Cut-price Prius c the first of 10 new Toyotas in a year

Toyota Australia has committed to releasing "at least 10 new or refreshed models" by this time next year, starting this week with the facelifted Prius c.

The new-look petrol-electric city-hatch comes with a host of updates and a new starting price of $22,990 – $1000 less than before and the same price as Honda's discontinued Jazz Hybrid, making it Australia's cheapest hybrid.

The pint-size Prius c will be followed by an upgraded Prius v people-mover around mid-year and a redesigned version of the original Prius early next year, said Toyota's executive director sales and marketing Tony Cramb.

"The entire Prius family will benefit with a mid-year update to Prius v and the arrival of an all-new fourth-generation Prius early next year," he said.

"Our local manufacturing plant is also gearing up for the launch of the boldest Camry ever during the second quarter and an upgraded Aurion shortly after.

"We will have further new or upgraded model news to announce as we proceed through one of Toyota's busiest-ever launch years."

The three Prius models plus the 2015 Camry and Aurion will bring the number of Toyota launches this year to at least five and it's not clear whether Toyota is counting the Camry Hybrid as a separate model.

Similarly, Toyota Australia is expected to launch the new HiLux ute within a year, and may be including single-, extended- and dual-cab versions as separate releases.

The Japanese giant last month announced it will release 10 new Toyota and Lexus models this year.

However, a Toyota spokesman told motoring.com.au that the 10 new models would be Toyota – not Lexus – models and that they would be more than just annual model year 'tech upgrades', but he would not confirm whether any additional models are imminent.

The rest of Toyota' range is relatively fresh, including the Yaris, Corolla, RAV4 and Kluger, but upgrades could be coming for its larger SUVs including the Prado and LandCruiser, or perhaps even the 86 coupe.

As for the smallest Prius, the 'c' retains its five-door body and hybrid powertain comprising 54kW/111Nm 1.5-litre petrol engine and 45kW/169Nm electric motor (resulting in a total output of 74kW and the ability to travel for up to 2km on electric power alone at speeds of up to 40km/h), but gains fresh exterior and interior styling plus chassis upgrades.

Both models continue to come with official combined-cycle fuel consumption of 3.9L/100km (the same as the larger Prius) and city-cycle consumption as low as 3.7L/100km, making it the most efficient non-plug-in model available.

While the base Prius c kicks off at $22,990 plus on-road costs, the higher-specced i-Tech model now costs $25,990 plus ORCs – also down $1000).

Both models receive a more aggressive hexagonal grille to replace the previous trapezoidal opening, flanked by reshaped headlights (halogen for the entry grade and a bi-LED for i-Tech), and a new front bumper with more sculpting around the fog lights.

There are new wheel covers for the standard 15-inch steel wheels (the i-Tech retains its 15-inch alloys; both models still offer a full-size spare and a 60/40-split folding rear seat), and restyled rear combination lamps with LEDs for the tail as well as stop lights.

Rounding out the external changes are three new paint colours: Tango (orange), Aura (light blue) and Zest (lime).

Inside, Toyota aimed to add a greater sense of quality with a darker new colour scheme including black glossy surrounds and soft-touch dash cladding on the i-Tech.

New fabric upholstery on the standard grade is black with dark blue facings, while the i-Tech's steering wheel and dark-grey seats feature silver stitching.

The base model features deep blue accents, while the i-Tech features silver highlights, and a revised centre stack with larger switches and a multi-purpose climate-control dial features in both cars.

Toyota says ride comfort, steering response, stability and cornering are all improved thanks to retuned front and rear shock absorbers, stronger MacPherson strut bearings, revised front rebound stoppers and additional spot welds in the rear-wheel housings.

As standard, the Prius c offers a 6.1-inch touch-screen featuring a reversing camera, Bluetooth phone and audio streaming and USB input, plus push-button starting, tilt and reach steering wheel adjustment and a rear spoiler.

The i-Tech flagship adds alloy wheels, auto-levelling bi-LED headlights with washers, privacy glass, a premium steering wheel and upholstery, a larger rear spoiler and satellite-navigation with live traffic updates.

Like all new Toyotas, the Prius c is covered by Toyota Service Advantage, which caps the price of each of the first six scheduled services at $140 in the first three years or 60,000km.

Toyota Australia sold 1654 examples of the Prius c last year – almost 30 per cent fewer than in 2013. Nevertheless, the light-size c was the top-selling Prius Down Under last year, when Toyota sold 722 Prius v people-movers (down almost 25 per cent) and just 487 third-generation Prius hatches (down 12 per cent).