Toyota just dropped the new Prius, and people haven’t been this excited to buy a hybrid in 20 years. Sure, the powertrain is efficient and the dashboard is much nicer than before, but it’s the styling that gets you. We suspect there’s going to be a huge aftermarket industry around the 2023 Prius, offering anything from expensive wheels to widebody conversions.
In Japan, the Prius has always enjoyed attention from the aftermarket communities. Companies we love, such as Kuhl or Damd even offer quad exhausts, while Aimgain had a unique Lexus front-end conversion a few years back. Toyota knows about this and offers the Modellista package straight from the dealership, but only if you live in Japan.
Everybody else is just going to have to buy their own widebody kit. What would that even look like, a widebody Prius? Funny you should ask, because the famed rendering artist Khyzyl Saleem has given an AE86 twist to the brand-new hybrid car.
Specifically, he’s taken a white Prius and stanced it with some 3-piece wheels that have a deep dish and a polished lip. Nothing says “tuned Toyota” quite like negative offset, right? Those look like a BBS LM style alloy to me, the Forza Sport, but I supposed they can be anything since they’re popular as replicas too.
Kyza says the Prius’ makeover was inspired by the AE86. I suppose he means the stock gloss black flares of the Hachiroku, though there’s a huge variety of aftermarket designs that offer even more inches of bodywork thickness.
The fifth-gen (XW60) model is also treated to some massive skirts and spoilers, combined with suspension so low it probably needs airbags. Again, this is only a rendering, but the Prius has always been treated to aftermarket goodies, and this generation is noticeably faster and cooler than the others.
What makes the 2023 Prius so good
First of all, it looks amazing. They’ve given it that new Toyota front bumper design. It’s very angular, like the Crown crossover, or a bunch of EVs they haven’t even launched yet. The rear is simple, with a long light bar and the teardrop look of early Prius models.
It’s also much more powerful. There are two powertrain types. In Japan, you can still get the 1.8-liter hybrid drive, now rated at 138 hp, but North American models are powered by the M20A-FXS. That’s a 2-liter, and it makes 194/196 hp, a substantial increase over the 121 hp from the 2022 model year. You can also add AWD on all the trim levels, but the one everyone is talking about right now is the Prius Prime, the plug-in. With 220 horsepower from the 4-cylinder and electric motor, it’s supposedly faster to 60 than a Honda Civic Si. Who needs turbos anyway?
