Toyota Prius NHW10
The first production Prius taught a gasoline engine, electric motor and battery to share the work automatically.
1998 Toyota Prius NHW10 Silver Strara Metallic (1) (cropped).jpg · Damian B Oh · CC BY-SA 4.0
Research pending
A matching completed auction sale has not been verified for this exact year, body, trim, engine, transmission and market.
Joyride shows this gap instead of substituting an asking price, unsold bid or mismatched special vehicle.
More than a set of wheels.
Toyota put the original Prius on sale across Japan on December 10, 1997. This page follows the home-market NHW10, not the revised export Prius that arrived in 2000 or later hatchback generations. Its Toyota Hybrid System combined a specially designed 1.5-litre engine, two electric machines, a nickel-metal-hydride battery and a planetary power-split device. The driver did not have to select electric or gasoline mode; computers blended them.
Look a little closer.
Prius comes from Latin and suggests “prior” or “before”—a name Toyota chose for a car meant to arrive before the 21st century.
Photos show an example of the model or generation. The pictured vehicle’s year, equipment, or modifications can differ from the specification described here.
A test-cycle number needs its label
Toyota quoted 28 km/L on Japan’s 10.15 test cycle. That is a controlled comparison figure, not a promise for every trip, road, temperature or driving style, so Joyride keeps the cycle name beside the number.
Source: Toyota · 1997 Prius launch ↗Small outside, clever inside
A 2,550 mm wheelbase and compact powertrain gave the 4,275 mm sedan cabin space Toyota compared with a medium-size car. Center-mounted digital instruments and an energy monitor made the unfamiliar hybrid system visible to passengers.
Source: Toyota · 1997 Prius launch ↗Where these facts come from
- Toyota · 1997 Prius launch
- Toyota · first-generation Prius lineage and specifications
- Toyota · history of the hybrid system
Selected facts checked for this edition. Some source pages link to broader model families. Last reviewed September 29, 2026.