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TEST DRIVE: We Take the Tiny Prius c Out for a Picnic
Posted By
Charley Cameron
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Eco Textiles,Transportation |
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The first thing everyone wants to know about a Prius is its mileage. How did it do? Well, official estimates are 53 city and 46 highway. On our test it was easy to get 40 mpg with combined city and highway driving — impressive considering how focused the Prius line is on efficient city driving. Slowing down to city speeds quickly improves your mileage into the 40s. You’re giving up a lot of car to get these numbers, but the Prius c is light and agile.
It can be a bit of a small-car bumpy ride out there in the country, but the Prius c would handle rough roads much better in the winter than a Chevy Volt, since it has standard tires and road clearance like most other small cars (the Chevy Volt has the road clearance of a ZR1 Corvette and low rolling resistance tires to improve mileage, which translates to a slippery ride and an inability to travel through snow or deep mud).
If a small runaround is what you’re looking for, this Prius works quite well and makes the most of its compact space. The c starts at $18,950, so it’s quite affordable for a hybrid as well; that’s $5,000 cheaper than a standard 3rd-gen Prius, and a full $13,000 cheaper than the plug-in model. The Prius c is a pretty simple car, but we think it might be just the ticket to bringing hybrids to an affordable level in the mainstream.
+ Toyota
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Inhabitat recently had the chance to try one of the first next-gen line of Priuses, which now range from the likes of our tiny test subject, the Prius c, to the large people-mover Prius v. So, what is a Prius c? It’s basically a tiny hatchback Prius stripped down, but still functional with a slightly nicer interior than last year’s batch of releases (plug-in and non-plug-in versions). Recently, we took the Prius c for a little picnic in the country to see how it could handle both city and country…
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From the front, the Prius c looks like any other Prius.
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Even from the front corner the c looks like a pretty good-sized hybrid.
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Ah, there’s the difference. See how the back end is chopped off to create a true hatchback?
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From behind the c somehow looks like a minivan, though in person you’ll see how small and close to the ground this hatch is.
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We like Toyota’s multi-angled Prius headlights, and they’re the same here as on the rest of the Prius line. They give the Priuses an air of a more expensive vehicle.
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Here’s another clue that some effort went into developing the Prius line. The side mirrors aren’t afterthoughts. See the puddle lamps and two-tone design details?
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The Prius roof has channels to move air up and over the car for better aerodynamics.
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The Prius badge is now quite modest, just a small sticker where a car name might go on the side of the car. Honestly we prefer this to the shout-out-loud badging of the first plug-in Priuses.
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Not a lot of storage back there, but the hatch is nicely made.
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The Prius c trunk is good for hauling groceries or other flexible cargo, but forget about large items.
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Again, we love the two-tone design that is being carried into the cabin. The doors of the Prius c have that same tinny metallic sound on closing that you get from most hybrids, since the insulation was taken out to save weight.
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Power everything is nice. For a moment we were afraid we would be dropping into manual windows a la the Mitsubishi i given the diminutive proportions of this car.
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The front row has plenty of foot room for the average person, but we wouldn’t recommend this car for basketball players.
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See how that two-tone design is heading inside?
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The two-tone motif makes it to the steering wheel, and then abruptly stops. The rest of the cockpit is drab dark gray for some reason.
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Power controls on the steering wheel too, which makes us wonder if the dashboard plastic and HVAC and audio controls are the only things making this little car seem down market?
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The instrument display in the c is just like the one in the other Priuses, simple, digital, and located far up on the dash above the steering wheel.
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A strange little storage cubby runs the length of the dashboard behind the steering wheel.
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Here is that offending HVAC audio system. It’s all dark gray and cloisterish.
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We hope that Toyota put this simple radio in to save weight, but we suspect cost savings had more to do with it. still, the sound is good and the radio is functional, with XM and all other usual options.
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The HVAC and audio systems are pretty pared down, with a strangely dark and flat looking plastic all over the dash. This was probably the most noticeable thing about this car, but it’s functional, and you could brighten up the space by putting your own stuff in all the cubbies up front.
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The AUX and USB plugs are conveniently located outside the glove box, which saved us the time hunting for them.
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The Prius c does have a small display screen in the center of the dash, and it can toggle through a variety of screens that tell you how much money or gas you are saving with your driving habits.
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This menu screen shows all the options for viewing your efficient driving and the hybrid systems in action.
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Standard overhead lights. A lot of this car was cribbed from a larger Toyota.
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Ah, but that blue shimmery gear shifter head is how you know this is part of the Prius hybrid lineup. These designs vary but always retain that cobalt color in each version of the Prius.
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Toyota gives you the option of switching manually between hybrid and EV modes, but the EV mode doesn’t last long before it nannies you and switches you out of it due to low battery. Not sure why they tease us this way.
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The rear passenger door has power controls and a nice quality look to it too.
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In a car this small, you will want to engage all the child locks, however, since these controls are easily accessible to kiddos in car seats. We had a little breezy experience of a an open car door while driving. Ahem.
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