The 2021 Toyota Prius Prime Adds Safety and Tech While Continuing to Combine the Best of Both Worlds

Take the best elements of the world’s best-selling hybrid, mix in the silent, no-gas EV mode when charged, top it off with Toyota value and durability and you have the Prius Prime. A plug-in-hybrid, the Prius Prime has an astounding 640-mile driving range.

New for 2021, the Prius Prime upgrades from Toyota Safety Sense-P to Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 for 2021. This advanced suite of driver-assist technologies is highlighted by automatic emergency braking and includes:

• Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian and Bicyclist Detection
• Full-Speed Range Dynamic Radar Cruise Control
• Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist
• Automatic High Beam
• Lane Tracing Assist
• Road Sign Assist
• In addition, the Prius Prime LE model adds Android Auto compatibility for 2021.

Essentially, the Prius Prime takes everything people love about the world’s best-selling hybrid vehicle and adds an estimated 25 miles of EV driving range (when fully charged). That’s sufficient to handle daily commuting distances for many U.S. drivers.

The fuel efficiency numbers are impressive. In hybrid mode, the Prius Prime LE stands out with an estimated 55 city/53 highway/54 combined MPG. Prius Prime has an estimated 133 MPGe when fully charged. And, with an estimated 640-mile total driving range, the Prius Prime keeps on going and going long after even the longest-range current EVs must stop to be recharged.

Best of Both Worlds in One Car

In EV Auto Mode, the Prius Prime will favor the electric capability as much as possible. But in situations where it is more efficient to run the gasoline engine – climbing steep inclines, for example – the extremely efficient gas engine will engage.

Even with its super-high fuel efficiency estimates, the Prius Prime drives with unexpected verve in EV mode, including the ability to reach up to 84 mph on battery power alone (up to an estimated 25 miles). In addition, exclusive suspension tuning gives the Prius Prime an especially poised stance through curves.

Best of all, when the battery reaches a certain reduced state of charge in EV mode, the Prius Prime automatically and seamlessly switches to hybrid mode. Then, like other Prius models, it combines the output of the gasoline engine and electric motor through a planetary-type continuously variable transmission.

Notably, Prius Prime drivers do not need to invest in special, expensive equipment for home charging. Using the supplied cable, Prius Prime plugs into a standard household outlet. (Toyota recommends using a dedicated GFI 15A outlet.) Fully recharging the battery using a standard 120v outlet takes less than five-and-a-half hours. A 240v source can reduce that time to approximately two hours.

As a plug-in hybrid, Prius Prime’s key advantage over an EV is that it does not need to be recharged to be driven. If you forget to plug it in, for example, and you have gas in the tank, the Prius Prime will simply function in hybrid mode like any other Prius.

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Tags: 2021, Prime, prius, toyota
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