Every Angle of the 2019 Toyota Prius
Toyota gets hip to the beauty of all-wheel drive without compromising its emblematic hybrid.
The popularity of the Toyota Prius is shrinking faster than the polar icecaps. In 2016, sales dipped below 100,000 units for the first time since 2004. And even with the January arrival of the new 2019 AWD-e model—which Toyota says should be good for a quarter of sales—the company's flagship hybrid is expected to sell just 50,000 units this year.
Redesigned fascias for the 2019 model are its admission that when the fourth-generation Prius debuted for 2016, it was an ugly baby
With less-angry headlights and a smoother, more conservative look, the new face and derriere can only be seen as an improvement, one applied to front-drive and all-wheel-drive cars alike.
Some resurfacing inside replaces the blinding-white plastic trim that seemed dated from new with piano-black pieces, polishing the idea that after 20 years the Prius is still an aspirational product.
The AWD-e system adds a stand-alone electric motor, packaged within the rear multilink suspension such that it does not intrude on the car's cabin or luggage compartment.
The only connection between this compact, 7-hp motor and the standard 121-hp front-drive powertrain is electronic; there is no physical driveshaft.
With our XLE test car weighing in at 3233 pounds, the system adds about 120 pounds.
All-wheel-drive cars come with only a 0.2-inch increase in ground clearance over the standard Prius, to just 5.3 inches, and the all-wheel-drive system is active only under 43 mph.
During a brief test drive on dry pavement, we were able to shake loose some rear-drive assistance during aggressive cornering, although this served more to confirm the existence of the rear motor than to improve handling.
AWD-e does not bring with it any sort of performance-enhancing torque vectoring; the Prius is still happy to understeer. A few circles in a roundabout showed a narrow window of all-wheel-drive operation until stability control aggressively steps in.
Prius AWD-e models come shod with the same 15-inch, low-rolling-resistance Dunlop Enasave 01 all-season tires as front-drive Prius models.
2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e
2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e
2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e
2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e
2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e
2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e
2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e
2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e
2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e
2019 Toyota Prius AWD-e
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