Normally, minor year-to-year model changes aren’t worth caring about. If it doesn’t change what makes a car go, or how drivers interact with it, does it make a difference? Well, there are exceptions to every rule. Once in a blue moon, a little tweak appears with a new model year, and it’s worth shouting from the rooftops. Here’s one now: For 2025, the American-market Toyota Prius gains something Canada has enjoyed for years.
Now, it’s pretty normal for cars to have different options depending on market. For instance, M Sport bumpers waxed and waned and waxed again from BMW’s North American factory options list in the 2000s, but remained rock-steady in Europe. However, the Prius isn’t getting a feature like that. It’s actually getting a color.
See, the Nightshade treatment of blacked-out accents is coming to the 2025 Prius, and Toyota’s decided to offer this trim in color code 5C5. It’s called Karashi in America, but Canada knows it as Maximum Yellow. Let me tell you: This is the best color you can get on a Prius.
Right off the rip, Karashi or Maximum Yellow or Mustard as it’s known in other parts of the world is bright, but still has just the right touch of orange to it so that it doesn’t come across all aggressive on the eyeballs. It’s a hue that’s happy and optimistic and bursting with the beauty of life.
America has one specific advantage over Canada when it comes to availability of yellow Priuses. Across the Northern border, you can only get Maximum Yellow on the top trims of both the standard and the Plug-in models, meaning the entry point is the Limited AWD model. The U.S.-market Nightshade trim, in contrast, is based on the mid-range XLE trim, and is a whopping $2,870 less expensive than the Limited trim. I’m all for great colors being made available on more affordable trims, and pretty-much-the-middle-of-the-range feels like a great place to put this yellow.
Of course, there’s a little bit more to the Nightshade trim than just the availability of yellow paint. Compared to a Prius XLE, the Nightshade adds black badging, a black antenna, black door handles, carbon fiber dashboard trim, and it also adds the controversial choice of black 19-inch wheels. For fans of silver wheels, that’s not ideal, although it’s a lot cheaper to change the color of a set of wheels than it is to repaint a car.
So, don’t let the black wheels put you off. At $35,030 including freight, the 2025 Prius Nightshade is absolutely the one to have. Just make sure you tick the box for the Karashi paint, and everything should turn out sunny. Aren’t you tired of greyscale everything?
(Photo credits: Toyota)
Support our mission of championing car culture by becoming an Official Autopian Member.
-
Here’s How My Quest To Turn The ‘Sexy’ New Toyota Prius Into A Hot Hatch Is Going
-
A Stock Toyota Prius Just Drove Across America Averaging 93 MPG, Setting A Guinness World Record
-
I’m Going To Turn This Prius Prime PHEV Into A Hot Hatch
-
The 2024 Toyota Prius Is Over $5,000 Cheaper Than A 2001 Prius, How Much Better Is It?
-
The New Toyota Prius PHEV Is Getting Its Own Racing Series. Here’s What We Know About It
Please send tips about cool car things to tips@theautopian.com. You could even win a prize!
I don’t hate it……. and props to Toyota for offering a bold color. With this, offer this color on the new 6th gen 4Runner or Land Cruiser!
Prius Splash. I love it.
I long for the days when a picture of a highway or a parking lot looked like a spilled box of Skittles, and not a pre-war B&W movie.
So, they basically pre-spec’d a Prius for cab duty. Sounds about right to me.
I don’t love it, would never, ever choose it, but I am glad it’s an actual color and not a shade of gray. Of course, they will sell three of them painted this color, because people are f’ing boring today.
Can I have some nice deep greens and blues please?
Rockabye Sweet Baby James….
Somebody got it! 🙂
I’m also a fan of deep (and sometimes light) greens and blues too, and yes, I lament the monochrome dystopia that our automotive landscape has become. However, I dug this shade on the Prius since first seeing it in pretty much all the online ads and reviews for the new/current gen when it first came out. I was crestfallen when I discovered that the US Priii (?) wouldn’t be available in yellow.
