2020 Toyota Prius Prime Review
Price Estimate: $26,590





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2020 Toyota Prius Prime Review
by the Edmunds Experts
What's new
- Adds fifth passenger seat
- Apple CarPlay, Amazon Alexa and satellite radio now standard
- Two USB ports added for rear-seat passengers
- Part of the fourth Prius generation introduced for 2016
Cost to Drive
Monthly estimates based on costs in North Dakota
$63/mo for Prius Prime LE
Prius Prime LE
vs
$163/mo
Avg. Midsize Car
Reliability Ratings by RepairPal
5 out of 5 stars5/5Excellent
#1 out of 28 among Midsize Cars
RepairPal Reliability Ratings are based on the actual cost, frequency, and severity of unscheduled repairs and maintenance on make/model data for select 2008-2022 vehicles. The reliability of a specific vehicle may vary depending on its maintenance and driving history, model year, trim, and features.
Cost
$356/yr
vs. $415/yr
for Average Midsize Car
for Average Midsize Car
Frequency
0.28x/yr
vs. 0.87x/yr
for Average Midsize Car
for Average Midsize Car
Severity
4.4%
vs. 10.2%
for Average Midsize Car
for Average Midsize Car
powered by RepairPal
Toyota Prius Prime Owner Reviews
Most Helpful Owner Reviews
Trending topics
Snazzy looking! Some pluses and some minuses
4 out of 5 starsBill Albany, NY, 12/15/2019
2020 Toyota Prius Prime LE 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl gas/electric plug-in hybrid CVT)
Great looking car. Ran wonderfully in EV mode when I left the dealer. Range was about 30 miles. Pretty good. I have yet to get the EV mode fully charged since then. 3 weeks in my MPG is about 48.5 mpg. Looking for Santa to buy me a Level 2 110 charger. Should be able to charge the car overnight every night.
For Toyota engineers, some recommendations: The LE info display is less … distracting than on the other models, but c'mon -- it's positioned too far below the windshield and to far from the driver for safe driving. Real buttons are also safer than touch screens, too. I'm very concerned. Would like to see that ergonomically safety engineered so that it takes less attention away from the business of driving! Also, the location of other buttons and utilities in the interior are awkward to find when driving, and worse at night. The USB location is really dumb and hard to find in daylight, even harder at night!
Blind spot visibility is better than on the RAV-4 but still not great, and the side mirrors must double duty to compensate for the small range of view out the rear windshield.
Also, NO REAR WINDSHIELD WIPER? In a snow storm last week, the lack of a rear wiper was a bother, and the rear window heater couldn't melt the snow -- it kept shutting off every 4 minutes, too! This is the first Toyota I've had in 20 years without a rear wiper! WTx?
Under gas, the gearing seems inconsistent. Not sure I've figured out why. I'll pay more attention and see if the service folks can fix something.
Finally, the voice command system is slightly better than the system on the 2017 RAV-4s, but very flawed compared to what I had on my 2014 Prius. Is Toyota's voice recognition technology falling behind what it was six years ago? How could that be?
Another drawback is the Prime's shrunken cargo capacity. I understand the room needed for the EV battery, and accept the compromise. But it does limit the utility of the vehicle. If the model had a sun roof, however, then at least I could feel a bit less claustrophobic, and maybe even bring back taller items from my landscape supply store occasionally.
Finally, the car swings wide when parking! Oy! Have some sort of warning when the fenders are getting near an obstruction. I was very surprised at the space needed to safely parallel park or to pull out of head-in parking spaces when there were other cars or obstructions alongside. Check out the Volvo and Nissan surround vision and alert system. If Nissan can have it, why not Toyota?
