2023 Toyota Prius vs 2024 BMW 5 Series

The 2023 Toyota Prius underwent a significant transformation, shedding its previous utilitarian image for a more stylish and modern appearance. This redesign was a response to increasing competition from electric and hybrid vehicles, prompting Toyota to create a car that was both efficient and visually appealing. The new Prius featured a sleek exterior with a blend of curves and edges, giving it a futuristic look while maintaining a broad appeal. The car's dimensions were altered, making it longer, lower, and wider, which improved handling and gave it a more athletic stance. Inside, the Prius offered a solid and well-crafted cabin, with high-quality materials and a more traditional instrument panel setup, enhancing the driving experience.

In contrast, the 2024 BMW 5 Series embraced a minimalist and aerodynamic design, reflecting BMW's current styling language. The 530i model showcased a large grille and intricate 21-inch wheels, with M Sport bodywork adding a touch of flair. The interior featured Smoke-color Veganza artificial leather, aluminum trim, and metal speaker grilles, creating a modern and elegant atmosphere. However, the cabin's reflective surfaces sometimes caused glare, complicating the use of controls. The BMW Curved Display housed most functions, with traditional iDrive controls on the center console. Despite its luxurious feel, the 530i's driving experience was described as remote and muted, lacking the connection between driver and machine that BMW was once known for.

The 2023 Toyota Prius featured a new 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, an upgrade from the previous 1.8-liter unit. This engine, combined with a more powerful electric motor and lithium-ion battery, delivered 194 horsepower in front-wheel-drive models and 196 horsepower in all-wheel-drive versions, a significant increase from the previous model's 121 horsepower. The Prius accelerated from 0-60 mph in 7.1 seconds, a notable improvement over the older model's 10.5 seconds. The car's handling was agile and athletic, with a revised suspension and longer wheelbase contributing to a comfortable and engaging driving experience. However, engine noise was noticeable during hard acceleration, and the brakes had a slight squishiness typical of hybrids.

The 2024 BMW 5 Series 530i was equipped with a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, producing 255 horsepower and 295 lb-ft of torque. A 48-volt mild-hybrid system enhanced efficiency, and the car accelerated to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds. The 530i offered a refined driving experience, with a quiet engine, smooth eight-speed automatic transmission, and a supple ride quality. The car performed well on twisty roads, thanks to its variable-ratio sport steering and M Sport braking components. However, the driving experience felt distant and muted, likened to playing a video game. Fuel economy was below expectations, with the car averaging 26.7 mpg during testing, compared to the EPA estimate of 30 mpg in combined driving.

The 2023 Toyota Prius, despite its larger exterior, had a slightly smaller interior in some dimensions compared to its predecessor. Headroom decreased in both front and rear seats, but legroom improved, accommodating taller passengers comfortably. The optional fixed glass roof on the XLE trim enhanced the cabin's openness, though it did not open for airflow. Cargo space was reduced to 20 cubic feet on XLE and Limited models and 24 cubic feet on the LE. The cabin featured practical touches like cupholders, a wireless charging pocket, and USB-C ports, though rear visibility was somewhat compromised by the loss of the split rear window.

The 2024 BMW 5 Series excelled as a luxury car, offering a spacious and comfortable interior. The power-adjustable front seats were wrapped in perforated Veganza artificial leather, providing excellent comfort, though ventilated seats were absent. The rear seats were equally comfortable, with ample legroom, headroom, and footroom. Interior storage was adequate, with a tray for smartphones, door armrests, and a split-top center armrest bin. The trunk offered 18.4 cubic feet of space, though a spare tire storage box reduced cargo room. The enclosed trunk hinges maximized available space, and deep wells on either side of the spare tire container were useful for additional storage.

The 2023 Toyota Prius came with an 8-inch color touchscreen infotainment system on the base LE and mid-grade XLE models, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity. The XLE could be upgraded to a 12.3-inch touchscreen, standard on the Limited trim, offering a more responsive and intuitive interface. The navigation system required a subscription to Toyota's Drive Connect for real-time updates. All models featured a 7-inch digital instrument cluster, which was considered too busy. The Prius included six USB-C ports, wireless smartphone charging on XLE and Limited trims, and an AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot, though subscriptions were required for connectivity bundles like Remote Connect, Safety Connect, and Drive Connect.

The 2024 BMW 5 Series featured a 12.3-inch digital instrumentation panel and a 14.9-inch touchscreen infotainment system under a single curved display, running BMW Operating System 8.5. The system included wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, connected services, a personal eSIM 5G connection, SiriusXM 360L satellite radio, and more. The iDrive controls were part of a gloss-black touch-sensing panel, which collected lint and fingerprints. The Premium Package added a head-up display and Natural Interaction, allowing voice and gesture controls. However, the Intelligent Personal Assistant had mixed performance, sometimes providing incorrect directions. The optional Bowers and Wilkins surround-sound system was not as impressive as expected, and the Premium Package included Parking Assistant Plus and an interior camera for remote monitoring and selfies.

The 2023 Toyota Prius was equipped with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, a suite of active safety features including adaptive cruise control, pre-collision braking, lane-departure alerts, lane-tracing assist, and Proactive Driving Assist. These features were standard on all Prius models. The car also included stability control, traction control, eight airbags, and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alerts. The Limited trim offered an optional hands-free automatic parallel parking feature. The 2023 Prius had not yet been crash-tested by IIHS or NHTSA.

The 2024 BMW 5 Series came with Active Driving Assistant, which included forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, and blind-spot monitoring. BMW Assist eCall provided automatic collision notification and an SOS emergency request button. The Driving Assistant Professional Package offered more advanced features like adaptive cruise control and lane-centering assist, but our test car did not have this package. The lane-departure warning system was sophisticated, issuing alerts only when necessary. The 2024 5 Series received a Top Safety Pick rating from IIHS but did not earn the Top Safety Pick+ rating.