2022 Toyota Prius hybrid Interiors

The Toyota Prius hatchback is the frontrunner that kickstarted the hybrid segment. And since its launch, in the year 2000, it has come a long way. It is quite fuel-efficient with a combined EPA rating of 56 MPGe but the 121hp available on hand feels sparse. The dull design, low horsepower, and tedious driving dynamics have made the Prius tumble down against the rivals in the segment that it helped create.

The interior of the 2022 Prius is a bit weird as it has a lot of distinct details that make its cabin stand out but it is also quite impractical. The materials used inside are of decent quality, and space is also generous in the front and rear row. However, it could have done a little better in some areas in some way against the competition. The 2022 Prius hatchback goes against the likes of Honda Insight, Hyundai Ioniq and Kia Niro.

2022 Toyota Prius Hatchback Interior Design, Dimensions, and Comfort

Step in the 2022 Toyota Prius and you will be greeted by a funky cabin design. The interior feels quite scattered as things inside the cabin are not in the same place as it is in a traditional car. For instance, the digital gauge cluster and driver information display are mounted in the center rather than the traditional behind the steering wheel position. The dashboard has a quirky design that swoops from one door to another. You can also find a 7-inch touchscreen display as standard and a massive 11.6-inch display is available on the higher models. 2022 Prius comes in a total of five trims. The base trim comes with cloth upholstery, manually adjustable seats, single-zone automatic climate control, keyless entry, and push-button ignition.

The LE trim adds more safety tech but does not get any additional interior features over the base trim. The higher trims come with better quality materials. Coming to the seats, as standard, the 2022 Prius hatchback can seat 5 people in two rows. The base trim comes with cloth upholstery available in two color choices are Black or Moonstone. The LE trim adds the Harvest Beige option to the same fabric upholstery. Moving up to the XLE trim, you get imitation SofTex leather upholstery in the same three color options. Further, the Nightshade edition comes with Black faux leather upholstery and a semi-gloss black center console that distinguishes it from the rest of the trims. While the base trim comes equipped with manual seats, the XLE trim comes standard with 8-way power-adjustable driver's seat and heated front seats.

Models	2022 Toyota Prius hatchback	2022 Honda Insight	2022 Hyundai Ioniq	2022 Kia Niro Hybrid
Seating capacity	5	5	5	5
Interior Passenger Volume (ft³)	93.1	97.6	106.5	100.9
Front Row (Head/Shoulder/Leg) (in)	39.4/55/42.3	39.3/56.9/42.3	39.8/57.7/41.7	40.1/56/41.7
Rear Row (Head/Shoulder/Leg) (in)	37.4/53/33.4	36.9/55/37.4	38.7/57.7/39.4	39.1/55.2/37.4

2022 Hyundai Ioniq offers a more balanced cabin and comes with enough space in both rows. 2022 Toyota Prius offers generous space on the front row but at the rear, you would feel cramped because of the less legroom space. Though it looks like a large hatchback, the Niro hybrid is more of an SUV. It is the second most spacious hybrid in the lot and thanks to its SUV-like design it gets more headroom in both rows.

2022 Toyota Prius Hatchback Infotainment

No matter which trims you opt for, the 2022 Prius’s infotainment system is quite delightful. The standard infotainment system comes with a 7-inch touchscreen display unit. Standard features include Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Amazon Alexa, SiriusXM satellite radio, and Bluetooth connectivity. The system is quite easy to use and comes with decent touch response. The UI is intuitive and navigating through the menus is not that difficult.

A bigger, vertically oriented 11.6-inch touchscreen display is available as standard on the top Limited trim. However, this system comes with older software that misses out on Android Auto. But it comes with navigation and voice recognition as standard. The standard sound system consists of a six-speaker sound system and the Limited trim comes with a high-quality 10-speaker JBL sound system. A 4.2-inch full-color driver information display is standard across the range and the Limited trim also comes with a heads-up display as standard. 

Key Infotainment Features

• 7-inch touch-screen display
• Android Auto and Apple CarPlay
• 11.6-inch touch screen display (No Android Auto support)
• Amazon Alexa
• Wi-Fi hotspot
• Navigation
• 10-speaker Premium JBL sound system
• Wireless device charging
• SiriusXM satellite radio

2022 Toyota Prius Hatchback Cargo Capacity

2022 Prius is a hatchback and there is plenty of space in the trunk. As standard, you get about 27.4 cubic feet of cargo space. Moreover, the large tailgate allows for easy loading and unloading of cargo. You could easily put down carry-on luggage for five in the big trunk.

But if this feels less, the rear seats fold down in a 60/40 split-folding configuration and that increases the total space to 50.7 cubic feet. The LE trim comes with a spare wheel and the AWD trims come with slightly smaller cargo trunks that offer 24.6 cubic feet of space available as standard and 47.9 cubic feet of space available with the rear seats folded down. 

Models	2022 Toyota Prius hatchback	2022 Honda Insight	2022 Hyundai Ioniq	2022 Kia Niro Hybrid
Standard Cargo Capacity (ft³)	27.4	15.1	27.2	19.4
Maximum Cargo Capacity (ft³)	50.7	N/A	59.3	54.5

2022 Prius offers the most generous standard cargo space in the competition. But with the seats folded down, Hyundai Ioniq offers the most space with 59.3 cubic feet of available space. Niro hybrid is kind of an SUV and while the standard cargo space might feel less, folding down the rear seats opens up an enormous amount of cargo room. Honda Insight is the least practical option in the lot.

Additional Interior Storage Spaces

You can find decent cubby storage spaces in the interior. The shifter is mounted on the dash rather than on the center console which gives space for a few cubbies and storage space on the center console. A big center console storage bin and an adequately sized glove box can store your daily use items like wallets and mobiles phones easily. The door pockets up front come with recesses for water bottles. However, the rear door pockets are not as big as the front ones which limits their storage capabilities. Moreover, you get a pair of cup holders in both the rows. 

2022 Toyota Prius Hatchback Creature Comforts

The 2022 Toyota Prius hatchback comes in a total of five trims. The lower trims do skimp out on a lot of features but moving up the trim ladder you do get few premium features. The base trim comes with 6-way manually adjustable front seats and a manually adjustable steering column. A single-zone automatic climate control, SmartKey system with push-button start, and a 4.2-inch driver information display are also standard features on the base trim. The LE trim adds nothing extra to this feature list apart from a tonneau cargo cover. The XLE trim gets an 8-way power-adjustable driver seat, heated front seats, leather upholstery and heated steering wheel. A power sunroof is optional on the XLE trim but only for the FWD model.

The Nightshade edition comes with cosmetic changes to the exterior and an all-black interior. The top Limited trim comes with a bigger infotainment screen, navigation, voice recognition, a premium JBL audio system, and a power-operated sunroof. 

Verdict

Toyota Prius is a well-recognized name in the automotive industry.Because it kick-started the fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles segment. It was quite good back when it was launched, but didn’t get enough upgrades over the years to keep it in line with recent trends. The interior of the 2022 Prius just like the rest of the car is quite dull. It comes with a fancy and unconventional cabin design, limited features on the lower trims, substandard quality materials used around the cabin on the lower trims. To survive in today's time, the Prius hybrid requires some serious updates not just to the interior but to the car as a whole.