The folks at Toyota surely don't believe in the age old adage - If it ain't broke, don't fix it. Or else, they wouldn't have come up with an even better Prius that excels over its predecessor by an even wider margin.
Sure its pure electric vehicles that might be all the rage at the moment and there are quite a handful of them either in the making or are already ruling the streets. However, all EVs have one thing in common - range anxiety. And it is here that a hybrid fits in and the Prius Prime is a prime example of that.
Powertrain:
It's the same 1.8-liter Atkinson cycle four-cylinder gasoline engine combined with an electric motor providing motive power. However, it is a bigger 8.8 kWh battery that has included in the scheme of things this time with both making for a combined power rating of 121 hp.
Range, fuel efficiency:
The new Prius Prime makes for some impressive figures what with it being capable of 640 miles once fully tanked up and battery fully charged. Fuel economy stands at 54 mpg combined along with an MPGe rating of 124.
Pure electric range has gone up to 25 miles though that's still far short of the Volt's 53 miles, claimed AutoBlog. Charging time stands at around 2 hours from a 240V source while the 0 - 60 mph comes up in 10.5 seconds. That would seem like ages when pure EVs are chasing sports car (or the other way round) though the Prius Prime is of a completely different genre altogether.
Interiors:
Its richly appointed interiors that one is treated with in the new Prime, which includes such niceties as a 11.6-inch infotainment screen, head-up display, JBL 10-speaker audio system, remote A/C that allows for heating or cooling the cabin remotely, and intelligent parking assist, Digital Trend reported.
Price:
And it here that Toyota has packed a few surprises. For the Prius range starts at $24,685 while the new Prius Prime has indeed been priced quite competitively at $27,100 before a $4,500 federal tax credit. Compare those to the $33,220 that the Volt costs.
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