Altogether making it that little bit easier to live with.
Toyota has updated the Prius hybrid 5-door for the 2019 model year, ushering in some upgraded aesthetics, ergonomics, and convenience technology for fans of the petrol-sipping model. The MY19 Prius does come at a cost for all those additions though, but the outlay is tiny: Just $150 more than the outgoing car, and you get a lot more for that money.
The MY19 cars now feature a new face with reprofiled LED headlights & front bumper, as well as a revised rear bumper and LED taillight cluster. And inside, Toyota’s added a new 7.0-inch infotainment screen with pinch-and-swipe functionality and satellite navigation, as well as new fabric upholstery for the base model, and improved overall ergonomics. The audio system remains a 10-speaker JBL setup though, which is not half bad.
Further, all new Prii (that’s how you refer to lots of them) get the Toyota Safety Sense suite of driver assistance systems, throwing in things like AEB, lane-departure warning with active steering intervention, intelligent cruise control, and automatic high-beam. There’s also a backup camera, and 7-airbags.
No mechanical changes to report though, so you’ll still find a 1.8-litre petrol 4-cylinder running the Atkinson cycle, mated to two electric motors. Combined output is still rated at 90kW.
The 2019 Toyota Prius can now be had for $36,590 while a fully-loaded Prius i-Tech will command $44,050. Again, that represents a $150 increment over the MY18 cars, but considering the tech on offer and the less divisive exterior, that’s money well spent, don’t you think?
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