Toyota Prius C 2012 Review

The Prius range now includes the original four door five-seat Prius hatch, the compact Prius c, and a mini people mover dubbed the Prius v.

Of these, the Yaris-based Prius c is the smallest and least expensive, making it Toyota’s best shot yet at a hybrid for the masses.

The front-engine, front-wheel drive hybrid is powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine delivering 54kW and 111Nm, and a 45kW AC electric motor drawing power from a nickel metal hydride battery (NiMH).

The two motors can operate independently of each other or in tandem, and the battery pack is charged and discharged during normal driving so there are no plugs or leads to deal with.

Its nose tended to push wide in corners (understeer), and its narrow Bridgestone tyres protested noisily at the out-of-character treatment. The vigilant electronic stability program worked overtime to keep things in line.

Still, at 1140kg the Prius C is one of the lightest cars here and feels it. From a standing start it shows a good turn of pace and in full-throttle-blasts down the straights it was able to run neck-and-neck with the more powerful Honda CR-Z.

However, the Prius c lost considerable ground to the tighter, more disciplined Honda during cornering, where its soft suspension and lack of tyre grip meant it couldn’t keep pace.

VALUE FOR MONEY
At $26,990 the Prius C might seem an expensive hatch when measured against conventionally-powered rivals like a VW Polo or Ford Fiesta, but it looks pretty good value in this company.

Unlike its EV rivals, the technology that underpins the Prius has also had a decade or more of in-the-field testing and development behind it, so there’s the peace of mind of knowing that it works.

With claimed fuel economy of 3.9L/100km your visits to the bowsers will be infrequent and, even if you can’t match that ADR81 figure (which most can’t), this car’s overall average for 5448km was a still admirable 5.3L/100km.

FIT, FINISH AND FINESSE
The Prius c is essentially a fairly conventional-looking, compact five-door hatch with some, presumably, aero-inspired sharp edges designed to help it cheat the wind more effectively.

Being a Toyota, you expect build quality to be first class and for the most part it is. However, the interior lets the team down with some cheapish-looking plastics, and the interior designers have kicked a bit of an own goal by mixing and matching materials with the result that things look, well, mismatched.

EXECUTION OF INTENDED PURPOSE
The cabin is largely conventional in terms of design and layout so there’s no need to switch your brain into Prius-mode before taking the wheel. The gearshift is a regular floor-mounted T-bar style and there’s a familiar ratchet-style handbrake.

Most of the essential information, such as speed and fuel capacity is presented digitally in a large cowled instrument panel stretched halfway across the dash

There’s comfortable accommodation for four adults, with surprisingly good leg and knee room in the rear, plus a middle belt that means it’s theoretically a five seater… provided your passengers are narrow-shouldered and malnourished.

The battery is stashed under the rear seat which means cargo space isn’t compromised, although the 260-litre capacity isn’t exceptional for the class. A full-size alloy spare stows beneath the boot floor.

And if you really want to show the EVs how it’s done, the Prius comes with switchable Eco and full-EV drive modes. The former ekes out extra economy by regulating the air-con and dulling throttle response, while the latter enables a few careful kilometres of pure electric operation at sub-40km/h speeds.

The wrap-up of the 6 AMP HOUR CHALLENGE: