2018 Toyota Prius Prime Review – A Phenomenal Hybrid that won’t Break the Bank

For $28k you’re getting a great value

2018 Toyota Prius Prime review
Bottom Line

The 2018 Toyota Prius Prime is fun to drive, comfortable, futuristic and extremely eco-friendly. Overall, it’s a phenomenal hybrid that won’t break the bank.

Driving
Value
Fuel economy
Tech features
Interior
Exterior
Pros
Smooth drive with excellent handling
Spacious, comfy interior
Futuristic interior design
Packed with tech
LARGE infotainment display
Phenomenal cruise control
Excellent MPG
Great value
Useful safety features
Cons
Bland exterior
Entune isn't intuitive
No Apple CarPlay (yet)
AC airflow struggles in the rear
4.5

Overview: 2018 Toyota Prius Prime
Hybrids have come a long way, and the 2018 Toyota Prius Prime speaks volumes to that effect.

For a cost of about $28k you’re getting an eco-friendly vehicle that doesn’t feel like you’re making much in the way of sacrifices in order to own a hybrid. So not only will you feel better about yourself for buying a car that is better for the environment, but your wallet will thank you too.

Fuel Economy
Even when you’re not using the vehicle in electric mode, the fuel economy is excellent. The combined fuel economy for the vehicle is 54 MPG. While driving in eco mode, we were able to drive over 400 miles on less than a full tank of gas. Toyota says that the actual cruising range is 594 miles. The Prius Prime’s pricing also manages to be significantly less than the competing Ford Fusion Energi and Chevrolet Volt – by about $6-7k.

Driving Experience
Driving the Prius Prime is a pleasure both on the highway and in urban environments. Passengers commented on what a smooth and quiet ride the car provides. Personally, I’m prone to easily getting car sick. But I never once felt motion sickness while riding in the passenger seat in the Prius Prime – even while actively using my phone.

The cruise control experience on the Prius Prime happens to be the best we’ve tested on any vehicle to date. As a matter of fact, it’s so good that it feels like it’s just a few short steps away from full on autonomous driving.

Interior
The futuristic interior of the Prius Prime looks and operates like the interior of a much more expensive vehicle. Toyota describes the Prius Prime’s interior as being “dramatic.” We’d describe the interior of the Toyota Prius Prime as being downright futuristic.

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The 2018 Toyota Prius Prime comes with a 11.6” HD touchscreen infotainment display

From its massive 11.6” HD touchscreen infotainment display, to its wireless charging pad for your phone, to its colorful dashboard with its customizable multi-information display, it feels like you’re practically stepping into a concept car. The car can also be configured with a color heads-up display which looks like something right out of Minority Report.

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The Prius Prime is available with a futuristic color heads-up display

Center Console Display
With all of that said, while we do love having the huge center console display, Toyota’s own Entune infotainment system itself is not very intuitive to use, so much so that it can become distracting for the driver to navigate while driving. Unfortunately, the 2018 model that we tested doesn’t offer Apple CarPlay, so if you’re an iOS user, it’s probably worth waiting for the 2019 model since it will be available with Apple CarPlay support.

Seating Capacity
The interior of the Toyota Prius Prime is surprisingly roomy and spacious. Even back seat passengers have room to spread out comfortably. In traditional hatchback style, the backseats can be conveniently folded down for extra storage.

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The interior of the Prius Prime is spacious and comfortable

There is a catch, however – only 4 passengers can fit into the car comfortably. An unremovable hand rest and cupholder located at the center of the back row makes it pretty much impossible to fit a 5th passenger into the vehicle.

Bottom Line

The 2018 Toyota Prius Prime isn’t super attractive when it comes to its exterior, and while it’s extremely tech’ed out, it’s lacking Apple CarPlay support. We also found that the AC often struggled to adequately cool passengers in the back seat.

Despite those few gripes, if we had to sum up the 2018 Toyota Prius Prime in just a couple of words, we’d describe it as fun to drive, comfortable, futuristic and extremely eco-friendly. Overall, it’s a phenomenal hybrid that won’t break the bank. We highly recommend the 2018 Toyota 2018 Toyota Prius Prime, especially at its very reasonable price point of around $28,000.

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