Toyota Prius turns 20 years old

- Gets a special 2020 Anniversary Edition

- More than 1.9 million units of Prius sold in the U.S. since 2000

Toyota is commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Prius hybrid. Introduced in 1997 in Japan, the Prius made its American debut in 2020. The carmaker has sold more than 19 lakh units of the Prius in America so far. To celebrate this occasion, the 2020 Prius Edition is offered in America, limited to 2,020 units.

The special edition 2020 Prius is available in a choice of Supersonic Red or the new Wind Chill Pearl with contrast black exterior trims, including a rear spoiler. It rides on 17-inch alloy wheels and has blacked-out headlamps, B-pillars and ORVMs. It also gets ‘2020’ insignia all around the car to make it more special. Apart from that, the 2021 Prius also comes fitted with Toyota’s new ‘Safety Sense 2.0’ system. It gets safety hardware like pre-collision pedestrian detection, dynamic cruise control, bicyclist detection, lane departure alert, and road sign assist. Also for 2021, the Prius gets Android Auto compatibility in most of its variants.

That original Mk1 Prius was powered by a combined powertrain of 70bhp petrol and 44bhp electric drive motor. It had a fuel efficiency figure of 18kmpl and came with many clever electric wizardries. The second-gen model came in 2004 and took the game further with more space and an even more frugal powertrain. It even got a new brake-by-wire system. Meanwhile, third-gen Prius claimed fuel efficiency of 21kmpl and gained a power bump, more cabin space as well as advanced safety tech. The current and fourth-gen Prius is based on Toyota’s TNGA-K platform sharing it with many Toyota and Lexus models. It also gets all-wheel-drive system is currently one of 10 hybrid models currently on sale in Toyota’s line-up.

Apart from the anniversary celebration of the Prius, Toyota also announced the arrival of two new hybrid models on 18 May. You can read about it over here.