Why Toyota no longer calls the Prius PHEV the Prime – Jalopnik

In 1997, Toyota released the Prius – the world’s first mass-produced hybrid car – in Japan, followed by an American version in 2000. Since then there have been five generations of the compact car, but one of the most interesting iterations came in the form of the Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid in 2012. It promised the petrol equivalent of 80 miles per gallon in combined driving mode, 49 mpg in hybrid mode and an all-electric range of 15 km/h. kilometers at a speed of 100 km/h. At the time, Toyota simply adopted the simpler Prius Plug-in Hybrid name to distinguish the Plug-in model from the standard Prius Hybrid.

However, after the launch of the second generation Prius Plug-in Hybrid in 2016, Toyota decided to use the “Prime” designation to represent the model, in an effort to prevent people from mistaking it for a purely electric vehicle. The “Prime” naming convention was also applied to other Toyota plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, such as the incredibly resilient RAV4 Prime. Back to model year 2025, Toyota decided to drop the name and instead refer to the Prius plug-in hybrid electric car as simply Prius PHEV. The automaker explained that it made the decision to replace the Prime branding with PHEV for a similar reason that “Prime” was adopted in the first place: to help customers more easily identify the model’s powertrain.

Although given a very different label, the Toyota Prius PHEV doesn’t change much about the car it replaces. This means you get the same powertrain as in the Prius Prime. It’s a 2.0-litre M20A-FXS inline four-cylinder petrol engine, mated to two electric motors and powered by a 13.6kWh lithium-ion battery, producing a total of 220bhp – 20bhp more than the facelifted Honda Civic Si.

That combination is good enough to get the Prius PHEV from 0 to 60 mph in 6.6 seconds, deliver an electric range of 45 miles and achieve an average fuel economy of 52 mpg in hybrid mode. You will also find the same standard features such as fabric seats, automatic climate control, a heated steering wheel, an 8-inch touchscreen display and Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration. If you’re looking for extra luxury, the mid-range XSE trim has a power driver’s seat, heated front seats and a wireless smartphone charger on both models.

As the top-level Prius PHEV trim, the Unfortunately, it’s out of reach for less than $40,000, as prices start around that price before delivery, processing, and handling fees come in. However, the lower versions are doable. The base-spec 2025 Prius Plug-in Hybrid SE starts at around $33,000, while the XSE is around $37,000.