2023 Toyota Prius - Race Car Builder Daily's a Prius! Here's Why
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Well we can call it, hell has officially frozen over because Toyota released a Prius that’s actually cool, and one gearhead and made it even better. I hate to say it, but I might have to buy a Prius now.
This is the 2023 Toyota Prius owned by Stuart Leiby. And before you go saying he’s a tree-hugging hippie with just a touch of taste, you should know Stuart builds race cars for a living.
Perfect Daily Driver?
That’s right, a guy who spends his days turning pedestrian V10 Audi R8s and Lamborghini Gallardos into 2-3,000 hp twin turbo monsters, daily’s a Prius.
If building race cars wasn’t enough to give it street cred, he slapped some Rotiforms on it and thought “you know, this could be even better” and started creating carbon fiber components for it.
You heard right, carbon fiber. On a Prius. That’s some weight savings, and obviously adds 10 HP. paying attention now? Good.
Driving Experience
Now let’s see how it feels behind the wheel.
Here’s the thing, yes, the Prius is a hybrid, and historically has been boring, but some of your favorite super and hyper cars are hybrids too.
Combine that with Toyotas new designs for this latest model, and you’ve got the underpinnings for a car that has turned the car communities collective head.
I have driven some hybrids that have taken an otherwise mild mannered car and made it perform surprisingly well off the line, but the last Prius I drove left me well and truly disappointed.
To be honest, I didn’t expect much, but it was still just meh.
This though is surprising.
Even starting with lower expectations, a couple things stand out with this car.
Starting with the performance. Now this car isn’t winning many races, but with up to 196 horsepower, it has similar horsepower to a Ferrari! Well, a Ferrari 308 GTB from the 70’s.
But compare that to the pitiful 121 horsepower of the last gen, and you’re looking at about a 60% increase in power.
This new Prius accelerates from 0 to 60 mph in around 7 seconds. That's considerably quicker than the 10.7 seconds of the last gen.
And that combination of the naturally aspirated inline 4 motor plus the hybrid drivetrain, you can expect a up to about 57mpg combined! I’d say that’s one hell of a trade-off.
Rated Highly
I can see why Car and Driver rated it at a 8.5/10 and Motortrend rated it a 9.1/10.
Ever since I first saw one of these new Priuses on the road and craned my neck to try to figure out what I saw, I’ve been curious whether they’d drive as good as they look. I’m happy to say I’m pleasantly surprised.
Take Stuart’s path, and you’ve got yourself a fuel-efficient car that I’d argue most enthusiasts would be happy to drive. It may not burn rubber like an R35 would, but at least if we’re buying a utilitarian car, why shouldn’t it look good too.
So let me know in the comments, what do you think of the new Prius? What color would you buy yours in.