Is The Toyota Prius Cool Now? New 5th Gen Hybrid Offers 220HP, Sleek New Shape, Remote Control

The new Prius is lean, low and rides on new 19-inch wheels.

This story has been updated with new photos, specifications and feature information.

I love the fact that Toyota Prius owners have a sense of humor about their cars. Around Portland, many sport self-deprecating bumper stickers as they roll around the city, my favorite being "Cool Prius! [said] Nobody." In this greenest of American cities, where many people bike to work rather than drive, it seems about every fifth car you see is a Prius - or a hybrid or an EV begat by Toyota's iconic electrified people mover, which debuted in Japan in 1997 and first came to the U.S. in 2001, looking much like any other Japanese sedan. It wasn't until the third generation debuted in 2009 that the Prius got the pointy nose, raked aero shape and oddly transparent tail that easily identified it at a distance. Now, it may be a bit tougher to tell who's gone green in a Prius, both visually and in terms of velocity.

The see-through rear hatch returns but the overall design is far sleeker and sexier. Can a Prius be ... [+] sexy? Maybe so!

On November 16th, Toyota took the wraps off the car's fifth generation (photo above, reveal video at end of story), and Toyota's Senior General Manager for Design, Simon Humphries, said there was some consternation between Toyota president Akio Toyoda and Humphries’ design division around which direction the evolution of the car should take. Humphries said Toyoda, great grandson of the car maker's founder, considered steering the Prius more towards becoming a fairly passionless "commodity" car, such as a dedicated taxi model, and even licensing it out to other carmakers, with the idea that more hybrids everywhere by whatever means it takes means less emissions from burning fossil fuels, a major focus of Toyota's stated "Beyond Zero" zero-emissions corporate goals.

No more pointy 'pig nose' for the Prius, the new look is much more Lambo. Sorry, no scissor doors.

Humphries countered that his team wanted to take the Prius more towards that place of passion (or "love"), and when he presented Toyoda with the new look as seen here, the big boss called it "cool" and signed off on it. So it would appear we will get a helping of each preference, as the Prius will likely continue to be a favorite of taxi and rideshare drivers thanks to its nearly 50mpg on average. Still, your future rideshare or taxi just got a lot better looking - and noteably quicker.

New 2-liter gas engine teams with an integrated electric motor to pump up top-spec Prius models to ... [+] 220 horsepower. Electric-only range is up 50%.

That doesn't mean the new Prius Prime is going to be taking on Teslas in stoplight races, but the new-for-2023 model does indeed shed its now commonplace commodity car skin to some degree, with a sleek new look that sharpens up the front end, sportifies the overall look but still retains some Prius hallmarks, including that transparent rear hatch section and overall hyperaero-wedge hatchback form factor - at least in the iteration shown in Japan on Tuesday. New 19-inch wheels leave behind the old tiny donuts and allow for more modern rubber, and Toyota says that despite the bigger wheels, the new car sits two inches lower, is one inch wider and one inch longer. That all helps update the look to be sure.

Toyota's team has done a good job of sharpening the car's style while retaining interior room and ... [+] some callbacks to the older models.

It also gets a newly pumped-up hybrid power plant with a maximum of 220 combined gas and electric horsepower for the plug-in hybrid ("PHEV") Prius Prime XSE versions. Gen 4 cars made do with about 120 HP at the most from the 1.8-liter motor. The new 2.0-liter inline four now makes 193 ponies in base form, and the PHEV version should tick off 60 miles an hour in 6.7 seconds with the pedal on the floor, according to Toyota. Not too shabby - for a Prius. Or, honestly, for any economy car. But quick torque-driven acceleration is an advantage an electric powertrain - even a hybrid one - imparts, as well all now know. Top speed was not disclosed, but we do know that they can (or could) at least top the ton, as Al Gore's son found out in a Gen 2 version. On Prius base SE models, the old (but highly reliable) 1.8-liter motor will still be offered, according to Toyota. An all-wheel drive "E-Four" E-AWD version will also return for better traction in slick conditions and to tighten up the handling a bit.

