Toyota sells far more hybrids than anyone else, thanks mainly to its iconic Prius and its industry-leading (for non plug-ins) 50-mpg EPA Combined mileage rating. But this year, it's different; Toyota has rounded out the Prius line with two new body styles. First, there's the Prius V, a larger wagon version, which arrived earlier this model year; and now the 2012 Prius C has arrived, appealing to those who want a simpler, more compact car.
With a more familiar, traditional small-car profile and package, yet the same best-in-class 50-mpg figure (actually 53 mpg city, 46 highway)—matched with a base price of just $19,710—the Prius C should attract a wider swath of value-conscious motorists.
Performance
As with the entire Prius lineup, the 2012 Toyota Prius C is powered by both a traditional gasoline engine and a pair of electric motor-generators. The smaller Prius C makes do with smaller drivetrain components, however. Providing power to the wheels and generators is a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 73 horsepower and 82 pound-feet of torque. The two electric motor-generators bring the overall output total to 99 hp. A continuously variable transmission (CVT) routes power to the front wheels.In Edmunds testing, this Prius C accelerated from zero to 60 mph in a rather reluctant 11.3 seconds. Coming to a stop from that speed yielded much better results, as the car does the job in 118 feet, which is about average for compact cars. While power delivery is far from impressive, the crucial numbers here involve miles per gallon and the Prius C is definitely a champ in this respect. The EPA estimates 53 city/46 highway mpg and 50 mpg in combined driving, which is the highest rating in the EPA book for anything other than a high-tech plug-in hybrid. In our testing, we averaged 48.9 mpg.
The trouble comes when you turn your calculating not to the similarly priced, lower-mpg Insight, but to the Yaris. The C's 17-mpg advantage (50 to 33 combined) comes at a premium of perhaps $4000. At $3.50 per gallon gas, that means it'll take exactly one zillion years of typical driving to pay it off. Relative to the medium-priced Prius, or Camry or Fusion Hybrids, both the Insight's and Prius C's hybridization premium seems to be a noticeably bigger proportion of their price.
Getting from the here to there of needing an inexpensive, high mileage car to driving home in a Prius C is like stepping across a wide stream where you'll need to rest your weight on a few specific rocks in between. Presumably, one of them is isolating yourself against gas price shocks. Maybe another is caring greatly about CO2 emissions. But one rock ought to be that the car drives adequately well. As the Insight discovered, these stepping stones are sometimes slippery. And that'll be a challenge for the Prius C as well.source:thecarconnection.com,edmunds.com,motortrend.com
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