Compare the2023 Nissan AriyaVS 2024 Toyota Prius Prime

The Nissan Ariya has standard driver and front passenger side knee airbags mounted low on the dashboard. These airbags helps prevent the driver and front passenger from sliding under their seatbelts or the main frontal airbags; this keeps them better positioned during a collision for maximum protection. Knee airbags also help keep the legs from striking the dashboard, preventing knee and leg injuries in the case of a serious frontal collision. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer knee airbags.

The Ariya Platinum+ has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

The Ariya offers all-wheel drive to maximize traction under poor conditions, especially in ice and snow. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer all-wheel drive.

Both the Ariya and the Prius Prime have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Nissan Ariya weighs 752 to 1596 pounds more than the Toyota Prius Prime. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Nissan Ariya is safer than the Prius Prime:

Nissan pays for scheduled maintenance on the Ariya for 1 year and 11000 miles longer than Toyota pays for maintenance for the Prius Prime (3/36,000 vs. 2/25000).

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2023 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Nissan vehicles are better in initial quality than Toyota vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Nissan above average in initial quality. With 14 more problems per 100 vehicles, Toyota is rated below average.

The Ariya +’s standard electric motor produces 18 more horsepower (238 vs. 220) than the Prius Prime’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid. The Ariya’s optional electric motors produces 115 more horsepower (335 vs. 220) than the Prius Prime’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid. The Ariya Engage+/Evolve+/Platinum+’s standard electric motors produces 169 more horsepower (389 vs. 220) than the Prius Prime’s 2.0 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid.

As tested in Motor Trend the Ariya Engage+/Evolve+/Platinum+ electric motors is faster than the Toyota Prius Prime:

The Ariya can travel longer on a full charge than the Prius Prime on electricity, only, on a full charge:

The Ariya, as a pure battery electric vehicle, has no need to “idle” its motors in traffic: they only burn power when moving. The Ariya’s climate control systems still work completely when the vehicle is stopped. The Prius Prime still runs its internal combustion engine whenever it’s stopped, burning excess fuel.

For better stopping power the Ariya’s brake rotors are larger than those on the Prius Prime:

The Ariya’s standard front and rear disc brakes are vented to help dissipate heat for shorter stops with less fading. The rear discs on the Prius Prime are solid, not vented.

For better traction, the Ariya has larger standard tires than the Prius Prime (235/55R19 vs. 195/60R17). The Ariya Platinum+’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the Prius Prime (255/45R20 vs. 195/60R17).

The Ariya’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 55 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the Prius Prime SE’s standard 60 series tires. The Ariya Platinum+’s optional tires have a lower 45 series profile than the Prius Prime XSE’s 50 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Ariya has standard 19-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the Prius Prime SE. The Ariya Platinum+’s optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels on the Prius Prime XSE.

The Ariya has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Ariya is 2.9 inches wider in the front and 2.2 inches wider in the rear than on the Prius Prime.

The Ariya Platinum+ handles at .84 G’s, while the Prius Prime XSE pulls only .82 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Ariya Platinum+ uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Ariya has 10.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the Prius Prime (101.3 vs. 91.2).

The Ariya has 1.6 inches more front headroom, 1.3 inches more front hip room, 1.8 inches more front shoulder room, 1.9 inches more rear headroom, 1.1 inches more rear legroom, .8 inches more rear hip room and 3.1 inches more rear shoulder room than the Prius Prime.

For enhanced passenger comfort on long trips the Ariya’s rear seats recline. The Prius Prime’s rear seats don’t recline.

To make loading groceries and cargo easier when your hands are full, the Ariya Platinum+’s liftgate can be opened and closed just by kicking your foot under the back bumper, leaving your hands completely free. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer a hands-free gesture to open its liftgate, forcing you to put cargo down if your hands are full.

Maximum trailer towing in the Toyota Prius Prime is limited to 0 pounds. The Ariya e-4ORCE AWD offers up to a 1500 lbs. towing capacity.

Unlike the driver-only memory seat in the Prius Prime XSE Premium, the Ariya Platinum+ has a passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position (with optional power wheel adjuster) and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The Ariya Engage/Evolve+/Empower+/Platinum+ has a standard heads-up display that projects speed and navigation instruction readouts in front of the driver’s line of sight, allowing drivers to view information without diverting their eyes from the road. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer a heads-up display.

To improve rear visibility by keeping the rear window clear, the Ariya has a standard rear wiper. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer a rear wiper.

The Ariya has a standard automatic headlight on/off feature. When the ignition is on, the headlights automatically turn on at dusk and off after dawn. The Prius Prime has an automatic headlight on/off feature standard only on the XSE.

When the Ariya Platinum+ is put in reverse, both rearview mirrors tilt from their original position. This gives the driver a better view of the curb during parallel parking maneuvers. Shifting out of reverse puts the mirrors into their original positions. The Prius Prime’s mirrors don’t automatically adjust for backing.

The Ariya’s standard dual zone air conditioning allows the driver and front passenger to choose two completely different temperatures so people with different temperature preferences won’t have to compromise. This makes both the driver and front passenger as comfortable as possible. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer dual zone air conditioning.

Both the Ariya and the Prius Prime offer rear vents. For greater rear passenger comfort, the Ariya has standard rear air conditioning vents to keep rear occupants cool in summer or warm in winter. The Prius Prime doesn’t offer rear air conditioning vents, only heat vents.

Consumer Reports® recommends the Nissan Ariya, based on reliability, safety and performance.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Ariya first among compact suvs in owner reported satisfaction. This includes how well the vehicle performs and satisfies its owner’s expectations. The Prius Prime isn’t in the top three.