Yahoo Autos The U.S.-Bound 2023 Toyota Prius Has Up to 196 HP, 57 MPG, And All-Wheel Drive
When Toyota revealed the Europe-spec Prius Tuesday night, we were shocked. The nameplate that once stood for frumpy pragmatism now looks fantastic. Toyota released specs and details of the U.S.-bound 2023 Toyota Prius Wednesday night, and it looks just as roundly practical as ever.
Like all Prius models, the new one is a hybrid-only affair. This time, though, Toyota has dropped the trust nickel-metal battery pack in favor of an all-new, more efficient lithium-ion battery setup. That pays dividends in both weight and power, with a maximum output of 196 hp. That's if you opt for the optional all-wheel-drive system, loading up an electric motor on the rear axle. Front-wheel-drive models get 194 hp. Either is a massive improvement over the outgoing model, which made 121 hp regardless of what wheels were powered.
The two potential downsides of a lithium-ion battery are increased cost and decreased durability relative to the long-lasting and near-invincible nickel metal packs in the current Prius. Pricing hasn't been announced yet and word on just how well the new pack holds up will take some time. Either way, fans of Prius efficiency will be happy to know that it now gets up to 57 mpg combined, up 1 mpg from the outgoing model. That's despite the power improvement, which cuts 0-60 time for the FWD model from 9.8 seconds to 7.2 seconds. That new time may not sound fast, but the improvement is the difference between a car that feels noticeably slow and a relatively normal commuter car. AWD models are a bit quicker, taking 7.0 seconds to reach 60.
Of course, the Prius also comes with Toyota's latest suite of safety and convenience tech. All Priuses get adaptive cruise control with stop and go, lane tracing assist, automatic high beams, a pre-collision system with pedestrian braking, and the new "Proactive Driving Assist" system that will automatically slow the vehicle for curves and brake or steer to avoid pedestrians. Because it's 2023, Toyota is also offering a large infotainment screen. In this case, it's a 12.3-inch unit that includes Google point-of-interest data, "Hey Toyota" voice assistant functions, Wifi hotspot capability, and onboard music streaming.
Toyota says that pricing and release date information will be shared later this year.
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