If we asked you about the first hybrid car that comes to mind, with a high probability you would choose the Toyota Prius. The Japanese sedan is the hybrid par excellence, a vehicle that marked a before and after in the automobile market, and with 25 years behind it, little is said!
During this quarter of a century, Toyota has increasingly popularized electric hybrid propulsion technology: with the Prius, over four generations, but also with a long list of models that covers practically the entire range. Although the Japanese firm has been working more conscientiously in recent years on new technology for one hundred percent electric vehicles, it has not forgotten hybrids either.
And it proves it – or rather, it will prove it – with the imminent arrival of the fifth generation of the Toyota Prius. The Japanese hybrid sedan is expected to be introduced to the world before the end of autumn; that is, before the end of this year 2022. Its production would start in December and the first units would hit the roads by the spring of 2023.
Toyota Prius 5: What We Know So Far
That is the roadmap that Toyota has for the coming months, although many official details of its new Prius remain to be confirmed. For now, we have to settle for what we’ve seen online: the first photo of the Prius 5 on the open road in Japan. Of course, to the top of camouflage and with a photo that leaves a lot to be desired, with low quality and out of focus.
With the information that is already known, the rumors that circulate on the Internet, and this first photo, we can already get an idea of what the new generation Toyota Prius will be like. A model that intends to relaunch sales and that in its fourth installment has seen its claims reduced: blamed in part on a design that has not finished hooking, but also because of the enormous competition from hybrid models on the market. Without forgetting either, of course, the internal competition at Toyota with this same technology.
What we can tell you is that the Toyota Prius 5 will make an important evolutionary leap in terms of style. More dynamic, modern lines are expected, even with sportier details, where aerodynamics also plays a fundamental role. The glazed surfaces on the side will be reduced compared to the current generation, which has already disappeared, by the way, from the catalog of models available in the Japanese market.
The Toyota Prius should release a new aesthetic DNA, with new sets of lights, bumpers, and wheels, as we said, with a more dynamic appearance. Based on the TNGA modular platform, the new Prius will also debut in the mechanical section, although nothing is confirmed yet. Of course, everything indicates that there will be joint development and at the same time the self-recharging hybrid versions and the plug-in hybrids. And watch out, because the Prius 5 could have, not too late, a revolutionary version powered by hydrogen (with modified gasoline engines).
This is how the most immediate future of Toyota is painted. Apart from the arrival of new electric vehicles on the eTNGA modular platform, with the bZ4X already a reality as a starting point, becoming a battery manufacturer in Japan and the United States and promoting a renewable diesel fuel for Hilux and Land Cruiser (called HVO 100), it is clear that conventional (and plug-in) hybrid technology still has a lot to say in the Toyota range.
