Toyota Prius C 2018 Review

I really enjoy driving hybrids and EVs. It's strangely gratifying to employ hyper-miling techniques to get fuel economy as low as possible. Unless you're driving the Toyota Prius C…

This is an underwhelming car on so many levels, that it becomes challenging to recommend. Even to muesli-munching hippies and born-again solar panel acolytes.

As far as engine refinement and advancement of technology goes, the Toyota Prius C is a laggard.

The engine is very noisy and there's with vibration and harshness at levels not usually associated with a Japanese brand. This is especially noticeable when the car switches out of the complete silence of EV mode. The coarse rattle of the feeble 54kW 1.5-litre petrol engine is not pleasant, as the car's stunted brain decides it's time to charge the battery.

Combined, the petrol engine and electric motor conspire to develop 74kW.

The Prius C's interior looks and feels cheap, there's no Apple CarPlay, no Android Auto and no five-year warranty to fall back on should things start to rattle themselves apart, either.

Fuel economy was pretty good, seeing as low as 4.5L/100km on some daily commutes but even when you hit the 'EV Mode' button the car barely covers one kilometre one a full battery charge.

Yep, even in EV mode you have to treat the accelerator pedal with caution. The indignant beep telling the driver "excessive acceleration" has reinstated the fossil-fuelled engine is perhaps the most insulting experience one can encounter behind the wheel of a car.

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Underwhelming interior

After being launched in Australia in March 2012, the Toyota Prius C was updated in August 2017 with an updated exterior design, new colours (Hornet Yellow Aquamarine), and improved standard features, such as a 6.1-inch touchscreen infotainment system.

Toyota call the Prius C Australia's most affordable hybrid, priced from $24,040 for the base model. This 'i-Tech' version is the top-spec model and it gets a few more features that the boggo model, such as LED headlights, satellite navigation and 15-inch alloy wheels.

Despite the upgrade there's no getting away from the fact that this is a seven-year-old car.

If you engage the 'brake' gearing mode, where extra engine braking supposedly recoups energy for the battery, you’ll find it is about as affective as a bucket of water in a fire storm, the car is so smart it won't even work with the cruise control.

The temperature control dial felt cheap when rotated and although the digital temperature display and the triangular motif around the controls adds a touch of modernity, there is a sense of cost-cutting in this car.

The 'i-Tech' designation of this Prius C is an oxymoron, given that the car has very little in the way of anything resembling modern technology. It's sorely lacking in semi-automated driving tech, such as adaptive cruise control or lane keep assistance. It can't park itself and adding insult to injury there's no parking sensors.

It was a surprise to find a rear-facing camera.

The centrally-mounted instrument display may have been novel seven years ago but it in practice it is distracting, taking your eyes slightly away from straight ahead, where you should be looking. A head-up display would remedy this.

Bluetooth phone conversations are challenging in the Prius C. The microphones must have been sourced back in 2012 because the audio quality for receivers of calls from the car (via iPhone 8 in this review) is below average. Boot space is also pretty tight at 260 litres.

Rubberised buttons on the steering wheel add splash-proofing and I enjoyed the gamification elements available in the trip computer that add a neat visual element to driving efficiently. But the speedometer looks like it was hand-crafted in the ‘80s and the refresh rate is appalling, which poses risks to your wallet and license.

This particular model has fake leather seats which actually feel very cushy in a Lexus kind of way. Given that seats are one of the most important elements of a car's interior, it helps the otherwise dated interior claw back some credibility.

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Driving Australia's dumbest hybrid

Up and running, the Toyota Prius C gets the job done. There's no charm and no character to this vehicle, just a diligent attitude. The CVT has the pulse of a zombie and combines with the raspy engine to create a dull experience.

But when the engine switches off and the electric motor takes over it's quite a treat, the car's gentler side coming to the fore.

Being a Toyota it's likely to be very reliable which is a good thing, especially considering the three-year warranty is now border-line unacceptable in today's cut-throat new car market.

In terms of fuel economy I ended my week long test with the ageing hybrid at 4.8L/100km.

During my time in the car I got it as low as 4.5L/100km and during the daily commute across the Westgate Bridge in Melbourne. I found outward vision to be pretty good front and side, which is handy when you're surrounded by massive SUVs and trucks.

However, when you perform a head check, really big C-pillars obscure your vision. Again, technology to add extra 'eyes' in the car would have been handy.

One of the best things about the car is ride comfort. It's very smooth on rough roads, over speed bumps and on dirt roads. A tight turning circle makes it very handy in built-up areas and it's a doddle to park.

Just don't throw it through roundabout too quickly because it rolls and pitches like a small boat in a large storm.

The hybrid system in the Prius C is unimpressive. The 12-volt Nickel Nickel-Metal Hydride battery that lives under the rear seat takes a long time to charge, chiefly from the engine revving noisily (you cannot plug it in). It also discharges very quickly, unable to go for more than a kilometre or so by our measure.

Acceleration is pretty good for a car of this size, when electric and petrol combine, but when pushed the 1.5-litre petrol is like a drunken sailor – loud and course. Words like raw and unrefined spring to mind.

Given the Prius nameplate is one of Toyota's – and indeed the world's – most recognisable hybrid brands, the company has dropped the ball with this car.

The hybrid system is fundamentally the same as the original Prius that launched in 1997 – more than 20 years ago. Toyota used to be a leader in the hybrid field but now it's lagging, at least in its offerings to the Australian car-buying public given that it still doesn't offer a plug-in hybrid version of the Prius like in other countries.

I really enjoyed what this car brought to the table in 2012 but automotive technology accelerates at an incredible a pace and the Prius C has been left behind.

2018 Toyota Prius C i-Tech pricing and specifications:
Price: $26,540 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol/electric hybrid
Output: 74kW/111Nm
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel: 4.8L/100km (as tested)
CO2: 90g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP (2014)