‘Loud’ this Toyota Prius Nightshade is not.
It’s the eleventh model to get the blacked out look, but the 2022 Toyota Prius Nightshade is actually the first hybrid to join the family. A car that has carried the wholesome, humble hybrid theme from a weird quirk to a dominant force in the automaker’s lineup over the past two decades now wants to be all sinister. You may laugh, but an all-black, near-silent hybrid? Hey, it may not be a bad idea if you’re trying to be all stealthy…can’t really fathom why, but you do you.
Available on both front- and all-wheel drive Prius models, the Nightshade edition does here what it’s done for every other model that’s gotten the treatment thus far. Black headlight accents, door handles, mirror caps, wheels and lug nuts. The Prius Nightshade also gets a black shark fin antenna and a color-coded rear deck spoiler. Toyota calls the look “unexpected”, and that may be a pretty accurate description depending on who you ask.
While Midnight Black Metallic is the overwhelmingly obvious color choice for this package, Toyota also (for whatever reason) offers the Prius Nightshade in Silver Metallic or Super White. I get more options is typically a good idea for sales, but seriously, if you’re shopping a 2022 Toyota Prius Nightshade, just get it in black. Then, you can at least drive around imagining you’re an eco-friendly Darth Vader.
As you’d expect, the Prius Nightshade is the most fuel efficient of the bunch. Depending on which trim you spec this package, you’ll still get a 1.8-liter engine baked by two motor-generators, offering up to 52 mpg combined. No word on the Nightshade’s pricing yet, but picking one of the 3,400 examples up this fall shouldn’t tack a huge premium onto the standard model’s MSRP.
