A Jacked Up Prius? Yes, It's Possible

Alex Reale
· 3 min read
In the world of cars, “jacked up” can have all kinds of meanings. It can be a slangy way to describe something that’s broken, or it could be a bit more literal—as in, using a jack to lift a car off the ground so someone could adjust a tire or check out an axle. 
But it can also refer to a more permanent kind of lifting: replacing normal-sized tires on a vehicle with oversized versions. Monster trucks can rightfully be described, by this definition, as jacked up. The enormous tires are built for slumming it through mud and rocky terrain, and they’re usually attached to
pickups
or SUVs.
Enter the small, definitely not monstrous Prius. 
You can throw giant tires onto your Toyota Prius.

A brief history of the Toyota Prius

The Toyota Prius is famous for being the first mass-produced hybrid. It came out in 1997 and quickly became the vehicle of choice for drivers looking to save money on fuel and produce less gas emissions. As it became more popular it took on a particular kind of cultural cachet: an admirable choice for some, and a goofy tin can for others. 
Owning a Prius became synonymous with a sort of coastal elitism. In one scene in the film La La Land, an exasperated Ryan Gosling can’t figure out which of the dozens of Prius keys might be Emma Stone’s, and the joke is that twenty-something Angelenos can’t get enough of the little hybrid cars. And it’s not likely that they’re taking them on camping trips.
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Not your typical off-road vehicle

The Toyota Prius is decidedly a commuter car: it’s on the small side and has a high safety rating. It isn’t known for its off-roading abilities. So when one team decided to jack it up for a rally, it was a bit of an unusual choice. 
Jalopnik
tells the story of a group who decided to rework their Prius so it would be ready for the Gambler 500, a small gathering of outdoorsy car people that takes place in Oregon.
Jalopnik reported that the Prius owners scoured the typical avenues for parts to help lift their car, but only found the correct suspension parts from a Russian company on eBay. They ordered the kit and lifted their Prius three inches higher off the ground. 
Then they added used all-terrain tires (from a formerly lifted Subaru), shaved the bumper and fender for clearance, and questionably bent some metal to protect the vulnerable undercarriage, for a total of nine extra inches of height. Apparently, this newly jacked up Prius did great at the rally and even won the top prize in the “hater class” for rattling the traditionalists. Who said a Prius had to stay in its own lane?

Insuring a jacked up Prius (or your normal car)

If you want to throw some incongruously large tires on your Toyota Prius, keep in mind that you’ll still have to insure it.
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