I’m not saying that there aren’t other new that cars I’d have to also consider at $35K, but a non-plugin Prius in that great shade would probably be the most practical/sensible contender. 🙂
PS: I’m closing in on 60 and despite having owned a dozen+ different cars, I’ve never had a single one in yellow, orange, green, or purple. Since I mostly wind up buying used, color usually winds up taking last place in terms of priorities, with condition, mileage, etc… coming first. Thus, most of my cars have been either silver or black, since they’re so common. I’d really love to drive something a decent yellow, orange, or green before I buy my last vehicle… or one of those tastefully dark BMW purples (though I don’t really see myself getting a BMW at this point).
I’m not far behind you in age, but I have owned 50+ cars. About the only colors I haven’t owned are orange or purple, though my Spitfire is a fairly orangy shade of red.
My two BMWs that I special ordered new were dark green and electric blue respectively. But sadly the colors of the rest of the cars I have bought new have been boring, mostly because no decent colors were offered on them (Fiat 500 Abarth, sigh), or were not available because I was buying deeply discounted leftover cars. So I ended up with Silver, black, or white whether I really wanted them or not. Sigh. I currently still have the green BMW, my bright red Spitfire (but I don’t really like bright red either, it would not have been my choice if I bought it new), a medium green Land Rover, a lovely light metallic blue Mercedes (which amusingly Mercedes calls “Diamond Silver”), and my most boring color car, a Space Gray BMW convertible. Another car I never would have bought in that color new, but beggars don’t get to be choosers.
The Fiat Abarth especially annoyed me because lesser 500s were available in all the colors of a box of Skittles and then some. And that achingly cool interior with the off-white accents and steering wheel. But the cool version that year? Two blacks, white, red, or silver, with black cloth unless you wanted to stump up for horribly lurid red leather seats. So I went with metallic black on black. When I bought my GTI Sport, those colors plus a really nice very dark blue – but that car was going to live outdoors in FL, so almost black blue was a non-starter. White it was then.
Color me jealous of your current/prior collection Kevin… pun intended. 😉 If you’re a bit younger than me, that’s something like more than one car a year on average!
That dark metallic blue on the GTI is/was my fave GTI color of course. My A1 GTI was boring black (one of the few cars where white would have been my preference). The paint on those Pennsylvania VWs was SO thin IIRC.
And I agree about the Fiat 500 colors… the base cars/trims came in a lovely bunch of pastels, etc… and as cute as they were (and OK to drive from my couple of tries) I never bought one.
IMO, a light metallic silver-blue is one of the best possible colors for ANY Benz, but especially an older/more stately sedan. My only leased car was a ’98 CLK w/AMG Monoblocks and boring silver was the least uninteresting color it came in. While the silver body and wheels (not chrome thank Glob) looked good, the car was a nightmare of CELs and error messages and I got rid of it by year two.
Had I been able to get a base hybrid Maverick anytime during the first couple of years for MSRP, it’d have been either that Area 51 grey-blue (the safe choice) or that pearly, metallic orange (which I almost never seen in person, but it always impresses me when I do). Neither color is available on Mavericks any more, which is fine, ’cause I’m pretty unlikely to buy any Ford, let alone a new one, after all that dealership price gouging on Mavericks those first few years.
My current cars are black (a ratty but low-mile ’95 NA Miata that I brought to a couple of the Autopian events around LA) w/a hardtop, and a big, 20-year-old Volvo XC90 that I bought on a whim, and really like quite a bit (the best cheap car I ever bought actually) but it’s painted in the most mind-numbingly generic, rental-car shade of metallic beige that Volvo calls some kind of ‘green’ for an inexplicable reason. I’d LOVE for it to have been ANY actual kind of green of course.
You’ve seen the different colored interior options on that small Chinese-made Volvo EX30 (or whatever it’s called… the EV one)? Blue, yellow, and even green are possibilities, which is almost charming enough to tempt me to buy one despite all the software issues. 😉
Mostly I have just been one of those idiots who has had LOTS of cars at the same time – I maxed out at seven, currently have five (but split between homes 1700 miles apart, so a bit more justifiable in my own demented mind).
I had an A1 GLI through college and grad school – in red. Another car with lousy color choices, lol. But also one of the very best cars I ever owned! I always wanted a GTI, but never owned one until I bought my ’17 Sport, I ended up with several Jettas, then my first new car ever was an ’02 Golf TDI. In boring silver. Sigh. Great car, had to sell it when I got laid off a couple years later.
