Kurt Verlin
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Another Black Car: Toyota Prius Nightshade Edition

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2022 Toyota Prius Nightshade Edition front
Photo: Toyota

I suppose it was meant to be. Yesterday, I wrote about how the 2022 Toyota Highlander had gone bronze, and how I found it a refreshing change from all of the blacked-out car trims that try a little too hard to look cool. Today, Toyota has unveiled the Toyota Prius Nightshade Edition, and yes, as you can guess from the name, it’s very black and very cool.


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Among those for whom cars are more than just a tool, it’s an ongoing concern to avoid looking like one. In the past, the Prius was not regarded as the kind of car that would help in that endeavor, even though, somewhat strangely, the car is exceedingly popular in the state most associated with celebrities. I don’t know why I brought that up — I guess I just like the contrast.

Anyway, over time, people slowly began to realize that getting 50 miles per gallon is pretty darn sweet, but the stigma of the uncool Prius has largely remained. Depending on the model generation, it might look too bland or too much like the opposite of bland, if the opposite of bland was overdesigned. Toyota has never really seemed to know how to turn the Prius into a genuinely visually interesting car, and perhaps this new Nightshade Edition is the answer.


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  • 2022 Toyota Prius Nightshade Edition cover pose
  • 2022 Toyota Prius Nightshade Edition rear
  • 2022 Toyota Prius Nightshade Edition wheel details
  • 2022 Toyota Prius Nightshade Edition mirror caps
  • 2022 Toyota Prius Nightshade Edition door handle
  • 2022 Toyota Prius Nightshade Edition headlight
  • 2022 Toyota Prius Nightshade Edition rear close
  • 2022 Toyota Prius Nightshade Edition AWD-e badge
  • 2022 Toyota Prius Nightshade Edition rear emblem

As you can probably tell from the pictures, the new Prius variant is very, very dark. It has a metallic “midnight black” paint, black mirror caps, black door handles, black headlight accents, a black spoiler, black wheels, and a black antenna. Even the wheel inserts and lug nuts are black. So yeah, black everything. You probably didn’t need me to tell you that.

If you like the color black but you don’t quite like it to this extent, that’s okay. The new Prius Nightshade Edition is also offered with those other perennially favorite car colors to go with the blacked-out details: silver and white. In fact, Toyota calls the latter “Super White,” which sounds like the total opposite of black, but hey, who doesn’t love a little contrast? Clearly, I do.