2021 Toyota Prius Prime Review

Name: 2021 Toyota Prius Prime Review
Brand: Toyota

Price Range: $23,998 - $29,998

Toyota Prius Prime Limited 4dr Hatchback Exterior Shown

+129

The Toyota Prius plug-in hybrid is comfortable and easy to drive, just like the regular Prius. And if you can regularly recharge the battery, it's easy to take advantage of the car's 25 miles of all-electric range. The Prime's larger battery reduces cargo capacity somewhat, and "fun!" is not an adjective in the car's vocabulary, but otherwise it's good where it matters.

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Price & Payment

16 cars

$25,355 avg. price

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Toyota Prius Prime model years

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2021 Toyota Prius Prime Review

by the Edmunds Experts

What's new

Enhanced capability of some advanced driver aids
Base LE model now includes Android Auto connectivity
Part of the fourth Prius generation introduced for 2016

Cost to Drive^{Cost to drive estimates for the 2021 Toyota Prius Prime LE 4dr Hatchback (1.8L 4cyl gas/electric plug-in hybrid CVT) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $2.74 per gallon for regular unleaded and $0.15 per kWh for electricity in Texas.}

Monthly estimates based on costs in Texas

$53/mo

$142/mo

Avg. Midsize Car

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Reliability Ratings by RepairPal

5/5Excellent

#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

^{The average total annual cost for unscheduled repairs and maintenance across all model years of the Toyota Prius Prime from 2008-2022.}

$356/yr

vs. $415/yr
for Average Midsize Car

Frequency

^{The average number of times this model is brought into the shop for unscheduled repairs and maintenance in a single year. RepairPal calculates this metric by tracking millions of unique vehicles over multiple years to determine an average number of visits per year (omitting small routine visits, e.g., oil changes).}

0.28x/yr

vs. 0.87x/yr
for Average Midsize Car

Severity

^{The probability that a repair will be a major issue, meaning the repair costs 3x the average annual repair cost for all models. This threshold will be higher for vehicles that have higher labor rates and parts costs (such as a premium brand).}

4.4%

vs. 10.2%
for Average Midsize Car

powered by RepairPal ^{Based on RepairPal reliability data as of 8/23/2023. Ratings are provided by RepairPal and Edmunds is not responsible for their accuracy.}

Toyota Prius Prime Reviews

Owner Reviews

4.3

41 reviews

5(63%)

4(22%)

3(3%)

2(5%)

1(7%)

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Most Helpful Owner Reviews

Snazzy looking! Some pluses and some minuses

Bill 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

Great 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 …

Highly recommended

Dave 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 …

101 mpg over 12000 miles.

SuperHerm, 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 2021 Toyota Prius Prime, so we've included reviews for other years of the Prius Prime since its last redesign.

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2021 Prius Prime Highlights

Trim:

Base MSRP Excludes Destination Fee	$28,200
EV Tax Credits & Rebates	$4,100 Based on income
Engine Type	Plug-in hybrid
EPA Electric Range	25 miles
Combined MPGe (Electric + Gas)	133 MPGe^{MPGe is the official metric that the EPA uses to measure the efficiency of alternative-fuel (including electric) vehicles. Just like regular MPG shows how far a car will travel on one gallon of gas, MPGe shows how far a vehicle will drive on 33.7kWh of electricity - the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline. Combined MPGe is the combined total of 45% city MPGe + 55% highway MPGe.}
Cost to Drive	$53/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

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Safety

Our experts like the Prius Prime models:

Toyota Safety Sense: Bundles a variety of standard driver safety aids, including forward collision mitigation.
Safety Connect: This subscription-based emergency assistance telematics system includes a variety of services.
Blind-Spot Monitor: Alerts the driver if a car is in an adjacent lane when a turn signal is activated.

NHTSA Overall Rating

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration offers independent analysis.

Frontal Barrier Crash Rating
Overall4 / 5
Driver4 / 5
Passenger5 / 5
Side Crash Rating
Overall5 / 5
Side Barrier Rating
Overall5 / 5
Driver5 / 5
Passenger5 / 5
Combined Side Barrier & Pole Ratings
Front Seat5 / 5
Back Seat5 / 5
Rollover
Rollover4 / 5
Dynamic Test ResultNo Tip
Risk Of Rollover10.7%

IIHS Rating

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety uses extensive crash tests to determine car safety.

Small Overlap Front Driver-Side Test
Good
Small Overlap Front Passenger-Side Test
Acceptable
Moderate Overlap Front Test – Original
Good
Moderate Overlap Front Test – Updated
Not Tested
Side Impact Test – Original
Good
Side Impact Test – Updated
Not Tested
Roof Strength Test
Good
Rear Crash Protection / Head Restraint
Good

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2021 Toyota Prius Prime Review

Price & Payment

2021 Toyota Prius Prime Review

What's new

Reliability Ratings by RepairPal

Cost

Frequency

Severity

Toyota Prius Prime Reviews

Owner Reviews

Most Helpful Owner Reviews

Trending topics

Snazzy looking! Some pluses and some minuses

Great Car for the Money

Highly recommended

101 mpg over 12000 miles.

2021 Prius Prime Highlights

Safety

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