Recommendations: For future models --engineer the interior so knobs and switches and displays are located closer to the driver and in safer, less distracting locations. Also, add a rear wiper, a better read defroster, and better warning systems of what's at risk of damaging the car's side and front and rear fenders and of what's in the blind spots
Great Car for the Money
5 out of 5 starsGreat Car for the MOney, 12/07/2019
2020 Toyota Prius Prime Limited 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl gas/electric plug-in hybrid CVT)
WE mouth the Limited version in order to get the advanced screen and electronics. With the $2,000 credit and the $4,500 federal tax credit, the price of this car dropped to $25,000. The plug in works easily and gives a good 26 miles on electric only power. The range with the hybrid is wonderful. The interior is clean in design and comfortable. The screen takes a little getting use … to, but once you learn it, it's great. It may not be as exciting to drive as a Tesla, but for less half the price of a Model 3, you get a great and environmentally responsible vehicle. The only little niggle is that you can't adjust the heads up screen right or left, only up or down. Also, they should add auto park assist instead of just vehicle warning. A little better color selection would be nice, but we are happy with the Silver.
Highly recommended
5 out of 5 starsDave in Florida, 08/24/2020
2020 Toyota Prius Prime XLE 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl gas/electric plug-in hybrid CVT)
Bought this car because I wanted something that reduced my gasoline consumption substantially, but wasn't ready to go all-electric. Suits my setup very well. I charge overnight in the driveway on a regular plug (schedule easily with the in-car timer), then drive to and from my office, a total of 21 miles round trip. When the car first arrived, it would indicate 22 miles of electric … range. Now a few weeks later it's up to 28.5 miles. Running in electric mode is far quieter than in a normal car - you can hear the radio, the other cars going by and that's it. So far I've traveled 500 miles and used 1.3 gallons of gas. So the odometer says I'm averaging 390 mpg, something like that. With the federal income tax rebate of $4,500 it's the easiest decision ever to purchase this car, compared to a non-plug Prius or any other vehicle. The big screen GPS and infotainment system is fun and there are lots of ways to 'gameify' your commute. Trunk is a bit small due to extra space needed for larger battery, that's the only drawback I've found so far.
101 mpg over 12000 miles.
5 out of 5 starsSuperHerm, 12/08/2019
2020 Toyota Prius Prime Limited 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl gas/electric plug-in hybrid CVT)
The greatest hybrid ever built is even better for 2020. Don't bother with a Tesla. You can go to Niagara Falls, Massachusetts and Washington from New Jersey and you won't need a 2 to 3 hour break to charge (assuming others haven't beat you to the charger).
We have a limited number of reviews for the 2020 Toyota Prius Prime, so we've included reviews for other years of the Prius Prime since its last redesign.
2020 Prius Prime Highlights
LE
Base MSRP Excludes Destination Fee | $27,600 |
---|---|
EV Tax Credits & Rebates | $4,500 |
Engine Type | Plug-in hybrid |
EPA Electric Range | 25 miles |
Combined MPGe (Electric + Gas) | 133 MPGe |
Cost to Drive | $63/month |
Total Charging Time (240V) | 2.0 hours |
Seating | 5 seats |
Cargo Capacity All Seats In Place | 19.8 cu.ft. |
Drivetrain | front wheel drive |
Warranty | 3 years / 36,000 miles |
Safety
Our experts like the Prius Prime models:
- Toyota Safety Sense
- Bundles a variety of standard driver safety aids, including forward collision warning and mitigation.
- Safety Connect
- This subscription-based emergency assistance telematics system includes a variety of services.
- Blind-Spot Monitoring
- Alerts the driver if a car is in an adjacent lane when a turn signal is activated.
IIHS Rating
The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety uses extensive crash tests to determine car safety.
- Small Overlap Front Driver-Side TestGood
- Small Overlap Front Passenger-Side TestAcceptable
- Moderate Overlap Front Test – OriginalGood
- Moderate Overlap Front Test – UpdatedNot Tested
- Side Impact Test – OriginalGood
- Side Impact Test – UpdatedNot Tested
- Roof Strength TestGood
- Rear Crash Protection / Head RestraintGood
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