Twenty years ago, with the Y2K computer glitch reduced to the punchline of the year, technology in another corner took a mammoth leap as a small, unassuming sedan very quietly rolled into U.S. Toyota dealerships. The 2001 Toyota Prius, the world’s first production hybrid car, had arrived, and it would profoundly change the trajectory of automotive propulsion evolution.
Over the next two decades, Toyota would go on to sell more than 6 million Prius vehicles worldwide and more than 3.6 million total hybrid models (including Lexus) in the U.S. Toyota Prius sales in the U.S. reached 1.9 million through 2019, and the model name became synonymous with hybrid technology.
Toyota is marking the special anniversary of the groundbreaking Prius, by offering the Prius 2020 Edition for model year 2021. Toyota will offer 2,020 of these special models, based on the well-equipped XLE FWD grade.
The Prius is 1 of 10 Toyota hybrid models, and 1 of 11 electrified vehicles with Mirai, a Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV), available for 2021. Others include the first-ever Corolla Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, RAV4 Hybrid, Avalon Hybrid, Highlander Hybrid, RAV4 Prime and Prius Prime.
The foundation of Prius efficiency is the Toyota Hybrid System II. It operates much in the same fashion as the original hybrid system in the 2001 Prius, but is more compact, more powerful, and more fuel-efficient. In the Prius, the system combines the output of a high-efficiency 1.8-liter four-cylinder Atkinson-cycle gasoline engine with that of two motor-generators through an electronically controlled planetary-type continuously variable transmission (CVT).
The advanced Power Control Unit is the key to extracting the greatest efficiency from the powertrain. In most situations, the Prius launches on battery power alone and then seamlessly starts the gas engine and blends its output once underway, turning it off when its power is not needed.
That original Prius combined output of a 70 hp gas engine and 44 hp electric drive motor. A second electric motor-generator served as the starter for the gas engine and also generated electricity for the drive motor and nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery pack.
Based on the Toyota New Global Architecture, the fourth-generation Prius is the most efficient and quietest in its history. The fourth-gen Prius introduced the top-of-line Prius Prime plug-in hybrid (PHEV), the Prius L ECO, and the Prius AWD-e model with all-wheel drive.
Toyota will introduce two all-new hybrids during the Toyota 2020 New Product Showcase.
Published in the June 2020 Edition