2023 Toyota Prius vs 2024 Volkswagen Golf GTI

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 vehicles and other hybrids, 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 appeal for traditional buyers. The wheels were pushed to the corners, enhancing both handling and the car's athletic stance. Inside, the Prius offered a solid and well-crafted cabin, with high-quality materials and a more conventional instrument panel setup, though it leaned more towards function than form.

In contrast, the 2024 Volkswagen Golf GTI continued to build on its sporty heritage, offering a more expressive design than its predecessor. The GTI was available only as a five-door hatchback, with a wide-mouth grille and LED headlights that added creative flair. The 2024 model introduced a 380 special edition package for manual-transmission models, featuring gloss black wheels and a black roof. The interior combined classic GTI elements with modern technology, including a digital instrument cluster and a large infotainment screen. The GTI maintained its reputation for blending performance with practicality, offering a comfortable and well-equipped cabin, though some design choices, like haptic controls, were less user-friendly.

The 2023 Toyota Prius featured a new 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine paired with a more powerful electric motor and lithium-ion battery, delivering 194 horsepower in FWD models and 196 horsepower in AWD models. This was a significant improvement over the previous model's 121 horsepower. The Prius offered a more athletic driving experience, with improved acceleration and handling, thanks to its revised suspension and longer wheelbase. The 0-60 mph time dropped to 7.1 seconds from the previous 10.5 seconds. While road and wind noise were generally well-managed, the engine could be loud during hard acceleration. Overall, the Prius provided a comfortable and engaging driving experience.

The 2024 Volkswagen Golf GTI was powered by a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, producing 241 horsepower and 273 pound-feet of torque. It offered a choice between a six-speed manual transmission and a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission. The GTI featured a standard electronically-controlled limited-slip differential and optional adaptive damping, providing precise handling and a stable feel. The driving experience was smooth and mature, with linear power delivery and minimal turbo lag. The GTI excelled as a daily driver, offering comfort and quietness, especially with adaptive dampers. While it lacked some excitement compared to rivals, it struck a balance between performance and everyday usability.

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 didn't 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 Volkswagen Golf GTI offered practicality with its hatchback design, providing 19.9 cubic feet of cargo space, expandable to 34.5 cubic feet with the rear seats folded. While passenger space was comparable to sport compact sedans, rear-seat passengers might feel slightly cramped. The GTI came with standard features like heated front seats, automatic climate control, and ambient lighting. Higher trims added a sunroof, leather upholstery, and advanced climate control. However, the haptic controls for temperature and audio volume were less intuitive, detracting from interior functionality. Despite this, the GTI offered a well-equipped and comfortable cabin.

The 2023 Toyota Prius came with an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment system on the base LE and XLE models, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The XLE could be upgraded to a 12.3-inch screen, standard on the Limited trim. The navigation system required a subscription for real-time updates, which was a drawback. All models featured a 7-inch digital instrument cluster, though it was cluttered with information. The Prius offered six USB-C ports, wireless smartphone charging on higher trims, and an AT&T Wi-Fi hotspot, though subscriptions were needed for connectivity bundles like Remote Connect and Safety Connect.

The 2024 Volkswagen Golf GTI featured an 8.25-inch touchscreen on the base S trim, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless charging, and a six-speaker audio system. Higher trims had a 10-inch touchscreen, Wi-Fi connectivity, and a nine-speaker Harman Kardon audio system. The infotainment system was generally user-friendly, though satellite radio information was slow to update. The 10.25-inch Digital Cockpit Pro instrument cluster offered multiple configurations, but its design was somewhat cheesy, and it wasn't always effective at conveying information. The GTI's focus on screens sometimes detracted from its driver-centric nature.

The 2023 Toyota Prius was equipped with Toyota Safety Sense 3.0, which included adaptive cruise control, pre-collision braking, lane-departure alerts, and Proactive Driving Assist. The latter used radar and cameras to detect obstacles and adjust speed accordingly. These features were standard across all trims. The Prius also had stability control, traction control, eight airbags, and blind-spot monitoring. The Limited trim offered Advanced Park for hands-free parallel parking. At the time of review, the Prius hadn't been crash-tested by IIHS or NHTSA.

The 2024 Volkswagen Golf GTI received top "Good" scores in some IIHS crash tests, though headlights were rated "Acceptable" or "Marginal" depending on the trim. NHTSA hadn't released ratings for the GTI. Standard safety features included forward-collision warning, automatic emergency braking, blind-spot monitoring, and adaptive cruise control. The GTI also had Intelligent Crash Response and, in DSG models, Emergency Assist. Additional features like park distance control and traffic sign recognition were available.