Toyota Prius News
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The Toyota Prius Prime is a far better car than its plug-in hybrid predecessor, and it seems likely to become one of the higher-volume plug-in electric cars on the U.S. market. If, that is, Toyota's own dealers prove willing to sell it—or even find out that it exists. After three separate complaints by readers in different areas of the U.S., we dug into how Toyota has communicated with its dealers on the 2017 Prius Prime. DON'T MISS: 2017 Toyota Prius Prime: gas mileage, electric range review The company has now told us numerous times that the Prius Prime will be available...
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2017 Toyota Prius Prime: gas mileage, electric range review
The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime turned out to be a better plug-in hybrid than we had expected when we drove it around sunny Ojai, California, on the press launch in October. It's a viable competitor to the second-generation Chevrolet Volt plug-in hybrid, though the Volt has an EPA-rated 53 miles of...
John Voelcker -
Toyota battery R&D will allow all-electric car in 'a few years,' likely 2020
The signals are now unmistakable: Toyota will offer a battery-electric car for sale in 2020. After a decade of condemning electric cars as suitable only for the smallest vehicles in around-town use, the world's largest car company is changing its tune. Yet another news story out of Japan has...
John Voelcker -
2017 Toyota Prius Prime vs 2017 Chevrolet Volt: plug-in hybrid video test
They're two high-volume plug-in hybrids, but they take different approaches to energy efficiency. The Toyota Prius Prime, new for 2017, is the plug-in version of the world's best-known, and best-selling, hybrid car. The 2017 Chevy Volt was new last year, a greatly improved version of the pioneering...
John Voelcker -
Past Green Car Reports Best Car To Buy winners: the recap
On Monday, Green Car Reports will name its 2017 Best Car To Buy. It will be the seventh time we've given the award, and it's worth looking back to see how far green cars have progressed in those seven years. We were lucky to start the award in 2011, the year two remarkable cars arrived on global...
John Voelcker -
2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid: video road test
The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime is a new plug-in version of the fourth-generation Prius hybrid launched last year. It succeeds the previous Prius Plug-In Hybrid, but it's a much better—and considerably more electric—vehicle than that discontinued model. We've driven the new Prius Prime in...
John Voelcker -
Toyota is one of the world's three largest carmakers, along with General Motors and Volkswagen Group. Having placed its bets for the future of zero-emission transport on hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles, it's by far the most resistant of the three to the notion of battery-electric cars. But a recent news story might possibly indicate a crack in the company's intransigence. DON'T MISS: 2017 Toyota Prius Prime: first drive of new plug-in hybrid It hinted that Toyota may now plan to offer an electric car beyond the low-range "city car" ghetto it's traditionally assigned to battery-only vehicles. An...
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Green Car Reports 2017 Best Car To Buy nominee: Toyota Prius Prime
The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime is a far, far better plug-in hybrid than its predecessor. It defaults to electric-only operation, it has 25 miles of EPA-rated electric range, and in electric operation, it is by far the most energy-efficient vehicle you can buy this year in the U.S. And when it reverts...
John Voelcker -
Which plug-in electric car will sell best next year? Poll results
Sales of plug-in electric cars were essentially flat in the U.S. last year compared to 2014, and this year isn't necessarily going to be much better. Part of that is due to product cadence: the Nissan Leaf and Tesla Model S, two of the top-selling cars in previous years, are now relatively old...
John Voelcker -
2016-17 Toyota Prius hybrids recalled for emergency-brake issue
Certain Toyota Prius models are being recalled because of potentially-faulty emergency brakes.
Stephen Edelstein -
At 133 MPGe, Toyota Prius Prime wallops BMW i3 on energy efficiency
Move over, BMW: there's a new efficiency champion in town this year—and you'll have to give back that laurel wreath you've worn since 2014. Last week, final EPA fuel-efficiency results were released for the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid. When running in all-electric mode, that car is...
John Voelcker -
Toyota Prius design, popular in Japan, not a hit in U.S.
The Toyota Prius' design may be a disadvantage in the U.S., analysts say.
Stephen Edelstein -
Next year should be an interesting one for sales of plug-in electric cars, with the 2017 Chevrolet Bolt EV rolling out to selected dealers in all 50 states, Chevy says. The 2017 BMW i3 gets 50 percent more range, and the Ford Focus Electric and Volkswagen e-Golf are expected to get range upgrades as well. But there's another car that could have a big impact on sales as well: the 2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid. DON'T MISS: 2017 Toyota Prius Prime: first drive of new plug-in hybrid Its predecessor, the 2012-2015 Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid, wasn't much liked by electric-car fans for its...
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One of these 3 cars will be Green Car Reports' Best Car To Buy 2017
The past year has been one of anticipation among green-car advocates, who've spent many months waiting for certain vehicles to emerge into production. At the start of the year, it was the Tesla Model X luxury electric utility vehicle, built in very low numbers for several months at the end of 2015...
John Voelcker -
2017 Toyota Prius Prime: first drive of new plug-in hybrid
The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime is a considerably better car than a few electric-car fans had feared. In fact, with an EPA-rated range of 25 miles (more than projected) and energy efficiency so high—at 133 MPGe—that it matches the BMW i3 with all its whizzy advanced technology, it’s a...
John Voelcker -
Toyota now sells almost 1.5 million hybrids a year
Toyota is on track to sell 1.4 million hybrids this year, new analysis says.
Stephen Edelstein -
Suit says '13-mile' range for Toyota Prius Plug-In Hybrid was deceptive
A lawsuit filed in Michigan claims Toyota did not properly represent the Prius Plug-In Hybrid's limitations.
Stephen Edelstein -
Is Toyota Prius hybrid simply passe now that plug-in cars are here?
The Toyota Prius faces increased competition from plug-in electric cars.
Stephen Edelstein -
Toyota is the king of electrified powertrains. With more than nine million hybrid vehicles sold worldwide at this point, and well over 5.5 million of those wearing a Prius badge, no other automaker comes close. Yet somehow that expertise and market domination hasn’t resulted in any higher-volume electric car; at present, Toyota doesn’t have a single pure EV in its stable. Although finally, later this year, it will have a car that many owners will be plugging in every day, and truly using as an EV, in all 50 states: the Prius Prime, a special plug-in version of the Prius that this...
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Toyota Prius, Plug-In, Lexus CT200h recalled for airbag issues, not Takata-related
Certain Toyota and Lexus hybrids are being recalled for airbag issues that are not Takata-related.
Stephen Edelstein -
Six electric cars that are less efficient than a Toyota Prius
These six plug-in hybrids are less efficient than the 2016 Toyota Prius Eco.
Stephen Edelstein -
Replacing my old Toyota Prius hybrid: what are my options?
The opening photo tells the story: when Jen Smith needed to replace her faithful 2006 Toyota Prius, she ended up buying the new fourth-generation Prius that debuted this year. But before making this decision, she reached out to Green Car Reports to ask about her options. This article has been...
John Voelcker -
Nissan Leaf electric vs Toyota Prius hybrid: which is lower on cost, emissions?
Sometimes, when tucking in for the evening, you can't help but wonder: did I really make the right choice? Could I have done better? Even now, could I still do better? This is the question I ask myself, each evening, when I park my 2015 Nissan Leaf in the garage next to my wife’s 2006 Toyota...
John Briggs -
Toyota hybrid battery replacement cost guide (2016 update)
"Sure, but what do the batteries cost to replace?" is a question frequently posed to hybrid and electric vehicle owners. It's true that batteries aren't cheap, and at some point down the line they'll have expended their useful life and require replacement. But what do these packs actually cost, if...
John Voelcker