Why This 3-Year-Old PHEV Beats Most Brand-New Cars In Reliability

If you’re in the market for a new vehicle but are on a budget, you may want to consider a slightly-used three-year-old vehicle. If you want even more savings through lower fuel bills and also want to experience what it’s like to own an electric vehicle (EV) without the range anxiety associated with the shorter range of an EV, you might want to consider a three-year-old plug-in hybrid, too.

Plug-in hybrids, depending on how you utilize these vehicles, can be a great electrified vehicle of choice. Thanks to its long enough range for the daily drives of most American drivers whilst being augmented by an internal combustion engine (ICE), you essentially have two cars in one. Most plug-in hybrids have a range of 20 miles, with some even reaching 40 miles or more. If your daily distance falls within the 39.7 miles that an American drives on average, you’ll use it mostly as an EV with the ICE only being used when needed.

But if you’re in the market for a three-year-old plug-in hybrid, you’ll have to remember that not all models are created equal. Some are more reliable than others, and on paper, a plug-in hybrid is a very complex car–even more than a traditional hybrid. Therefore, this is the three-year-old plug-in hybrid to consider as it’s even more reliable than most new cars today.

In order to give you the most up-to-date and accurate information possible, the data used to compile this article was sourced from various manufacturer websites and other authoritative sources, including Kelley Blue Book, USA Today, iSeeCars, and Toyota.

Unsurprisingly, It’s A Plug-In Hybrid From Toyota

The 2022 Toyota Prius Prime Scored 96/100 In Consumer Reports’ Reliability Ratings

The words “plug-in hybrid” and “reliable” will definitely be in the same sentence if we’re talking about a Toyota. The world’s largest automaker by sales volume is the pioneer of the mass-market hybrid with the Prius back in 1997, and now in 2025, the Prius is now 28 years old. The nameplate has evolved within those years, and in 2012, it eventually evolved by offering a plug-in hybrid variant for the first time. In 2016, it was renamed the Prius Prime, and in its sixth year in production, was crowned by Consumer Reports as the most reliable plug-in hybrid of 2022, scoring 96/100.

Reaching Its Prime

The 2022 Toyota Prius Prime was unveiled when this pioneering hybrid was nearing the end of its production life cycle. A year later, the new generation Prius and its Prime plug-in hybrid sibling came out, which means that any mechanical faults, software bugs, or minor issues have probably been ironed out by this time. It was also in this Prius that the first implementation of Toyota’s TNGA platform was first utilized–specifically, the TNGA-C platform for compact cars. It introduced more refined and sportier driving dynamics to the nameplate, which was a trait that succeeding Toyotas also inherited when they started adopting the platform.

You’re also probably wondering how much a three-year-old Toyota Prius Prime costs. Well, according to iSeeCars, a three-year-old Prius Prime has an average resale value of $28,445. That sounds like a lot of money because it is, but you have to remember that a Prius Prime when brand new isn’t cheap, either. The Prius Prime was sold for $32,975 for a base SE, while an XSE Premium stickered for $39,670. Is it worth it? We guess if you’re really into owning a plug-in hybrid then yes, but for that price, you can already get a base 2024 Toyota Prius LE for just $27,950, and you get a far nicer, more handsome car but without the EPA-estimated 25 miles of pure electric range.

How It Fares Versus Other Vehicles

The most reliable plug-in hybrid in 2022 also happens to be the third most reliable vehicle at the time according to Consumer Reports. This makes the Prius Prime undeniably an easy car to own even after it has been through numerous owners. Here’s how the 2022 Toyota Prius Prime fares versus other cars on the top ten list by Consumer Reports.

1. Lexus GX
2. Kia Niro EV
3. Toyota Prius Prime
4. Toyota Prius
5. Cadillac XT5
6. Mazda MX-5 Miata
7. Honda Insight
8. Toyota Highlander
9. Subaru Crosstrek
10. Mazda CX-9

Why The Prius Prime Is Reliable

Toyota has a head start when it comes to hybrids, with

the first Prius hitting the market in 1997
. A hybrid system sounds like a complex piece of machinery, but while that’s true on paper, Toyota has implemented a few clever tricks that have made its hybrid system what it is today.

Charged To Experience

They say that experience is often the best teacher. Well, with Toyota being in the hybrid scene since 1997, this has given the company more than 28 years of knowledge and experience in making mass-market hybrids–even more if you count the years it took for them to release the first Prius in 1997. Along with Honda, wherein only mere months separate the debut of the Prius with the Insight, these two Japanese automakers today make the most reliable hybrids in the market–one that is simply on par with a pure ICE car.

It’s Not As Complex As You Think

And, that breadth of experience has led to Toyota making its hybrid systems far simpler than you think. Even if the Prius Prime has a larger battery and more powerful electric motors, its reliability isn’t any different from other hybrid and non-hybrid Toyota vehicles. That’s because its only major difference from the standard Prius’s hybrid system is the bigger battery, more powerful electric motors, and the need for a charge port. Otherwise, Toyota’s hybrid system actually has fewer components than some ICE cars.

For instance, the Toyota Hybrid System (THS) doesn’t have a starter motor since that’s what the motor generator is already capable of doing. THS also doesn’t have a mechanical air compressor for the air conditioning and is instead electrically driven. This removes the need for any clutches and belts for the air conditioning system. Apart from the mechanical simplicity, there are consumable parts that last longer. Thanks to regenerative braking, the disc brakes and brake pads are used much less, thus leading to a longer service life for the brakes.

2022 Toyota Prius Prime Specifications

What A Three-Year-Old Prius Prime Offers

Controversial Styling

Apart from top-notch reliability, there’s a host of other traits that the 2022 Toyota Prius Prime offers that will perhaps put a smile on your face as you go on with your electrified journey.

Now, in terms of design, the Toyota Prius wasn’t necessarily known to be a handsome car. However, to address that, let’s just say that this generation of the Prius looks… interesting. Yes, it isn’t any more boring to look at, but with its pointy LED headlights, the steeply-raked roof that’s accompanied by a tall trunk lid, as well as a complex set of LED taillights that somehow have been styled for the sake of style, this generation of the Prius looks odd in some angles. Okay, so styling is subjective, but personally, this is the Prius I like the least when it comes to design.

A Reasonably Modern Interior

Thankfully, things look a lot more normal but very modern inside the Prius. There’s a reasonable amount of swoops and curves to keep the interior looking interesting, while the signature central driver’s display lets everyone onboard see how fast you’re going. There’s also a generous serving of standard tech, with all models getting a Toyota Entune infotainment system in a 7-inch touchscreen or a larger 11.6-inch portrait touchscreen on higher variants. Other niceties on higher trims include a 10-speaker JBL sound system, and synthetic leather upholstery, among other features.