But when you don't need cup holders, you can just tuck them back in, and you have a nicely-sized, small storage bin. But who carries those around anymore? Down the center console here, a nice storage bin- so a really cool solution here, these buttons open up cup holders. So if you want your phone to actually talk to the vehicle, make sure you've got a USB-A. Weirdly, the USB-C port appears for charging only. So you're going to need to bring a cable, and it's going to need to be a USB A. One thing that the Kia Niro PHEV doesn't have- wireless Android Auto or Apple CarPlay. So if you're going to get one of these, make sure that you climb in and try it out for yourself. But some people would rather have physical controls here. I personally like it because it's a very efficient use of space. And this is something that we have some disagreement even on our staff about. Down here, you have this new control scheme that Kia has gone for it. So you have matching side-by-side 10.3 inch screens up here, one for the instrument cluster and one for the touch screen. But some air would be nice to help keep things fresh for the backseat passengers, The Niro PHEV has redesigned interior, also brand new to this vehicle, but will be very familiar to anyone who's been in IKEA for the last couple of years. Also, no real visible air vents back here so we have USB ports, which is nice for charging. So my head is right now about half an inch from the headliner, which means that if I'm sitting in the back, and the driver goes over a bump of any kind, straight into the ceiling with the top of my head. Here in the back seat, legroom is actually pretty good, but headroom, as you can see, compromised. And that's because the shape of this vehicle compromises the way that the back end is packaged. As you can see, when I got in, I had to duck down kind of low. So even though the Prius Prime back seat fits five people again, it's not ideal back here for a couple of reasons. And it's nice to have this because the system also comes with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, something that the Kia lacks. The wireless charging pad right here- vertically oriented, easy to drop in your phone, though you do have to jiggle it sometimes to get it to hook up and actually start charging. I mean, you don't have to look down for too long when you're driving to change the temperature, to turn on the seat heaters, or the seat ventilation, things like that. Otherwise, we like that they've gone with physical controls for the climate- very easy to use, very easy to reach. But it's also weird when you've been reaching for the volume knob on this side your whole life, and all of a sudden, it's way over here. They say we can use this little button here on the steering wheel to change it up. One problem, though, that we also had with the regular Prius, the volume knob is on the wrong side. The native maps application is actually powered by Google, so you get more updates for locations, and things like that. Toyota's infotainment used to be garbage, but they've really improved it lately. And we like it here, just like we did in the Prius. It's been upgraded a little bit with the larger 12.3-inch touch screen. But even though they have different names, you don't actually lose out on any features. In the Prime, you're only going to be able to get SE, XSE, or what they're calling XSE Premium. Toyota doesn't actually offer a limited model, which is the top trim on the Prius. And it even has the same amount of cargo room because of better packaging for that battery. But now, thankfully, you can fit five people. So the old Prius Prime, you actually lost one of the rear seats. The Prius Prime's redesigned interior identically matches what you're getting in the regular 2023 Prius. And if you're interested in adding a PHEV to your fleet at home, we'll help you your current set of wheels at /sellmycar, where you'll get an instant cash offer. For more information on either of these vehicles, head over to, and we've got you covered. But how do these two cars shake out when we got our hands on them? Let's find out. And it has more electric range allegedly. Now, on paper, the Prius Prime has a huge advantage. And to do that, we're going to put them through a series of tests at the Edmunds test track and in the real world. We're here to see which of these plug-in hybrids is more worthy of your dollars. With me our two cars that have been completely redesigned for 2023, the Kia Niro PHEV and the Toyota Prius Prime. Instead of a half mile of fury, where we send fast cars on an empty airstrip, we've got a very practical head-to-head battle for you. This is about the furthest thing that you can get from U Drags. BRIAN WONG: I'm Brian Wong, with Edmunds, and welcome to U Drags.
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