The Prius C Reviews

The Prius c has no direct hybrid competitors, but in this price range you'll find the Honda Fit, Chevrolet Sonic, Ford Fiesta, Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio and Volkswagen Golf diesel. Some come close to the highway mileage of the Prius c — but none match it in the city.

The Prius c boasts the low emissions and fuel economy of eco-oriented hybrids like the larger Prius — but it's smaller — 19 inches shorter and 500 pounds lighter — and substantially cheaper — at least $5,000. EPA rated at 53mpg/city, at $4 a gallon it will take you 450 miles on $36 worth of gas. It may also qualify for a tax incentive or carpool-lane access sticker in some places.

The Prius c has decently substantial and comfortable front seats by subcompact standards, and they're upholstered in good-quality two-tone fabric. But other than that, drivers will mainly see nods to the car's discounted price. Nearly everything is hard plastic, except for a small piece of thin cloth on the door armrests and a few metal accents. Shallow swirls are imprinted in the passenger side of the dash – certainly a unique design element, even if it makes little difference to the overall cabin ambiance.

The Prius c also contains a 3.5 inch TFT display to the right of the offset digital speedometer. There are multiple levels of menus to explore within. Items like energy monitors, drive information, scoring the last 100 drives and how economical the current one is, 5 minute consumption. There is an ECO Savings level where you can program the current cost of gas in, and also the mpg of another vehicle to see how much you are saving with the Prius c. It also calculates the current cost of your current trip, and past trips, and brake it down into a cost per mile. It will also grade you on how economically you are driving and braking on a scale of 1-5 and display it in a bar graph.

The Prius c (a lower case "c" for "city") is offered in four trim levels, appropriately named One, Two, Three and Four. Standard features include a continuously variable automatic transmission, power windows, mirrors and remote control locks, automatic climate control, a tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel with audio, climate, multi-information display and Bluetooth hands-free controls and an audio system. The Two trim level adds cruise control, a height adjustable driver's seat and a split and folding second row seat. Our Three added a navigation system and Toyota's Entune system for bringing information and entertainment into the car. Fours add vinyl upholstery, heated front seats and alloy wheels.

The Prius c exterior design helps project a fun, youthful attitude for this all-new addition to the Prius family, while offering excellent aerodynamic performance. Extensive aerodynamic features were engineered into the Prius c to help achieve a 0.28 coefficient of drag. Adding character to this subcompact, the Prius c's lower-body styling is wider below the beltline, featuring sculpted rear flares to help express a sturdy, athletic stance that communicates a more agile driving experience.

The Prius c is available in four trim levels: Prius c One, Prius c Two, Prius c Three and Prius c Four. All trim levels employ Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive, a hybrid powertrain technology that unites a 1.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder gasoline engine with a powerful electric drive motor to generate 99 combined horsepower. A continuously variable transmission (CVT) with three selectable drive modes is standard. Standard equipment on the Prius c includes automatic climate control, Bluetooth, keyless entry and steering wheel mounted audio and climate controls. Standard safety technologies include anti-lock brakes with brake assist, vehicle stability/traction control systems as well as nine airbags. Hybrid-related components are backed by an 8 year/100,000 mile warranty.