2021 Toyota Prius Prime

small car / 4-door hatchback

Plug-in hybrid
2021 Toyota Prius Prime 4-door hatchback

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Small overlap front: driver-side
Small overlap front: passenger-side
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Headlights
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Standard system
Superior
Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)
Standard system
Superior

Seat belts & child restraints

LATCH ease of use

Other available safety features

  • Optional blind spot detection
  • Standard lane departure warning & prevention

Key

  • G
    Good
  • A
    Acceptable
  • M
    Marginal
  • P
    Poor
  • Superior
  • Advanced
  • Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Small overlap front: driver-side

Rating applies to 2017-22 models

Tested vehicle: 2016 Toyota Prius Two Eco 4-door

The Toyota Prius was redesigned for the 2016 model year and the Prius Prime was introduced in the 2017 model year.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Action shot taken during the small overlap frontal crash test.

The dummy's position in relation to the door frame, steering wheel, and instrument panel after the crash test indicates that the driver's survival space was maintained very well.

The frontal and side curtain airbags worked well together to keep the head from coming close to any stiff structure or outside objects that could cause injury.

The driver's space was maintained well, and risk of injuries to the dummy's legs and feet was low.

Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID CEN1607
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 3
Footrest (cm) 2
Left toepan (cm) 1
Brake pedal (cm) 4
Parking brake (cm) 4
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 1
Upper occupant compartment
Steering column 0
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 5
Upper dash (cm) 3
Lower instrument panel (cm) 3

Driver injury measures

Test ID CEN1607
Head
HIC-15 237
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.4
Extension bending moment (Nm) 15
Maximum Nij 0.23
Chest maximum compression (mm) 25
Femur (kN)
Left 0.6
Right 0.8
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 1
Right 1
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.46
Right 0.32
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 2.2
Right 2.5
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 40
Right 58

About the small overlap front test

Small overlap front: passenger-side

Rating applies to 2018-22 models built after May 2018

Tested vehicle: 2018 Toyota Prius Two 4-door

The Toyota Prius was redesigned for the 2016 model year and the Prius Prime was introduced in the 2017 model year. Beginning with 2018 models of the Prius and Prius Prime built after May 2018, a structural brace was added to the passenger-side lower door hinge pillar to improve occupant protection in passenger-side small overlap frontal crashes. (Information about when a specific vehicle was manufactured is on the certification label typically affixed to the car on the driver door or adjacent B-pillar.)

Passenger-side small overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Toyota.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics
The dummy’s head barely contacted the frontal airbag before sliding off the right side, allowing the head to move far enough forward to hit the dashboard. The side curtain airbag deployed and has sufficient forward coverage to protect the head from contact with side structure and outside objects. The side torso airbag also deployed.
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Hip/thigh
Lower leg/foot
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on passenger side

Test ID VTP1807
Lower occupant compartment
Lower hinge pillar max (cm) 10
Footrest (cm) 5
Right toepan (cm) 3
Center toepan (cm) 2
Rocker panel lateral average (cm) 1
Upper occupant compartment
Center dash (cm) 4
Upper hinge pillar max (cm) 11
Upper dash (cm) 6
Right lower dash (cm) 6

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTP1807
Head
HIC-15 221
Peak gs at hard contact 49
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.6
Extension bending moment (Nm) 28
Maximum Nij 0.44
Chest maximum compression (mm) 19
Femur (kN)
Left 0.8
Right 2.9
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 4
Right 12
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.63
Right 0.77
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 2.4
Right 0.3
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 57
Right 54

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTP1807
Head
HIC-15 258
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.2
Extension bending moment (Nm) 9
Maximum Nij 0.24
Chest maximum compression (mm) 20
Femur (kN)
Left 0.4
Right 0.6
Knee displacement (mm)
Left 1
Right 0
Knee-thigh-hip injury risk (%)
Left 0
Right 0
Maximum tibia index
Left 0.43
Right 0.25
Tibia axial force (kN)
Left 0.3
Right 1.0
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 69
Right 46

About the small overlap front test

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2017-22 models

Tested vehicle: 2016 Toyota Prius Two 4-door

The Toyota Prius was redesigned for the 2016 model year and the Prius Prime was introduced in the 2017 model year. Moderate overlap frontal ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Toyota.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTF1606
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm) 2
Left (cm) 5
Center (cm) 6
Right (cm) 8
Brake pedal (cm) 3
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm) 1
Right (cm) 0
Steering column movement
Upward (cm) -1
Rearward (cm) -6
A-pillar rearward movement (cm) 1

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTF1606
Head
HIC-15 196
Peak gs at hard contact no contact
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.2
Extension bending moment (Nm) 13
Maximum Nij 0.26
Chest maximum compression (mm) 28
Legs
Femur force - left (kN) 0.6
Femur force - right (kN) 0.6
Knee displacement - left (mm) 1
Knee displacement - right (mm) 1
Maximum tibia index - left 0.41
Maximum tibia index - right 0.75
Tibia axial force - left (kN) 2.2
Tibia axial force - right (kN) 2.7
Foot acceleration (g)
Left 52
Right 114

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2017-22 models

Tested vehicle: 2016 Toyota Prius Two 4-door

The Toyota Prius was redesigned for the 2016 model year and the Prius Prime was introduced in the 2017 model year. Side ratings are assigned by the Institute based on a test conducted by Toyota.

Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection
Technical measurements for this test

Measures of occupant compartment intrusion on driver side

Test ID VTS1606
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm) -17.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Driver injury measures

Test ID VTS1606
Head HIC-15 434
Neck
Tension (kN) 1.2
Compression (kN) 0.0
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 31
Lateral force (kN) 1.5
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 42
Average deflection (mm) 37
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 4.70
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.63
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 3.3
Acetabulum force (kN) 1.9
Combined force (kN) 5.2
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 0.2
L-M moment (Nm) 21
A-P moment (Nm) -87

Passenger injury measures

Test ID VTS1606
Head HIC-15 162
Neck
Tension (kN) 0.3
Compression (kN) 0.5
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm) 37
Lateral force (kN) 1.3
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm) 41
Average deflection (mm) 28
Maximum deflection rate (m/s) 2.60
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s) 0.52
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN) 0.1
Acetabulum force (kN) 0.8
Combined force (kN) 0.8
Left femur
L-M force (kN) 2.1
L-M moment (Nm) 70
A-P moment (Nm) -234

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2017-22 models

Tested vehicle: 2016 Toyota Prius Two 4-door

Rating applies to the Toyota Prius (tested) and the structurally similar Toyota Prius Prime.

Overall evaluation
Curb weight3,081 lbs
Peak force17,481 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio5.67

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Manual cloth seat

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry
Technical measurements for this test
Seat type Manual cloth seat
Geometry
Backset (mm) 24
Distance below top of head (mm) 10
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g) 14.5
Head contact time (ms) 59
Force rating 1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N) 0
Max neck tension (N) 269

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Headlights

Trim level(s)

  • LE trim
  • XLE trim
  • Limited trim
Low-beam headlight typeLED projector
High-beam headlight typeLED projector
Curve-adaptive?No
High-beam assist?Yes
Overall rating
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler car-simpler 0 ft 100 ft 200 ft 300 ft 400 ft 500 ft 600 ft Low beams Optimal low-beam illumination High beams Optimal high-beam illumination High-beam assist credit

Low beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on the right side of the road and inadequate on the left side. On curves, visibility was good on both right curves and inadequate on both left curves.

The low beams never exceeded glare limits.

High beams
On the straightaway, visibility was good on both sides of the road. On curves, visibility was good on both right curves and inadequate on both left curves.

High-beam assist compensates for some limitations of this vehicle's low beams on the straightaway and on both left curves.

Technical measurements for this test
Trim level(s)
  • LE trim
  • XLE trim
  • Limited trim
Low-beam headlight type LED projector
High-beam headlight type LED projector
Curve-adaptive? No
High-beam assist? Yes
Overall rating
Applies to 2017-22 models
LOW BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)		 Amount glare
exceeded threshold
Straightaway right edge 98.0 m None
Straightaway left edge 38.4 m None
250m radius right curve, right edge 77.1 m None
250m radius left curve, left edge 40.2 m None
150m radius right curve, right edge 64.6 m None
150m radius left curve, left edge 39.0 m None
HIGH BEAMS Average minimum useful
illumination distance (5 lux)
Straightaway right edge 169.9 m
Straightaway left edge 150.2 m
250m radius right curve, right edge 85.4 m
250m radius left curve, left edge 64.2 m
150m radius right curve, right edge 66.2 m
150m radius left curve, left edge 51.0 m

About the headlight evaluation

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

  • Standard Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2021-22 models

Superior
Superior
  • This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

About the original front crash prevention test

Front crash prevention: pedestrian (day)

System details

  • standard Toyota Safety Sense 2.0 Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection

Overall evaluation

This rating applies to all 2021-22 models

Superior
Superior

Crossing child

  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

Crossing adult

  • In the 12 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.

Parallel adult

  • In the 25 mph test, this vehicle avoided a collision.
  • In the 37 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 25 mph. A warning was issued 1.9 seconds before impact.

About the pedestrian front crash prevention test

Child seat anchors

Rating applies to 2017-22 models

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trimPremium
Seat type leatherette

This vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.

Overall evaluation
Vehicle trimPremium
Seat type leatherette
1 3
GGood
AAcceptable
MMarginal
PPoor
Seating positions that rely on borrowed lower anchors or have only a tether anchor available are not rated.
thether anchor symbol
Tether anchor
lower anchor symbol
Lower anchors
shared lower achors symbol
Lower anchor(s) can be borrowed from adjacent positions(s)
No hardware available

Details by seating position

1
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
not too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
3
Tether anchor
easy-to-find location
no other hardware could be confused for anchor
Lower anchors
not too deep in seat
not too much force needed to attach
easy to maneuver around anchors
Technical measurements for this test

Seat position 21

3

Lower anchor A
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 85
Lower anchor B
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 83
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

Seat position 23

1

Lower anchor A
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 88
Lower anchor B
Open access rated Yes
Depth Visible
Force (lbs) 0
Clearance angle (degrees) 86
Tether anchor
Location Middle seatback
Confusing hardware present No
Has contrasting label
within 3 inches of tether anchor		 Yes
Tether anchors can be accessed
while seatback is properly positioned
for use of LATCH		 Not measured

About the child seat anchor evaluation