2025 Toyota Prius Review and Test Drive

This hybrid gets high marks for performance, nimbleness, and design.

Jim Resnick | 

May 30, 2025 | 6 min read

Jim Resnick

For this Prius review, I test-drove the Nightshade Edition in Arizona. Optional equipment highlights included a fixed sunroof, a 12.3-inch infotainment system touchscreen, the Preferred Accessory Package (with carpeted mats and a cargo net), and an expanded connected-services package. Those upgrades brought the manufacturer's suggested retail price to $36,308, including the $1,135 destination charge. Toyota provided the vehicle for this Prius review.

Jim Resnick

Is the 2025 Toyota Prius a Good Car?

If you want maximum mileage in a compact car and don't want an electric vehicle, the 2025 Prius is an outstanding choice. Other compact hybrids exist, such as the Honda Civic Hybrid, Hyundai Elantra hybrid, Kia Niro Hybrid, and Toyota's own Corolla hybrid. Still, none of them package efficiency, diminutive size, daring good looks, and top-level tech quite like the Prius. Plus, this version of the Prius can be genuinely fun to drive.

Jim Resnick

The New Prius Has Daring Good Looks

Until this fifth-generation version arrived for the 2023 model year, I never would have imagined myself calling a Prius "pretty" — but I'd argue that point now. An aggressively wedged shape with an upswept swage line starting at the front doors and ending at the very rear makes for a crisp, futuristic, and even elegant appearance.

From the driver's seat, with the window sills rising high to your shoulders, it can feel like you're in a turret. The small instrument cluster is far away and the dashboard and steering wheel feel as though they're sloping down toward you.

The Prius' interior materials and assembly quality don't disappoint. My main complaint about the car's cabin relates to outward visibility. The bulky windshield pillars blocked a portion of my forward view, and the rear-seat headrests sometimes obscured visibility to the rear. Also, despite the aerodynamic-looking exterior shape, the Prius on my test drive generated significant wind noise from the rear of the car.

Jim Resnick

The Prius Nightshade's driver seat has a range of adjustments, including lumbar support, and is likely to accommodate a variety of body types. While getting in the car, however, I bashed my knee and shin on the edge of the dashboard more than once because it sticks out a bit. Rear-seat room is adequate but not generous.

Technically, the Prius has seating for five people, but four will probably be a happier, more comfortable number. Cargo space in most Prius trims measures 20.3 cubic-feet behind the rear seats, falling short of the Honda Civic Hatchback Hybrid's 24.5 cu-ft. That said, I placed carry-on luggage and a big guitar amplifier in the back at the same time.

Jim Resnick

Top-Shelf Tech for the 2025 Toyota Prius

You don't see the Prius' hybrid drivetrain each time you hop in, but you do see the infotainment system, the instrumentation, and all the primary controls as you park yourself behind the wheel. And they all convey a high-tech flavor.

The steering wheel houses an array of buttons to control menu selections, audio volume, and driver-assistance features. The landing pads on which the buttons sit loom large, which helps readability and tactile recognition.

My test car's 12.3-inch infotainment screen provided access to vehicle settings and the navigation, audio, phone, and smartphone-integration systems. The fuel-economy page offers more information about the car's thriftiness than I think I'll ever need, making it great for efficiency geeks.

The wireless Apple CarPlay connectivity worked flawlessly — wireless Android Auto is also standard — and the Drive Connect service plan's native digital assistant worked well during my test drive. Say "Hey, Toyota" or push the speech button to activate the system, which produces good but not outstanding results. I encountered a few flubs when speaking at a modest volume and with complex names.

Jim Resnick

Every 2025 Prius comes standard with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 (TSS 3.0), a collection of advanced driver-assistance systems that provides the safety features I've found typical on many new cars. In fact, it's admirable that a small, affordable car priced below $30,000 comes with everything included in TSS 3.0.

I found the blind-spot-monitoring system and the rear cross-traffic alert particularly helpful, given the Prius' limited visibility. In addition, the adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist performed well under normal conditions. The lane-centering assist (or "Lane Tracing Assist," as Toyota calls it) was not as refined or accurate as expected, however, and it tended to get ruffled when entering gradual curves on my test drive.

The Prius also has Proactive Driving Assist, which helps keep a safe following distance from a leading car and can brake when that leading car slows down, even when the adaptive cruise control system is turned off. During my test drive, I found I could choose to use this feature or turn it off via the vehicle settings.

Crash-test ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety are largely favorable, and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration gave the Prius an overall five-star safety rating, its highest.

Jim Resnick

The 2025 Prius Offers Good Agility and Power

You might buy the Prius for its fuel-sipping frugality, but with a total output of 194 horsepower, you can zip around as if you were driving a sporty Volkswagen Golf GTI. Acceleration feels relatively quick, but is marred slightly by a harsh accompanying note — I believe it's partly due to the continuously variable transmission. However, that noise is a small price to pay for the Prius' efficiency. The EPA rates the Nightshade Edition at 52 mpg in combined driving, and I averaged 54.3 mpg on my 73-mile evaluation loop.

The front strut and rear multilink suspension surprised me with athletic handling. This hybrid hatchback eagerly takes corners like a hot hatch, yet doesn't punish occupants with a rough ride in the bargain.

Steering feel isn't the best, but the car responds to inputs quickly. The Nightshade's larger 19-inch wheels and tires (the LE trim rides on 17-inchers) certainly help. Also, the car's small size helps create a very tight turning circle, making parking maneuverability excellent.

Jim Resnick

The Toyota Prius is a staple of the affordable, fuel-efficient car marketplace, but it's anything but cheaply outfitted. Quality materials and construction, attractive styling, and a full plate of infotainment and driver-assistance tech are standard. And with nearly 200 horsepower and a willing chassis, it provides some genuine fun behind the wheel.

There are minor demerits for instrumentation, engine noise, and visibility issues, but they don't diminish the car's inherent goodness. Overall, the 2025 Prius builds on expectations as an affordable, efficient, and practical daily driver that doesn't punish you for its frugality.

Jim Resnick

From racing exotic sports cars, to ranking new cars, to peeling back layers of cover up in an exhaust emissions scandal, Jim has chronicled the automotive sector for decades. Jim has also worked inside the corporate headquarters of three carmakers, and therefore understands how the automotive sausage is really made. But Jim’s affinity for vehicles takes a back seat to finding the truth and the cultural implications of modern transportation. He has also lectured at universities to engineering and policy students and faculty on the industry’s relationship with legislation in the wake of the diesel exhaust emissions scandal several years ago. Put simply, Jim reports on autos, mobility, tech, car culture, and the traffic jam of topics within.