Interior colors are a whole ‘nother ball of wax! So tired of black and gray. My ordered BMW wagon has the red-brown “chestnut” leather and I LOVE it with the green. My boring convertible has beige leather, but at least it’s not black or gray. The Mercedes has off-white “light gray” that is more very light beige than gray. It was a CHORE tracking down one with light exterior and interior colors. I swear 70% of them are black on black, and that is just a non-starter for a car with no garage in FL (fixing that issue, thankfully). Spitfire is currently black vinyl (ouch), but I am redoing the interior and changing to Biscuit, and leather seats at that. Have all the parts, but not the ’round tuit’ yet. Landy is tan inside.
I am just DONE with new cars, for me the shark has been well and truly jumped with them. In 20:20 hindsight, when I bought the ’14 Mercedes two years ago, I should have spent the money on the nicest W124 wagon I could find (and it still would have been cheaper). I LIKE the S212, but I don’t love it and there are plenty of potential expensive dilemmas with them that the old cars just don’t have.
I had an ’00 Golf TDI (also in (satin) silver) for 23 years and sold it only last year. 🙂 Great MPG and a nicely made interior, but my 4th (and probably last) VW since I tend to be driving cars when they’re 20+ years old and VWs (in my limited experience at least) are a bit of a PITA to keep going when they get to be that age. 😉
Agreed also about avoiding new cars… aside from the insane prices now, there aren’t more than a few that even seriously attract me enough as a buyer given the depreciation and potential issues. So much plastic underhood (manifolds?!) and so much gdam software!
And like yourself, I’d have been SO much better off getting a ’70s-early 80s C or E-class Benz instead of making a couple years’ worth of lease payments on the CLK 320 I got in ’00. A guy down the hill with the most minty ’73 diesel coupe (black over tan w/period-correct wheels) has promised to give me first dibs if/when he’s read to sell, but I’m not holding my breath. 😉
I got a decent deal on my wagon – a ’14 with 66K miles on it for $26K two years ago, one owner with FSH. It’s fine, but definitely the last generation I would buy. The previous two gens were kind of terrible, they finally got them pretty sorted then went all-in on the tech and now the Outback treatment. Yuck. I had a w124 wagon and it was a great car even a bit old and ropey. I find my ’11 BMWs to be a nice happy medium. Not so complex, lovely to drive, good user interfaces and VERY reliable.
It’s mostly the screens, screens, screens and unnecessary performance emphasis that has killed my interest in new cars, at least for the sort of thing I like.
Yah, I’m not big on screens either… I mean, I like the rear/top view camera thing when I see it, but IMO dashboards looked better before there was a giant screen in the middle of them.
Nice Taxi.
when I was a kid we’d call this “shoobashellow”
(school bus yellow)
MUSTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!
I’m happy to see any vehicle that is in any color that isn’t black, white, grey or silver (and to a lesser extent, red)
If anything it should be offered on every Prius except the Nightshade package (and the base trim should get siver wheels!)
Black wheels plus black doorhandles and mirror caps on a yellow car really plays up the “taxi” thing a bit too much.
The “Nightshade” package looks like crap on every car. As someone who regularly check Toyota inventory, they do produce a lot of them.
When this car was first premiered, it was shown in mustard/yellow. Great color. I’m guessing this is the same shade?? If Canada had this color all along, why not the U.S.??
The black wheels definitely put me off. yuck.
I’m 100% behind more color on modern vehicles but driving a yellow Prius would get old pretty quick what with all the strangers jumping in the back seat and ordering you to take them to the airport.
That’d be a plus if you buy it as a rideshare.
Love it.
Having owned yellow, red, and orange vehicles in the past – I’m definitely target market for this kind of thing. It’s very irritating when options aren’t available, or only locked behind certain trim packages.
I really wanted a car painted in the bright orange Nissan used on the Xterra (I swear it lasted only a year, but it really popped).
This reeks a little too much of “trying too hard” (sort of like the car’s design itself, which sacrified both interior space AND aerodynamics in exchange for aesthetics). But overall, I like the Prius…I’m just salty their MINIVAN comes in that awesome green color. I want that.
Agreed. Plus, I want smaller wheels, dammit, to say nothing of them being black instead of silver.
