybrid, the latest editions of the fuel-efficient icon that made Toyota the runaway leader for hybrids.
Toyota has recently been criticized as a laggard in adopting electric vehicles as it clings to its lead in hybrids, which use both gasoline engines and electric batteries.
The Japanese giant argues that hybrids are the quickest, most realistic way to reduce emissions and climate change until all buyers are ready for EVs, while other automakers — notably General Motors, Ford, Hyundai and Volkswagen — are committed to a more aggressive timetable for selling high numbers of all-electric vehicles.
“Twenty years ago, the Prius helped drive Toyota’s ‘green’ image,” said Katherine García of the Sierra Club. “Today, the Prius is a relic of the past.”
Longer range and (somewhat) higher mpg
In the face of that skepticism, Toyota promises the 2023 Prius Prime plug-in hybrid’s range on battery power will increase more than 50% from the 25 miles the current model can cover before its gasoline engine kicks in.
Toyota also says the conventional hybrid will be the most fuel-efficient Prius yet, with a projected EPA rating of 57 mpg in combined city/highway driving. That’s 1 mpg better than the most fuel-efficient 2022 Prius.
Prices and official EPA fuel economy figures for the 2023 Prius and Prius Prime will be announced before the vehicle goes on sale in 2023.
The fifth generation of the car that inspired the hybrid surge, the new Prius retains the familiar aero-hybrid look, but adds a sharply sloped windshield and aggressively flared fenders. The roof is 2 inches lower, while the body is nearly an inch wider, with a short rear deck.
The Prius will be available with front- or all-wheel drive. AWD models will have an electric rear axle. A new lithium-ion battery is smaller, lighter but 15% more powerful than the current Prius.
Front-wheel drive models have 194 horsepower and accelerate to 60 mph in 7.2 seconds. That may not set your pulse pounding, but it sets the current Prius’ 9.8-second 0-60 time to shame.
AWD models have 196 hp and trim 0-60 time even more, to 7 seconds.
Toyota says the electric motor powering the rear axle was engineered to improve stability in turns and overall performance in low traction.
2023 Toyota Prius trim levels and selected features
- LE: 17-inch tires, 8-inch touch screen, six USB-C ports, blind spot and cross traffic alert
- XLE: 19-inch tires, two cup holders for rear passengers, auto-dimming rearview mirror, heated front seats, power driver’s seat, wireless charging, front and rear parking assist with automatic braking
- Limited: 12.3-inch touch screen, 8-speaker JBL audio, fixed glass roof, heated steering wheel, heated and ventilated front seats, memory for driver’s seat
Prius and Prius Prime safety and driver assist features
- Pre-collision system with pedestrian, bicycle and motorcycle detection
- Lane departure alert with steering assist
- Automatic high beams
- Adaptive cruise control
- Lane tracing
- Road sign recognition
- Pro Driving Assist automatic braking and steering assist in traffic and on curves.
Prius Prime: More power and features
The Prius Prime will go on sale in the first half of 2023. It features a solar-panel roof that helps charge the battery while parked.
All Prius Primes are front-wheel drive. They develop 220 hp from a 2.0L engine, electric motors and a lithium-ion battery under the rear seat. The Prime accelerates to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds.
The Prime will add several driver assist features. Lane-change assist checks for vehicles approaching from behind and steers into the next lane. The driver’s hands must be on the wheel at all times. Front cross traffic assist warns of approaching vehicles at intersections. Traffic jam assist will operate the accelerator, brakes and steering wheel at up to 25 mph, as long as the driver’s eyes are on the roads.
The Prime’s three trim levels — SE, XSE and XSE premium — are similar to the Prius hybrid’s trim packages. The Prime plug-in hybrid offers some features not available on the hybrid, including the solar roof, heated rear seat and digital rearview mirror.
Hints of upcoming smaller electric SUV
The bZ Compact concept builds on the design of the larger bZ4X that went on sale earlier this year.
About 6 inches shorter than the 4X, the concept likely foreshadows an upcoming bZ3X.
The first two letters of Toyota’s rather tortured EV nomenclature — bZ — stand for “below zero,” a reference to the fact that EVs charged from the electric grid don’t emit any exhaust directly.
The bZ Compact concept is about 3 inches longer than Toyota’s Corolla Cross small gasoline SUV. It’s 2.4 inches wider, though, with a 3.4-inch lower roof for a considerably sportier look.
Exterior flourishes include a narrow light bar across the nose, headlights that wrap well around into the fenders and pronounced rear haunches reminiscent of Toyota’s little CH-R SUV.
The interior features seats made from recycled and plant-based materials to evoke sustainability. A digital assistant named “Yui” responds to spoken requests.
Contact Mark Phelan:mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on autos and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.