The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime. With hybrid sales in general---and the Prius' in particular---down, it might seem like dark days for this segment. But the Toyota Prius Prime is a brilliant vehicle. 2017 Toyota Prius Prime. Three months ago, I wrote how the current Prius is the best ever, let down largely by gas prices and polarizing styling. The Prius Prime is the best of the best, and a huge leap over its predecessor, the Prius Plug-In Hybrid. Greater battery capacity means a 26-percent improvement in mileage. The Prius Prime's EPA estimate is 133 MPGe, which rockets it to the top of the TireKicker's Top 10 Fuel Savers list on the right side of this page. The old plug-in Prius was number eight with 95 MPGe. That extra battery capacity means you can go farther and faster on purely electric power. The EV range is now 25 miles at speeds of up to 84 miles per hour, making it more likely that you can get through a typical day without using a drop of gasoline. And if you do have to use more than electricity, the combination of that pure EV range and the improved hybrid estimate of 55 city/53 highway means a total range of 640 miles. That is a staggering number for a small passenger car. 2017 Toyota Prius Prime interior. 36,081. Which is not that much more than loaded Priuses that don't offer the range of the Prime. Gasoline prices may be low now, but that will not always be the case. The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime's glory days may be ahead.
This long par 4 features a blind tee shot to a fairway that slopes from left to right. The Church Pews left and severe ditches and bunkers on the right call for another straight drive. A mid-to-long iron sets up a second shot to a very large green with many subtleties. Take four here and smile going to 16! It's really incredible how many blind shots you face at Oakmont and here is yet another. I boomed a drive up the right side but knew it was a bit further right than I wanted. Again, I had to hope for the best here. I was in the rough but VERY fortunate to miss the huge ditches to the right. I had about 175-180 yards or so but the shot was being played downwind to a green that sloped sharply front to back. The caddy suggested it was about a 155-yard shot based on the conditions so I tried to cut an 8-iron in there. I hit it well but it stopped just short of the green, leaving a tricky little shot from 10 yards off to a pin cut down the slope about 35 feet on the green.
The caddy suggested I putt the ball and after watching Jon hit a gorgeous chip to four feet, I saw just how fast this shot was going to be. Still, I couldn't properly gauge the speed and ended up going 10 feet past the hole. I'd ram my par putt a few feet past and was fortunate to make a slick little bogey putt to keep the dream of breaking 80 alive. A long iron is needed on this par 3, which has a fairly large green that slopes from left to right. To miss this green to the left is to ask for trouble. Another intimidating one-shotter. I pulled a 4-iron for this shot and hit a really nice ball that drifted a bit too much to the left. From the tee, it was hard to see where the ball ended up but if I went in the bunker, I was obviously dead.
Preston hit a GORGEOUS shot in here that we thought just might go in but instead ended up 18 inches away. He'd tap that in for birdie, our group's second of the day. My ball ended up barely staying up in the rough and I had next to an impossible chip down a sharp incline to the flag. I opened up the face of my 60 degree wedge and it popped straight up and landed about an inch on the green and slowly made its descent toward the flag. It stopped about a foot and a half away, giving me a great up and down par, only my second up and in of the day. 7 through 14 and on pace to shoot 80 on the button. Although some of you can drive this par 4, severe bunkering 50 yards from the green will make you think twice before trying to do so.
