Redesigned 2023 Toyota Prius Is Visually Stunning

• The current Prius is an example of a vehicle with lots of “style,” but in the worst sense with its tortured sheet metal and frumpy proportions.

• The Prius has been recognized for its leading hybrid technology and gas mileage, but the new version for 2023 makes the car aesthetically alluring for shoppers, too.

• There are previous examples of vehicle redesigns that missed the mark, but Toyota deserves to succeed with its bold and gutsy design approach with the new Prius.

“Have you seen the new Prius?”

I knew something was up when I began to get the same message from several people. Toyota’s recent introduction of the 2023 Prius was causing a stir, and one needs only a quick glance to understand why. The car is stunning, and I don’t mean in the way the previous car was.

The current Prius is an example of a vehicle with lots of “style,” but in the worst sense with its tortured sheet metal, strange graphics, and frumpy proportions. The 2023 Prius is simply handsome, clean, sleek, and the best design statement Toyota has made since embracing “design.” It’s that good.

And it’s not difficult to understand what makes it so. Compared to the 2022 Prius, the new car is lower and wider, but the real story is in the profile. The windshield is much faster, with its touchdown further forward on the car.

The result is what appears to be one uninterrupted line from the top of the windshield through the front fender, something that mid-engine exotics aspire to (and they don’t have a front engine to package). This is unheard of on a four-door sedan.

And while a typical sedan has a three-box profile (hood, passenger compartment, and trunk), the new Prius appears as one, smooth, continuous form. In addition, for a car that consistently looked under-tired, the new Prius offers 19-inch wheels, and the dark wheel opening trim gives it a welcomed wheel-oriented character that reduces the prior car’s visual heaviness.

Lately, Toyota (and its Lexus luxury brand) has been reveling in some funky front-end designs, and some have adopted the current no-grille-is-too-big approach. The new Prius is refreshing in that its lower fascia opening appears to be, well, just a functional air intake.

Even the rear is restrained, with a simple horizontal taillamp theme and single backlight. It may not be as aesthetically arresting as the previous design, but in this case, that’s for the better.

Some concerns, though. The early press cars have only been shown with the 19-inch rims, while 17-inchers will be standard, and that will make a difference. Also, that fast windshield is partially enabled by an equally radical DLO (daylight opening, or side glass graphic) that begins its downward slope at the B-pillar, and one can’t help wondering about ingress and egress, especially for short and taller drivers.

What makes this introduction even more surprising is that the Prius is recognized for its leading hybrid technology and extraordinary gas mileage, not to mention Toyota’s typical reliability—it has always sold on these qualities and never on appearance.