All About the Toyota Prius Nightshade Special Edition

With the new Nightshade trim the 2022 Toyota Prius has gone from class nerd to coolest kid in school—but it still cares about the environment.
Written by Matt Nightingale
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
The Toyota Prius is a true pioneer—it’s been carving out a name for itself in the EV space for decades. That name might not exactly translate to the coolest image, but with the introduction of the Toyota Prius Nightshade Special Edition, this hybrid got a serious boost to its reputation. 
Introduced to the world in 1997, the Prius has become the gold standard for hybrid vehicles. There have been over six million units sold worldwide—and about one-third of those were purchased by American buyers. Its main—and, back then, only—selling point was its incredible fuel efficiency, with a city fuel economy rating of 52 miles per gallon.
But the 2022 Prius Nightshade is flipping the script. In this article,
car insurance
comparison app and licensed broker,
Jerry
, will show you what makes the Nightshade so good. We'll even show you the quickest way to reduce your
Toyota Prius Nightshade insurance cost
!
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What is the Toyota Prius Nightshade Special Edition? 

The Nightshade special edition line of Toyota vehicles adds darkened trimmings to give off a stealthy, almost haunting vibe. The Nightshade line was introduced in 2018 as an option on the
Toyota 4Runner
—the package added a black leather-trimmed interior, black steering wheel, black shift knob, and black exterior accents. The Toyota Camry Base and
Highlander
were given the Nightshade treatment later that same year.
The Toyota Prius Nightshade debuted in 2022. It features similar dark touches, such as black 17-inch wheels, black headlight accents, and black mirror caps. The Nightshade also comes with heated, adjustable front seats, a heated steering wheel, and Toyota’s Smart Key system. It is the second-highest available trim level for the 2022 Prius, with a starting price of $30,570

Toyota Prius overview

Before we talk about the Nightshade special edition, we need to talk about the Toyota Prius.
The Toyota Prius has set the pace for hybrid electric cars, combining incredible fuel efficiency with tons of cargo space. The 2022 version features a gas/electric inline four-cylinder hybrid engine and producers 121 horsepower. It’s enough to get you from point A to point B, but it won’t do it in a memorable fashion.
And while it’s not as spacious as, say, a
RAV4
or
Dodge Caravan
, small families will get along fine with the Prius’ 27.4 cubic feet of cargo space and 93.1 cubic feet of total passenger volume.
One great thing about Toyota is that they are constantly updating and improving their vehicles, and the Prius is no exception. Back in 2000, the Prius was a dullard who only wanted to talk about saving the whales. But Toyota has given the Prius a makeover with each new generation, and now it’s a flashy, sexy rockstar environmental activist that everybody wants to get to know.
Key specs
  • $26,100 starting MSRP
  • Gas/electric hybrid engine
  • 121 Horsepower @ 5200 rpm
  • 105 torque @ 3600 rpm
  • Five-star
    NHTSA safety rating
    (2021)
  • Automated emergency braking
  • Lane-departure warning
  • Lane-keeping assist
  • Adaptive cruise control
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What’s special about the Special Edition?

If the earliest iterations of the Prius were Steve Urkel, the 2022 Toyota Prius Nightshade edition is Stephan Urquelle. It’s sleek and sexy, but underneath still lies the nerdy foundation that America fell in love with.
The Nightshade edition comes with Prius’ signature centrally-located dash display. Below that, you’ll find a 7-inch infotainment touchscreen interface that connects to a six-speaker sound system with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Amazon Alexa capabilities.
When it comes to comfort, the Prius Nightshade brings the heat—literally. Heated side mirrors, heated steering wheel, and heated front seats are all standard on the special edition, as is automatic air conditioning.
The Nightshade’s dark trimmings and steely exterior give it a sense of danger, but in reality, it’s a very safe car, with a smorgasbord of safety features such as four-wheel disc anti-lock brakes, lane tracing assist, pre-collision system, lane-departure alert with steering assist, driver-monitoring alert, a back-up camera, and more.
All of this along with the Prius’ famous fuel efficiency—the 2022 Toyota Prius Nightshade boasts an eye-popping combined city/highway fuel economy rating of 56 miles per gallon.

Toyota Prius Nightshade Special Edition vs. Limited

The Toyota Prius Nightshade special edition is the slickest looking version of the Prius to date. But if you’re more interested in upping your Prius’ luxury quotient, you may want to look beyond the Nightshade special edition to the Limited trim. The 2022 Toyota Prius Limited includes: 
  • 11.6-inch touchscreen infotainment center
  • Rear wiper
  • Rain-detecting front wipers
  • Heated eight-way power-adjustable driver’s seat
  • Heated four-way adjustable front passenger seat
  • Heated leather steering wheel
  • Color head-up display
  • Leatherette seats
Whether the Limited or Nightshade is better depends solely on what you’re hoping to get out of your car. The Limited adds a number of comfort and convenience features that will make the driving experience much more enjoyable. But it doesn’t have the mysterious, outwardly menacing vibe of the Nightshade special edition.
The Toyota Prius is a spacious and efficient hybrid car perfect for city driving. And now that it’s had time to mature, it looks comfortable in its own skin, and it won’t embarrass you no matter which trim you opt for.
MORE: Prius vs. Prius Prime

How to find the best Toyota Prius Nightshade Special Edition insurance

One of the drawbacks to owning a hybrid vehicle is that they tend to cost more to insure due to the expensive machinery found under the hood. Insurance costs also tend to increase with higher
trim levels, options, and packages
—and the Nightshade is the second-highest of seven trim levels available on the 2022 Prius.
Getting a good deal on Toyota Prius Nightshade car insurance might be a tall order. Luckily,
Jerry
knows just how to cut down your
Toyota insurance cost
by a fraction.
Jerry is a car insurance comparison app. Just enter your information and you’ll see quotes from name-brand insurance providers that match the type of coverage you need. And Jerry is a licensed broker, so when you see a quote that beats your current policy, you can easily switch providers right in the app.
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Jerry
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