We've just published our full review of the new 50-mpg Prius c hybrid from Toyota and posted the detailed pricing for the Prius c's trim lineup: One, Two, Three and Four. But how affordable is this sub-$19,000 hybrid versus traditional subcompact cars that get decent mileage without the hybrid system or higher starting price?
It turns out the Prius c does pretty darn well.
According to Toyota, the "c" in the Prius c's name stands for "city." It also could stand for "cheap." The newest, tiniest addition to the Prius family will start at $18,950 when it goes on sale next month. The subcompact hybrid joins the original Prius compact hatchback and larger, new-for-2012 Prius v wagon.
Its price isn't the only attractive number. The four-door hatchback's 73-horsepower, 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine and 60-hp electric motor should return excellent fuel economy. The EPA estimates it should get 53/46 mpg city/highway. Toyota says it's the "highest rated city fuel economy of any vehicle without a plug."
Toyota's smallest hybrid, the Prius c, promises big fuel economy and a small price. But how does it drive? That's what Managing Editor David Thomas discovered during his test of the new vehicle. Find out if it lived up to the hype or disappointed when the low-rolling-resistance tires hit the road.
Toyota had a rough year in 2011. Safety investigations and natural disasters presented challenge after challenge and wounded the company’s supply chain, sales figures and brand image. It's a new year, and it sounds like Toyota plans to stay busy.
The automaker is planning to launch 19 new vehicles in 2012 across its Toyota, Lexus and Scion brands, according to the Detroit Free Press. Executives detailed the plans to dealers last weekend at the National Automobile Dealers Association convention in Las Vegas.
Despite their small share of total vehicle sales, the Chevrolet Volt, Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius garner a lot of attention from new-car shoppers, according to J.D. Power and Associates' 2012 Avoider Study.
The study finds that gas mileage is the most important attribute shoppers are looking at now, surpassing older key reasons such as exterior styling, reliability and price.
That puts the Volt, Prius and Leaf in a good position as each are among the most fuel-efficient cars in the country.
In the proverbial flesh, the 2013 Toyota Prius c looks quite good. It's the least awkward design of the Prius family, in my opinion — and much less dorky than the Nissan Leaf.
More 2012 Detroit Auto Show Coverage
The Prius c looks broad and low-slung. The taillights recall those on the Volvo C30 and Leaf, flanking the liftgate and climbing far up the D-pillars. The design is no doubt effective for a low-riding car, but the clear lenses are a fad that should have been retired long ago.
At the 2013 Toyota Prius c hybrid's first North American showing, the company announced a starting price below $19,000 and estimated gas mileage of 53/46 mpg city/highway and 50 mpg combined. Those figures alone make it a major splash in the market.
More 2012 Detroit Auto Show Coverage
The "c" stands for city, which plays up the four-door hatchback's small size and record-setting fuel economy for a conventional hybrid in city driving. (It also draws attention away from its highway figure, which is 2 mpg lower than the regular Prius' highway rating, and its combined rating of 50 mpg, which is an even match.)
The mileage parity with the larger Prius isn't a big surprise.
Toyota gave us our first glimpse at its ready-to-sell baby Prius, dubbed the 2013 Toyota Prius c, today. The first photos and some basic technical info showed up unceremoniously early on the company’s website.
The hybrid model won’t show up at the L.A. Auto Show. Rather, it will debut at the 2012 Detroit auto show, a full year after the Prius c concept was shown off to the public at the Motor City.
The Prius c — the C stands for “city” — is a subcompact car that’s much smaller than the Prius and Prius V, with a total length of about 157 inches, Toyota says. It’s just slightly larger than a four-door Toyota Yaris. The model is expected to get the highest city gas-mileage rating of any non-plug-in hybrid model on the road today, doing better than 50 mpg, Toyota says. The engine has a smaller displacement than the Prius and Prius V. It’s a 1.5-liter four-cylinder connected to the company’s Hybrid Synergy Drive system.
The Toyota Prius could be a good match for a small family trying to save money on gas, but the larger Prius V is a better fit for families, according to MotherProof.com contributor BreAnn Ahara.
Ahara owns a 2008 Toyota Prius. On her family’s semi-annual trip between Los Angeles and Phoenix, their midsized hatchback typically has a hard time fitting their family of four and their cargo to make the trip work.
With 80% more space than most small SUVs on the market and 60% more cargo space than what’s available in the regular Prius, the Prius V had none of those issues. Even better, fuel economy was barely compromised, according to Ahara.
Continue reading MotherProof.com’s three-part series to see how the Prius V fared during Ahara’s week with the vehicle, which included an 800-mile round-trip trek through the Southwest.
Toyota Prius vs. Prius V: Is the Prius V Worth the Higher Cost?
Toyota Prius vs. Prius V: Prius V’s Lower MPGs OK With Family
Toyota Prius vs. Prius V: Larger Cargo Area Makes for Road-Trip Bliss
For the 2012 model year, the Toyota Prius gets slight revisions to its exterior and adds more standard equipped and a new multimedia system. It is expected to hit dealers late this year.
The front gets a redesigned bumper with more stylized lower openings on each end, now filled with new standard LED automatic daytime running lights. The fog lights, when equipped, have been moved to the lower grille. The front and rear lamp designs are redesigned, too.
The 2012 Prius will be widely available in the numerically named Two, Three, Four and Five trim levels. There likely will be an unadvertised Prius One trim, too. Last year, Toyota said the Prius One was primarily sold to fleet customers but could be bought at retail, though availability was extremely rare.
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