Wait... is that cool Prius? Slim LEDs, 19-inch wheels and the sloping carriage may have some people ... [+] doing a double take.

Of note, Toyota Japan says the new Prius will also offer some Tesla and Volvo-level features around parking via its Advanced Park feature, including automated parking spot entry and exit, and "with operation outside the car via a dedicated smartphone app, the car can also enter and exit parking spaces remotely." Another feature is Traffic Jam Assist, which is basically an updated Advanced Drive system slow-speed adaptive cruise control mode (keep those eyes on the road, folks). There's also 4G connectivity and an 8-speaker JBL Premium audio option.

Another interesting feature is A/C power from the Prius as standard, including two outlets located inside the car the can push 1,500 Watts apiece. The car comes with a clever window spacer to allow an A/C cord to run through the window while keeping the car locked and keeping out rain and such. Power can come from the main battery and when that runs down, the gas engine will work as a generator.

Need some AC juice? Plug into the Prius' two outlets and then run the cord through this special ... [+] window spacer.

It falls a bit short of a true Vehicle-to-Home (V2H) system like that found on the Ford F-150 Lighting (story above) and other vehicles, but it's better than nothing. Pro Tip for Toyota: Put an outlet or two on the outside of the Prius and put power management in the Prius app. And eventually, just offer a full-on V2H power system with a reverse-power capable home charger.

Where is the Prius BEV??

I have decried Toyota's failure to make the Prius a pure electric vehicle (or Battery Electric Vehicle - BEV- in industry parlance, which Humphries calls a "Bev" in the video), and he stuck to his guns regarding Toyota keeping the Prius a gas-electric hybrid, saying pure EVs (or "Bevs") are "not always the best option for everyone," and basically, they want to sell hybrids since the adoption rate is higher (and they are, for now, easier to live with). So far that seems to be working out as Humphries said the company has sold 23 million Prii over the last two decades, but he also recognized the reality of the rising popularity of all-electric cars by noting that the newest PHEV version of the Prius will go 50% farther on electricity alone than the previous model, which went 25 miles on electrons alone. That means the new car should go close to 40 miles on electricity, which Humphries says practically makes it an full-fledged EV. Well....

Interior gets an update including a bit more room for five, which should be a bit less tight now.

I can see how he can say that since most Americans drive less than 40 miles a day on average (that figure is lower in most other countries), allowing them to top off the PHEV Prius Prime at home and bypass gas stations for the most part, but it hardly hold up against a new pure EV, even a short-range model like the Nissan Leaf. Still, points for more EV range, and as he noted, the hybrid strategy means never having to deal with range anxiety. I get it.

A 12.3-inch central screen dominates the dash, and the Prius comes with internal and exterior ... [+] cameras that record like dashcams.

Inside the new Prius, the screen tech gets an update with a large, 12.3-inch horizonal-format center touchscreen and new digital gauge cluster behind the steering wheel. Poking about in photos, it appears a smart cruise control system is still in the mix, and new seat designs and other trim bits bring the Prius into the modern Big Center Screen age. Safety tech includes the Toyota Safety Sense package with the typical proximity warnings and auto-braking, plus the Teammate system will parallel park the car automatically. The new Prius also comes with internal and exterior cameras that record like dashcams to in-car storage and will then play back on the central screen or app, I assume.

The large transparent roof returns, and the solar panel option will now charge up the main battery ... [+] as well.

Outside the Prius, the new model gets a new solar panel that's cleanly integrated into the roof, and while it simply powered the air conditioning and other lower-powered accessories in the past, Toyota now says it will do that and push power into car's battery, supplying juice for over 1,200km (750 miles) per year of driving range under ideal (sunny most every day) conditions. Bravo.

Here is the full U.S. press release and website. Pricing will be announced in Q1.

What's your take on the "new" Prius and Prius Prime? I'd like to hear your opinion, leave a comment below the video.