All-New 2025 Toyota Prius Compact Car Review: What We Know So Far

Posted on

2025 Toyota Prius the next big step in electric vehicle development is solid-state batteries. Compared to the lithium-ion batteries used in today’s EVs, the solid-state unit promises better range, faster charging times, and longer battery life.

However, more development is needed. Back in 2020, Toyota said they were working on a prototype powered by solid-state batteries, and now in a video interview with Autoline during CES 2022 tech how-to, Toyota confirmed that they would start selling vehicles with solid-state batteries in 2025. .

  • Toyota announced that its first vehicles running on solid-state batteries would go on sale in 2025 in an interview with Autoline.
  • The first Toyota to use the new battery will be a hybrid, not a fully electric vehicle, so perhaps the first to get a new battery will be the Prius.
  • The solid-state battery promises faster charging times and longer ranges.

In the interview, Gill Pratt, Toyota’s chief scientist and head of the Toyota Research Institute, said that Toyota aims to “commercially” solid-state batteries in the first half of the decade. Oddly enough, Pratt said that the first Toyota to receive the new battery was actually a hybrid, not a fully electric vehicle.

Pratt outlines several reasons why Toyota intends to debut solid-state batteries in hybrids. Solid-state batteries are, at present, more expensive to manufacture, he says, and because hybrids have smaller battery packs than EVs, implementing them in hybrids first will cut costs.

Another challenge facing solid-state batteries today is battery life, with repeated recharges eating up early prototype batteries. In hybrids, smaller batteries are charged and recharged much more frequently, and Pratt suggests that increasing the number of battery cycles would make hybrids a good test ground for new technologies.

We wanted to start by placing them in a vehicle where we believe they are both the best fit in terms of life but also one that will train them enough so that as costs continue to drop, we can launch them in the future. in [battery-electric vehicles] too,” explains Pratt.

Expect more details to come out as 2025 approaches and Toyota prepares its first solid-state battery hybrid vehicle.

2025 Toyota Prius Review

Toyota Prius With Hydrogen Combustion Engine Coming Year 2025. It is expected to use the same hydrogen-powered combustion engine as the Corolla.

2025 Toyota Prius

The fourth-generation Toyota Prius is now aging. Introduced in 2015, Japanese hybrid vehicles are in dire need of a major overhaul despite the number of refreshes and special editions we see each year.

If you’re among those who have been waiting for the new version of the Prius, a report from Japan suggests that it will arrive as early as next year, specifically in December 2022

However, there are more models to come than the current 1.8. The liter-plus engine is an electric motor setup, according to Best Car, and it involves a hydrogen-powered combustion engine.

If this sounds familiar, the rumors actually line up with an earlier report earlier this month from Forbes, which later linked to what Toyota showcased last April – the Corolla with a hydrogen-powered combustion engine.

In contrast to hydrogen fuel cells, Toyota touts the use of hydrogen for combustion fuels. According to the automaker, the setup emits almost zero CO2 and some NOx.

Best Car adds a bit more info to the rumors by saying that the same hydrogen-powered combustion engine in the Corolla will be found in the next Prius for the PHEV setup.

However, it will take a good three years before this arrangement can be put into practical use, meaning a hydrogen-powered Prius PHEV will arrive by 2025.

READ NEXT: New 2025 Toyota Tundra Review: Everything We Know So Far

2025 Toyota Prius Debut

The solid-state battery that Toyota plans to debut not in an EV, but in an upcoming hybrid, said an executive in a recent interview with Autoline.

2025 Toyota Prius

The battery, which is on track for commercialization by 2025, will appear in hybrids first as it allows for smaller battery packs that are less sensitive to charge, said Toyota chief scientist Gill Pratt.

Hybrids also represent a “more difficult test” for solid-state technology because of the higher battery cycle count inherent in those use cases, Pratt said. As Toyota gains more experience with solid-state battery cells, and as costs fall, automakers will expand use to electric vehicles, he said.

One of the claimed benefits of solid-state batteries is greater energy density, but Pratt says Toyota also hopes they will reduce charging times. That’s unconfirmed, as development work is currently focused on launching solid-state battery hybrids, he said. Faster charging will also require upgrades to the charging network and network, he said.

