We’re modifying a 2024 Toyota Prius Prime in an attempt to improve the handling and appearance and turn it into a hot hatch.
Follow along below as this Toyota Prius becomes a hot hatch. A full transcript, provided by AI and edited by a staffer, is below.
Welcome to the Bozi Breakdown. TTAC Creator Bozidar “Bozi” Tatarević is a Bosnian-American racing mechanic, writer, and technical consultant born in Sarajevo in 1986. After immigrating to the U.S. in 1995, he learned English in elementary school and eventually turned his passion for cars—fostered by his father Slav—into a full-time career. Laid off from a tech job in 2008, Bozi began wrenching professionally, eventually launching a shop and car export business with his family. His technical message board posts led to a writing career with outlets like TTAC, Motorsport.com, Road & Track and Racecar Engineering.
In 2018, he made his pro mechanic debut at Watkins Glen and now works as a tire carrier and mechanic for Vasser Sullivan Racing in IMSA, with 10 wins and a 2023 GTD Pro title. Bozi also consults via his agency Podium Prime, with clients ranging from race teams to media production companies.
The TTAC Creators Series tells stories and amplifies creators from all corners of the car world, including culture, dealerships, collections, modified builds and more.
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Transcript:
Behind me is a 2024 Toyota Prius Prime, and I’m going to show you how I’m turning it into a hot hatch. The Prius Prime is already quick in a straight line, thanks to its internal combustion engine paired with electric motors for a total system output of 220 horsepower.
The handling is better than expected, with a surprisingly tight feel in the corners. Still, vehicles in this class are usually built to understeer, partly due to the low rolling resistance tires that prioritize efficiency. These tires get overwhelmed quickly, which is the biggest limitation.
The goal of this project is to improve both handling and appearance, ideally using parts already available in Toyota’s lineup. My biggest find so far is a set of 19-inch forged wheels from the Lexus NX F Sport. These were dealer-installed options, and the specs line up perfectly with what I need: the hub size matches, the offset is close, and despite being larger, they only weigh a couple of pounds more than the stock 17-inch wheels.
To get a baseline, I measured the ride height. At the front fender, it was about 27.2 inches, and the rear measured about the same. With that done, it was time to start work.
First, I needed access to the strut top mounts. The wipers and cowl cover block them, so I had to remove a few bolts, pull the wipers, and take off the plastic cover. Initially, I thought the whole wiper transmission would need to come out, but the strut nuts were visible once the cover was removed, which saved a step.
For the suspension, I installed lowering springs on the stock struts. The front followed the usual MacPherson strut process—unbolt, swap springs, and reassemble. The rear was even simpler since the spring is separate from the shock; it just required unbolting the lower mount, swapping the spring, and bolting everything back together.
After reassembly and a short drive, the car settled to about 26.2 inches in the front and slightly lower in the rear. Overall, the springs dropped the car by about an inch and a half, tightening up the suspension and improving cornering without adding harshness.
Next came the wheels and tires. The stock setup was a 17-inch wheel with a plastic aero cover and Bridgestone Ecopia low rolling resistance tires. Great for efficiency, not so great for handling. I replaced them with 19×7.5-inch forged aluminum F Sport wheels from the Lexus NX, wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 tires. I considered Pilot Sport 4S, but since it’s colder out, the all-seasons made more sense.
Side by side, the overall diameter between the new and old setups is nearly identical, so the speedometer remains accurate, with less than half a percent difference. The new wheels are wider, giving more grip, though slightly heavier. The trade-off in handling was worth it.
Fitment is excellent. The original Prius wheels were 17×6.5, while the new ones are 19×7.5. The offset difference is only 1 mm, so the wheels sit nicely within the fenders, especially with the lowered suspension. Since both share the same 62 mm hub, no hub rings were needed. The wheels still carry F Sport badging, though I may swap them for Toyota caps later.
With just springs and wheels, the Prius Prime now has a much sharper look and feels significantly better on back roads, all without a major hit to efficiency. In the next video, I’ll go deeper into how these changes affect performance and what modifications are planned next.
