Prius C - The Cute Prius

Photo: Victor Llana (www.boundlesscaptures.com)

In case you haven't been paying attention, the Toyota Prius, the world's most successful hybrid, is now a family of FOUR models. Not only is there the "regular" Prius, now subtitled the Liftback, but there's the Prius V, a larger wagon style model and an electric plug-in version of the Liftback. It's the first Prius you can charge--and you can get up to 13 miles of completely fuel-free motoring out of it.

The new Prius C brings gas/electric power to the masses, slotting in below the Liftback. The engine is smaller, but the principle is the same--a gas engine part of the time supplemented by an electric motor for maximum fuel economy. As with other Prii, you find yourself using gas on the freeway, but often running on battery power alone on surface streets. The car shuts off at traffic lights.

This means an average of 50 miles per gallon per the EPA--53 in town and 46 on the highway. In reality, I achieved 47.3 mpg--still about as good as it gets short of a pure electric. You can get a wealth of information about your fuel economy in charts, graphs, and lists of information on the numerous screens on the dash. Just push buttons on the steering wheel and it's all before you. There's the same flow diagram as on other Prii, but reduced in scale, that shows you where the energy to run the car is coming from--and how the battery is being charged. You have to be careful not to lose your focus on the road ahead. As in other Prii, you can learn to drive more efficiently by paying attention to the numbers.

The thing is, despite its fuel-saving mission, this car is nice to live with on a day-to-day basis. Inside, the surfaces have the multiple textures that other Prii have. It used to be that all plastic in cars tried to replicate leather or pigskin. Now, it could be rice paper or a kind of wavy line pattern. It's light gray and charcoal here, with some fanciful rolling gridwork that makes the surfaces pulse organically. A blue trim line tones in with the blue plastic motif on the floor shift lever of the automatic--the same plastic insert as found on the big Prii.

The car is a good foot shorter than a Liftback--I know because I parked next to one--but it doesn't feel shortchanged inside. There is real rear seat room for a full-sized person back there, and adequate headroom, too.

The Prius C comes in four levels. Level one gets a surprisingly level of standard fare, including full climate control, a multi-information display, AM/FM/CD with Bluetooth, Level two throws in cruise control, split rear seats and a rear cargo cover. Level three adds a smart key--a real upscale feeling item--and upgrades the screen interface. My test car was a three--in Habanero--a friendly and comment-inducing orange. Want alloy wheels? That's level four--with artificial leather covered heated front seats.

Prices start at $19,710--including shipping. The top price, not including any options, is $23,990. So, it gives you lots of choices before you even touch the Liftback.

With 1.5 liters of engine putting out just 73 horsepower, and a combined horsepower rating of just 99 including the electric motor, performance is not exciting. With just me in the car, it was a competent hauler on streets and freeways--quiet and smooth. And with nearly 50 miles per gallon, it's cheap to run.

This is a cheerful, easy-to-like little car. The small dash screen greets you with a cute Prius C image zooming by and says goodbye when you turn it off. It should make the Prius an even stronger brand--and make it a purchase option for young, first-time buyers.

Toyota Prius V - Bigger, but Thirstier

The Prius V has arrived! It provides more cargo space and practicality than the standard Prius, and is the third member of what is becoming the Prius family of cars. Besides the Plug-in Prius, a fourth model will arrive this year, the Prius C (compact, or, perhaps "cheaper"). The C will not offer significantly greater fuel economy numbers, but will be 19 inches shorter than the standard Prius and will, most importantly, have a lower entry price, bringing hybrid ownership to first-time compact car buyers.

The Prius has never been a particularly small car, but in the interests of maximum efficiency, it tapers down at the back.This gives it a coefficient of drag (cd) of just.25--excellent. The new V is more of a crossover/wagon configuration, with a more straight-back roofline and full vertical tailgate, so it rates at .29 for its cd. That, along with a weight gain of 232 pounds using the same 134 horsepower gasoline/electric powertrain, drops the fuel economy numbers. While the familiar Prius hatchback averages 50 mpg, the Prius V gets just 42. I averaged 38.8 mpg over my test week, which included a lot of freeway driving. Incidentally, the 0-60 time drops from 9.8 seconds to 10.4 with the V.

Those fuel economy numbers bring up an interesting point. One big difference between hybrids and normal cars is that the City rating for hybrids is usually higher than the Highway figure (it's 44/40 for the Prius V). So, oddly, if I had spent more time in town my average might have been a bit closer to the EPA's 42 mpg.

Toyota has made the Prius V feel a little more like a crossover SUV inside by giving it a more symmetrical and solid-looking dash panel. My Prius-owning neighbor noticed that the center console is not attached to the dash, so it feels more spacious up front. Of course the wagon-like practicality behind adds cargo space. Cargo space jumps from 21.6 cubic feet to 34.3 with the V, and with the seats folded, it can be up to 67.3 cubic feet--that's generous for a car that can get 40 mpg.

The price is a bit scary. My tester, a top-of-the-line level 5 model, was $36,692--approaching entry luxury territory. The list for the level 5 starts at $30,750, including shipping, but mine had the Advanced Technology Package, which added many things, including $5,580 to the bottom line. Prices for the Prius V level 2 start at a more affordable $27,160.

Prii for everyone! Stay tuned.

Prius C - Baby of the Family

Toyota released photos of the Prius C yesterday. The car will be formally introduced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next month and will be available at dealerships in 2012. The question is, why didn't they think of this sooner?

The Prius, Toyota's hybrid vehicle, is the poster child for high efficiency driving. It's by far the largest selling hybrid and is almost the generic name for gas/electric vehicles--like "Kleenex" for tissues or "iPod" for MP3 player. Expanding the family makes good marketing sense, since the name is already familiar and associated with high efficiency motoring.

One way to give a car higher fuel efficiency is to make it smaller and lighter. That's why a car like the excellent Mazda2 can get superior mileage without the extra cost, complexity and weight of a hybrid. Remember -- a hybrid has to use a gas engine and an electric motor -- and all the technology that links them together, including extra-large batteries and the regenerative braking system.

All that being said, the Prius C (compact?) will be smaller and lighter than the standard Prius, which actually is much larger than you might think (check out the back seat and cargo capacity). Based on the subcompact Yaris platform, the Prius C should already be pretty efficient just by its size and weight. If the standard Prius can average 50 miles per gallon, could the new baby Prius get 60? If so, it would immediately carve itself a nice fat slice out of the high efficiency car market. Being smaller and lighter, it should be more affordable too, putting a Prius in even more garages across the U.S. and the world.

The Prius V, a bigger wagon model, just debuted. It's a lovely thing, but with its larger size and greater weight, its fuel economy numbers are lower than a standard Prius (44/40).

I eagerly await a test of the new Prius C and will report on it right here.