If you’re shopping any Toyota, ‘Nightshade’ is a trim you’ll probably encounter.
The Nightshade is back once again — this time bringing a blackened out look to the Toyota Prius PHEV (formerly known as the Prime). And if you’re opening up another tab to check Toyota’s website on whether it already has a Prius Nightshade Edition, I’ll save you a few seconds: Yes, it does. The Prius PHEV, though, hasn’t gotten that treatment until now. So there you go…a loophole!
It does certainly seem like Toyota is cramming a Nightshade trim anywhere it can, and now we can add another one to the list. If you’ve stuck with me through Camry, Crown, Highlander, Corolla, Corolla Cross and so on, you’ll know just how many models have seen the treatment through the years. The old 4Runner also received a Nightshade version that hasn’t made it over to the new one yet (give it time).
The 2026 Toyota Prius PHEV Nightshade Edition sits in the middle of the range, above the XSE and below the XSE Premium. Since it’s based on the XSE, you get the same standard equipment, while also getting more of a darkened look, especially if you get it in Midnight Black Metallic. Other colors on offer include Karashi (yellow) and Wind Chill Pearl (white). Whether you get the standard hybrid Prius or the PHEV, Karashi is an exterior color unique to the Nightshade Edition (at least for now).
Same as other Nightshade models, you get a host of black exterior elements, from the badging to the door handles to the bumper trim. The Prius PHEV Nightshade also gets black-finished 19-inch wheels. Inside, you’re pretty much looking at the XSE model, except the interior is virtually all black, rather than black and red like the non-Nightshade versions.
Mechanically, the 2026 Toyota Prius PHEV Nightshade Edition changes not one iota from the XSE. You still get a 220-horsepower combination of 2.0-liter gas engine and electric motor, with the 13.6-kWh lithium-ion battery offering about 40 miles of range on the XSE and above (or 44, if you just go for the base SE). The Toyota Safety Sense 3.0 still carries forward unchanged, same as last year.
Fortunately, as the Prius PHEV hasn’t otherwise changed, the starting price also carries over for the new model year. The base MSRP for the SE trim is $34,970, while the XSE comes in $400 higher than before, at $38,220.
