Toyota unleashes radical design for sportier 2023 Prius hybrid

Toyota has unveiled a redesigned fifth-generation Prius for 2023, with a new range of more powerful drivetrains.

The latest model has more than a bit of Crown DNA combined with a sleek shape and sharp lights, front and rear.

Toyota executives revealed the radical redesign on Wednesday with a bold promise of more power and pleasure but the same miserly fuel economy.

Toyota Chairman, Takeshi Uchiyamada, regarded as the father of the Prius who stunned the auto world by developing the first-generation hybrid, says the Prius is no longer a compromise car.

Automotive News quotes Uchiyamada as saying, “We wanted to show we could maintain the efficiency and see a jump in performance. We don’t have to have a trade-off. We can do both.”

Toyota is introducing a couple of body kits for the completely revamped hybrid. You can either choose from Neo Advance Style or Elegant Ice Style to bulk up the 2023 model.

The 2023 Prius in Neo specification is the one to get if you prefer the extra lights embedded into the front bumper, which is also visibly larger than the standard piece.

The corners of the bumper have boomerang-shaped LEDs and are complemented by two blue lights in the corners of the lower air intake.

Elegant Ice Style is said to be more subtle since it eschews the additional LEDs and gets chrome accents instead.

The rectangular trim pieces at the bottom of the rear bumper give the impression of fake exhaust tips while the wheels are the same installed on the Neo kit.

Beefier side skirts are part of the package, as is an extended front bumper that drivers will likely damage not long after taking delivery of the new Prius.

The fifth-generation model is worthy of more aggressive styling now that it has as much as 220 horsepower (164 kilowatts) for the plug-in hybrid version. The PHEV is relatively quick by doing the 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) sprint in 6.7 seconds.

Toyota has also upgraded the regular hybrid by increasing the output of the 2.0-litre version to a more than decent 193 hp (144 kW).