Pratt didn’t confirm which models will get the solid-state battery, but the technology could help revive the hybrid that started it all.

The Toyota Prius was once a hybrid trendsetter, so a solid-state cell, some plug-in capabilities, and a new build might just be what it takes to be relevant again.

Last month Toyota announced plans for 30 EVs globally by 2030, launching a dozen concepts featuring some of those models. The automaker says affordability, not range, will be the emphasis for its future EVs. Toyota’s first mass electric car is the BZ4X crossover, which is also expected to be the basis of the Lexus RZ, for the Toyota luxury brand.

Toyota plans to build the battery in the United States, but this is initially for hybrids. Will solid-state cells be part of that plan—perhaps as part of Prime’s better mpg plug-in hybrid?

Hydrogen Versus Electric

That said, expect the next Prius to arrive next year with the usual ICE+ electric motor powertrain setup but packed in a newly revamped design. Hydrogen-powered ones will arrive a few years later, which should go hand in hand with the infrastructure needed for hydrogen refueling.

The timeline mentioned, of course, applies to Japan, so expect some adjustments for other markets, especially given the hydrogen-related infrastructure.

READ NEXT: All-New 2025 Toyota Highlander SUV Review

2025 Toyota Prius Hybrid Powertrain

The Prius is rumored to be getting an all-new fifth generation in 2022 and while the Japanese automaker is coy about the details, a high-ranking official has confirmed that it will retain its role as the core hybrid in Toyota’s lineup.

2025 Toyota Prius

As reported by Autocar, the new Prius could be based on elements combining the European-only E3 platform from the GA-C (Corolla, CR-Z) and the custom electric bZ architecture. The ban on ICE sales in Europe and the UK won’t come before 2030, leaving enough time for another generation of Prius to go hybrid.

Andrea Carlucci, Director of Marketing and Product Development at Toyota Motor Europe, described the Prius as a brand icon, adding that it must maintain its role to be at the forefront of such technology. More specifically, he said that “the Prius remains an icon and represents who we are: a hybrid and a leader in electrification”.

As for Toyota’s future strategy, top officials said hybrids are still the “center of gravity” for a brand that plans to offer a range of alternatives to BEVs, including hybrids, plug-in hybrids and fuel cell-powered ones. model.

Since the debut of the first-generation Prius in 1997, Toyota has updated the model every six years, which means 2022 is a great time to introduce its fifth generation.

The new model is expected to use a new generation of “bipolar nickel-metal hydride battery” already introduced at the Toyota Aqua in Japan, bringing greater output and increasing the efficiency of the hybrid system. The same technology will likely gradually find its way into Toyota’s entire hybrid lineup in the future.

Previous reports have hinted at a conventional gas-electric hybrid Prius that will arrive in late 2022, possibly with an updated version of the current 1.8-liter engine.

However, there are also rumors for a more advanced hydrogen-electric Prius PHEV to follow in 2025 using Toyota’s hydrogen ICE technology which is currently in the experimental stage.

2025 Toyota Prius Release Date

So far we have not been able to inform the release schedule for the 2025 Toyota Prius

2025 Toyota Prius Price

For prices, we expect to start at a little over USD 26,000 in the United States.

People also ask Toyota Prius 2025

Q: Will there be a 5th-generation Prius?
A: Toyota has confirmed it will produce a fifth-generation model, and it could arrive as early as next year (as the 2023 model).

Q: Will the 2023 Prius be redesigned?
A: Even though the Prius is the best hybrid car of 2022, that’s because of a facelift. Currently, there are no official Prius 2023 renderings or spy shots, but a redesign seems very likely.

Q: Is Toyota discontinuing the Prius?
A: For the previous generation of Prius, Toyota released a redesigned model in a six-year cycle. With its last debut in 2016, the Prius will be extended in 2022.

Q: What is the average lifespan of a Toyota Prius?
A: How Long Will the Toyota Prius Last? With regular maintenance, Toyota Prius owners can expect to get between 200,000 and 250,000 miles from their Prius, with some owners surpassing the 300,000-mile mark and going strong.