Black wheels have fully jumped the shark. 10 years ago, it was a mod. Now it feels like every granny-mobile has black wheels. I feel like all they do is show the curb rash and they still look like steelies to me. I’m very much a fan of the silver-to-gunmetal range of colors.
I wanted to get some kind of bright color wheels for my Prius v but for stock size wheels, and couldn’t find anything after hours of research, so I just settled for getting the hubcaps painted bronze.
It gets 56 mpg highway with a 194 HP drivetrain so I dunno how much of a hit the aerodynamics would have taken for asthetics.
There’s something else here: the 19-in wheels have a fuel economy penalty compared to the 17-in standard wheels. The 17s get 56 combined vs. 52 with the 19s. It’s still a Prius so 52 or 56 are both great, but you’re paying more for wheels AND more for gas.
And also paying more for tires when they’re due for replacement
And doesn’t one tend to go for the larger wheels for the look (especially in a Prius)? When they’re black and hiding inside the black tires, what’s the point?
Somewhere a marketing guy said “our prius customers don’t care about fuel economy… they want blingy wheels that cost more and provide a harsh ride! They’re happy to take a 8% MPG reduction to look cool.”
I’d be interested in this except the way they’ve designed the steering column and dash, I have an easier time fitting in a Miata than trying to get my legs under the Prius wheel; it simply doesn’t adjust high enough
About damn time. Bring back fun colors on cars!
Not me considering having my white Mazda 3 repainted to Toyota’s Cypress once we can get it.
That is a great color! I love me a good green!
I still can’t believe black wheels are something people find desirable. Most of the time it just looks cheap to me. The yellow is fine, but give me the regular silver Prius wheels.
And as others have said, Toyota will produce exactly 3 of these, and dealers will try to mark them up.
Hey! I have black wheels on one of my vehicles, and do you know why? Well, it was because they were $40, so your point is valid. I would even say that outside of certain exotic cars, the best black wheels can look is cheap, as most just look ugly.
I’ve been eyeing the Civic Hybrid for a couple of months now, and the most off-putting thing about the entire vehicle is the lack of good wheel options. The two Hybrid trims are the Civic’s range toping trims, and yet the lower of the two can only be had with ugly black alloy wheels, and the higher can only be had with not particularly attractive silver alloys. I’d take steelies and hubcaps over their wheel options.
You have a black tire on a black wheel in a dark wheel well, usually trimmed with black plastic. The whole setup just ends up as a boring void of blackness instead of a defining characteristic of the car.
I’m irrationally waiting for white steelies to come back. They were so good!
Isn’t everything 90’s cool again? When is the return of gold and chrome wheels? Black wheels were like 2005-era “murdered out”. Could go interview Mad Mike about it.
Yellow is objectively the BEST color!!
Why, you ask?
Because it doesn’t stick to your fingers as much.
I spent 6 months shopping for a used compact CUV. The major criteria was that I would not buy any vehicle painted black, gray, silver, or white. Not Acceptable.
Took me 6 months, but I finally found a 2017 Mazda CX-5 in Deep Crystal Blue Mica.
So I applaud any manufacturer that adds an actual color to their lineup.
No, no, you spelled it wrong. It’s Kizashi, as in it makes the car look as good as a Suzuki Kizashi.
Friends, this is the exact shade of yellow dictated by the NYC TLC for taxicabs. Any word on whether the RAV4 (currently the most popular taxi in NYC) will be offered in this color?
Sweet – now Ubers can look exactly like taxis!
When Toyota doesn’t let your order vehicles, you are at the mercy of what’s on the lot or how long you are willing to wait. I don’t expect these to be a sales success and I won’t be surprised if Toyota yanks the color after a year or two.
Boy, I hope Toyota actually makes a decent number in this sweet yellow. For while now our Toyota dealers have been pulling the “you’ll buy this grey Rav4 and you’ll like it”. Even though Toyota seems to offer a few decent colors, I hardly see them available.
Even worse is trying to find one with the brown leather. They offer it on a few models, but good luck finding one. You’ll apparently take your black hole interior and like it.
So sick of all black interiors. It’s crazy how I miss the option for browns and beiges these days.
To say nothing of red or blue velour. 
Of course, but I don’t want to get too excited here. Baby steps.
Velour in general. And TWEED! My ’85 Jetta had lovely tweed seats.