After making its debut in November last year, the 2023 Toyota Prius has gone on sale in Japan. Only the hybrid variant is available for now, with the plug-in hybrid version expected to be available in March 2023. There are eight different variants on sale in Japan – four trim levels which are 1.8X, 1.8U, 2.0G and 2.0Z that have both front wheel drive and all-wheel drive variants each, making a total of eight. Toyota expects to sell 4,300 units of the Prius a month.
The cheapest 1.8X 2WD is priced at
2,750,000 yen. The
most expensive 2.0Z E-Four goes for 3,920,000 yen. Interestingly
the 1.8U 2WD and E-Four variants (which sit between the 1.8X and the 2.0G)
cannot be purchased and will only be exclusively offered for subscription
through the Kinto Unlimited car subscription service. Other than the exclusive
1.8U, the 2.0G and 2.0Z is also available on Kinto.
The 1.8 liter model is the most fuel
efficient, with mileage claims of up to 32.6 km/L. As a comparison, the 2.0
liter model is rated at 28.6 km/L, but its plus point is a more powerful system
output of 196 PS. Both the 1.8 and 2.0 Prius use a 4.08 Ah battery pack. Toyota
also says the Prius has a few Toyota-first additions to the Toyota Safety Sense
system. First there’s rear vehicle proximity notification, which uses the blind
spot monitor’s rear millimeter wave radar to detect vehicles in the rear and alert
the driver if one is approaching.
If a vehicle approaching from the rear is
too close, this system offers the driver suggestions for dealing with the
issue, including contacting the police or the HELPNET emergency call service.
If the Prius is equipped with the factory dashcam option, it will automatically
record the event with the video data stored in a dedicated area that makes it
difficult to record over.
Finally there’s secondary collision brake,
which using the Blind Spot Monitor’s rear millimeter-wave radar, detects
vehicles in the rear and, if it determines a very high possibility of a
collision while the vehicle is stopped, it applies the brakes to reduce speed
if a rear collision occurs.
