What’s the Difference, Prius 3, Prius 4, Prius 5, Prime?

What do you use your fleet vehicles for? Wondering if Prius will be a good choice for you?

Prius has four generations: Gen 1 (1999-2003), Gen2 (2004-2009) Gen3 (2010-2015) Gen4 (2016-Present)

The generation numbers are usually not mentioned and number you see is almost always the Trim package, which is all the upgrades like leather seats, GPS, lane sensing, etc..

There's also Prius C and Prius V that are different designs entirely, both of which were discontinued, one for being too small, one for being too big.

 

the number indicates the accessory package, which usually bulds on the previous number.

the v is a station wagon type, and the prime is a plug in hybrid

 

PriusCamper is right. Prime is the Buzzword for a Plug in Hybrid version. (Also PIP and PHEV)

As I recall, in recent years they have a jumble of letters instead of numbers, also some years the numbers were roman numerals.

 

Toyota has done an outstanding job of making this a confusing topic.

The Gen 2 (2004-2009) used numerals with an occasional letter mixed in. Like below. Depending on the model year, there might be trims 1-9, 1-8, 1-5, or even 1-6a and 6b.

The 3rd generation (20010-2015) went to Roman Numerals. So you have things like 2015 II, III, IV, and V (not to be confused with "v," which is a station wagon.

And the gen 4 went back to regular numbers which were 2, 3, 4, 2 Eco, 3 Touring, and 4 Touring. ... until the miid cycle refresh in 2020 where they went to the far less obfuscational LE Eco, LE, LE AWD-e, XLE, XLE AWD-e, and Limited.

And then there is the Prius c and the Prius v, the Plug In Base and Advanced, the Prime Plus, Premium, and Advanced, which later became the LE, XLE, and Limited.

I don't see how anyone would be confused by such a simple and consistent naming pattern.