Over the years, the Toyota Prius has received a lot of heat for its odd looks, poor performance, and to put it bluntly, its type of consumer. Even though the Prius has been around longer than some may think, it got its hype during the gas shortage of the early millennium and started to be known for its “eco”-friendly polar bear saving ideology. However, after being the butt end of a joke for the last two decades, irony would have it, the joke is now on us.

With electric cars being the latest fashion statement, Toyota needed to pull a trick from their sleeve if they wanted to keep the spirit of the Prius marching on. The designers at Toyota were given creative freedom to make the Prius far more desirable than it ever has been. Well, we think they managed to crack that code. The new Prius is longer, lower, wider, and overall, much sleeker. It can even come equipped with 19-inch wheels. But there is more to the design than just dimensions and wheels. The Prius looks like something from the future with its sharp striking LED daytime running lights and LED rear light bar that looks like Luke Skywalkers Lightsaber. They also did away with the split rear window. Dare we say it actually looks cool.

The thing is, this is still a Prius, and it carries one ultimate agenda, fuel economy. A Prius LE in front-wheel drive with 17-inch wheels claims an astonishing 57-mpgs whereas the XLE & Limited models put style over function, but only by a margin with a rated 52-mpg’s. That is also partially due to the aforementioned larger 19-inch wheels.

A lot more engineering thought went into the development as well, not only to make it more efficient, but also to give it better performance; or at least keep pace with the modern turbochargers of the world. With a new 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine paired to a more compact electric motor, the Prius goes from 121-combined horsepower to a staggering 194-combined horsepower machine. In return this makes it nearly 3.5-seconds quicker to 60-mph than its predecessor, now only taking 7.0-seconds.  

Furthermore, near the end of the previous generation Prius, Toyota implemented an optional all-wheel drive, it was primarily there to give the Prius a boost when accelerating from a stop. The same premise is applied here, a third electric motor is added to the rear wheels to be the extra source of confidence. It doesn’t necessarily make the Prius any quicker but is there primarily as a booster seat; that and it works like a torque vectoring system during slippery road conditions to provide better source of traction. Our example did not have the optional all-wheel drive, and it took us looking at the specification sheets to verify that was the case; that’s just how good the new Prius is.

Acceleration isn’t the only thing that was improved as handling has received a great deal of attention as well. There are larger struts in the front and a new multilink suspension in the rear that uses special dampers to firm up or loosen the system based on lateral forces in the corners. This gives the Prius better control and a lot less body lean and doesn’t feel like a wobbly drunken hot mess after brunching all day. It also uses better, wider tires that improves the overall ride quality with the whole car feeling far more planted to the asphalt.

While the Prius does handle with far greater improvement, there is still a sense of disconnect from the steering with overactive responsiveness to inputs and an overall lack of connectivity. At least with the braking, that was improved with better feedback and application now that it uses a hydraulic pump system. This keeps the brake pedal feeling firm and consistent as it adjusts between regenerative and friction braking.

On the interior, the swooping cool design of the Prius greatly affects headroom with a lower roof line. The design more so impacts rear occupants as passengers over 5-feet 10-inches started to have their heads touch to the roof liner. During our loan we had an off-site meeting where we took a few passengers, one of these backseat occupants was not pleased by this slopped roof, that they found it annoyingly uncomfortable and ended up sourcing another ride back to the office – but we also think they were being overdramatic.  At least with the added length between the wheelbase, it does accommodate for more front and rear leg room.

Keeping to the odd formality of the instrument cluster, it is at least no longer in the center of the dashboard and more in line of the driver. The instrument cluster is still an oddity as it is just a screen, but it does use an anti-glare film, so you don’t get any anomalous reflections from the sun. It also is perfectly in line with the steering wheel that even with its wheel in its highest position, doesn’t block the physical view.

Despite having a very elongated design in the dash, the interior of the Prius is very modern and sleek. The HVAC controls are in a single line and in contrast to the silver accents. An entry level Prius LE’s starting at $27,450 use an 8.0-inch touchscreen infotainment display whereas the 12.3-inch is optional on the XLE and standard on the Limited, as seen here. It features wireless smartphone connectivity and on our Limited model, starting at $34,465 features a full 360-degree view camera with an interactive 3D display, JBL audio system, ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, a power lift tailgate, and a fixed glass roof. And as part of the new Toyota safety hardware, the Prius uses a blue ambient light across the dash not for style, but rather it pulsates whenever a vehicle in front of you has proceeded forward should you have been distracted.

For as impressed as we were for the 52-MPG rating from the EPA, the hard reality is, that is going to be a hard figure to achieve. It would take someone driving constantly in ECO mode and driving their Prius the old fashion way, the way we used to make fun of Prius drivers. Even still, our goal was to achieve the EPA rating and unfortunately, even with our sensible driving and city traffic, we managed to achieve 45.6-mpg during our week. Granted, we also had a small road trip that included mountain driving that put a damper on our mpg.

All things considered; the Prius is no longer something to be embarrassed about but instead something to enjoy while being economical.  It’s more than just a name, it’s a purpose.