Sarah reviews 2025 nightshade edition, whatever that is, I just like all the data she gives 23049PCD8G ?
The author regrets the Prius Limited HEV purchase over greenhouse-heat-effect and pothole-damaged-skinny-tire issues and trades it in for a Camry HEV. The Gen 5 Prius is not for everyone, and if you get one, it sounds like you should avoid higher trims with glass roofs and/or large-diameter tires. I traded 60 mpg in my Prius for a 2025 Camry Hybrid after 2,500 miles, a heat wave and blown tire made me regret my purchase | Torque News
Okay, here’s Edmunds with lots of credit, but no real long-term experience in anything. Here are my thoughts: In May, 2025, I purchased a 2023 Prius Prime with 22,000 miles on it. I purchased it from a Nissan dealership that was having trouble getting it sold (understandable, because Nissan dealers don’t really do hybrids). My previous car? A 2005 Prius. So I can compare apples to apples here. The 2005 has an issue with the A pillars, primarily the left one. You can miss oncoming traffic and you have to train yourself to look around it, moving your head to ensure that you’re not going to run into anything. This is the same in the 2023 redesigned Prius. What I noted in the 2023, right away, is that there is less glass. Well, yes, the drag coefficient is better in the newer Prius. But, as a driver, you need to work a bit to maintain situational awareness. The 2005 did not have a backup camera. Toyota started putting them in standard in 2006 models. Of course, the 2023 Prius has a backup camera and a whole lot of driver assistance for hazards. Rather than the split-rear window of the earlier Prius, the 2023 has a smaller rear window. Again, you have to work to achieve situational awareness with the newer car. The various electronic assistance in the car are useful, but the onus is definitely on the driver to get and maintain situational awareness. I have driven the 2023 about 1,500 miles, so far. I plug it in every time I return home. And, so far, I have used one quarter of one tank of gasoline; the longest drive I took was from the dealership to my home. With my 2005 Prius, the car would report gas mileage for the entire tank (so far). I don’t seem to have that kind of a report from the 2023. Perhaps that’s not salient, as I’m mostly using the extended battery. Seats are comfortable. The ride is pleasant. I have no complaints about bumps in the road but I do have concerns about clearance; I do not want to scrape the bottom of the car, as that helps with aerodynamics and it seems to sit a little lower to the ground than the 2005. The 2023 has a larger turning radius than the earlier model. Nonetheless, it does parallel park easily. It took me a fairly long time to get the car to connect to my Apple iPhone after downloading and registering the Toyota app. Even after I registered it, for about two weeks, Apple CarPlay did not appear. Now, after that, the phone syncs easily with the car and I get the CarPlay logo. I do not have the top trim model, I am missing ventilated seats and the surround camera. I would not have been interested in the solar roof—that just seems silly in Southern New England. I tend to park the car in the garage and plug it in. I will not buy the fast-charging system, as getting that kind of electricity to my garage would be prohibitively expensive. I have heated seats and a heated steering wheel. I have the smaller “infotainment” panel. The car is a little harder to get into than was the 2005 (because of the redesign). I stand about 6’4” (1.93 meters), so there is a little more head-ducking. But the car looks like a sports car. Lots of reviewers have put the car into HEV mode to test acceleration. In full EV mode, I find the torque in the electric motor to be plenty, accelerating the car to speed quite quickly. There is no issue merging with traffic at highway speed, even with a short on-ramp. And this is in EV-only mode. I was at 230,000 miles on my 2005 and I could have kept it for longer. Mileage was down to 40 MPG in the spring and summer months, 36 MPG in the winter. I was aware that a reconditioned replacement battery pack was just under $1,000 and I was thinking about that. Obviously, I did not do that. I would imagine that my EV range will be reduced in the winter, but I think I am definitely in good shape should Iran close down the Strait of Hormuz. I fondly recall, shortly after buying the 2005 (in 2007), gasoline prices topping $4 per gallon. I used to chuckle every time I passed a gas station. This is a GREAT car.
Just going to point out that the gen5 has more clearance than the gen2: 6.0" vs. 5.5"(I've seen everything from 4.9" to 5.9" for the gen2). It may look closer to the ground, but that's actually an illusion. I've had noticeably fewer ground scrapes in my gen5 compared to my gen3.
I certainly did not get out a measuring tape and compare the two, perhaps I ought to have done that. I do understand the potential for an optical delusion. I do quite like the fact that errands around town do not result in gasoline consumption. I will be expecting to use gasoline more when winter hits. Nonetheless, the car is garaged and, because of that, the effects of weather (heat or cool) are moderated.
Whether the nose scrapes the ground getting out of a driveway is also influenced by the length of the front overhang. I had to return a set of ramps because the nose pushed the ramp before the tires got to it. A lot of the car is an illusion. Yes, the roof is low enough to smack your head, but the appearance that it is radically low has more to do with how abnormally high the body is where it meets the greenhouse.
