Here’s a word for you. Solanaceae. It’s a fancy word for nightshade, that diverse family of plants that include edible veggies, like tomatoes and potatoes, eggplants and peppers.

Don’t confuse it, however, with deadly nightshade, a highly-toxic perennial herbaceous plant with glossy, jet-black berries that can kill you.

Nightshade is also the name of a fun new version of Toyota’s Prius Plug-in Hybrid. Probably a better name choice than Prius Solanaceae. 

Nothing too revolutionary here, but a way of Toyota adding a little marketing buzz to this latest fifth-generation Prius. You know, the one with the ski-slope front-end and steep-angled windshield.

As you might expect, this Nightshade Edition is all about black. Black-finished 19-inch alloys, black badging, black door handles and black bumper trim. Even a black paint job that Toyota calls Midnight Black Metallic.

It’s in addition to a shade of white called Wind Chill Pearl, and the slightly oddball curry color of our test car, that goes by the name Karashi. 

The rest of the spec is similar to what comes with the XSE Hybrid model with this Nightshade package adding just $770 to the XSE’s $37,025 price tag. If you don’t have your calculator handy, that puts the Nightshade at $37,795, or $40,985 with a few options. 

What hasn’t changed is what’s under the hood. Here you get Toyota’s 2.0-liter four-cylinder gas engine and a beefy electric motor at the front, juiced by a 13.6 kWh battery pack. It’s the same set-up you’ll find in Toyota’s Corolla Cross Hybrid.

Plug it into a charger and, topped-up, the Prius will run for up to 44 miles on silent, zero emission, electric power before the motor kicks in. 

And 44 miles is probably plenty sufficient for the daily needs of most drivers. School runs, commutes to the office, grocery runs to Whole Foods. 

Battery power and a gas motor in the Nightshade adds up to a combined 220 horsepower. That makes for zippy acceleration – 0-to-60 in around 6.5 seconds – and plenty of oomph for safe, speedy passing, or freeway merging. 

Hybrid power also means impressive fuel economy with a combined average of around 52 mpg, and a range of up to 600 miles on a tank. Impressive.

I loved driving this thing because it feels so athletic and energetic. Step on the gas and it scoots forward as if released from some invisible catapult, and all in spooky silence. There’s also a “sport” mode that adds a shot of Red Bull to the tank. 

I’m not normally a fan of CVT continuously-variable transmissions, but the Prius’ set-up is smooth and responsive. It only gets loud under really hard acceleration. 

And that lively performance is complimented by nicely-weighted, super-precise steering, low body roll and plenty of grip from that 19-inch rubber.  Yes, the ride can get a little jittery over broken blacktop, but generally it’s smooth and refined.

Even though this latest 5th-gen Prius has been around for close to three years now, it still gets appreciative looks on the street, especially when it’s painted in this polarizing shade of mustard. 

Yes, that ski-slope windshield can make getting in and out of the front seats a challenge. And the low-slung sedan stance isn’t anywhere near as practical as a taller-riding crossover. 

But inside there’s room for five, and a great-sized trunk for carrying “stuff”. It’s worth paying the extra $1,000 for the full, fixed-glass roof because of all the light it lets in to brighten the all-black cabin. 

Inside, I love that stubby little gear shifter, the wireless-charging slot alongside it, the meaty-thick steering wheel, and optional 12.3-inch touchscreen in the middle of the dash. No prizes though for the stupidly small – and far-away – driver instrument display.

This latest Nightshade package is certainly a sweet addition to the Prius range, adding plenty of appeal to this benchmark, high-value plug-in hybrid. 

And thankfully nothing about this Nightshade is deadly.