So im considering a C3, have a few questions

No issues except for one (see below). In fact, this car will surprise you at how good it is, especially if you're really looking for the high mpg. This thing is an mpg monster. 60+ mpg mixed highway and city if you drive it like a Prius.

The only issue is that I would not recommend continuing to go fast on the freeway with it. Not because it can't handle it or will breakdown, but because it is light, and it's drag coefficient is a shade higher than the regular Prius' (regular Prius = .25, c = .28, which is worse). The mpg you'll get on the freeway ranges from 60+ mpg if you go 50-55 mph, mid-50's mpg between 60-65 mph, and down into the 40's mpg at 70 mph and above. If you want to get those awesome mpg numbers, you might need to adjust your driving habits.

It'll get much better mileage than anything without a plug regardless of how you drive it, though.

As for your other two questions, I don't think putting 15" alloys on it affects the mpg because they're the same size (I could be wrong, though). I have heard that putting 16"s affects the mpg significantly, though, as well as the handling (much larger turning radius).

As for the price, $21,900 including delivery is a good price for a C3 if you're not trading anything in, and a REALLY great price if it includes tax and all the fees.

 

Honestly, driving only 55-60 in a 65 or 70 zone gets you there almost just as quick I've found. Why go 10mph faster when you lose 10mpg?

 

No problems at all and it's by far my favorite car. My commute to work is mostly highway and as long as you can suck up some pride and drive 65 instead of 70 the mileage great... if I'm in a hurry, it's still not bad.
I haven't heard anything about the 15" alloys affecting mpg. $21900 sounds about right. Mine was $23500 after the bumper protector and floor mats.

 

My C3 stcikered at 23,860 it had the sunroof alloys and mats. I think thats a good interest rate mine was 4.99 percent I think. I'm at almost 700 miles and avg almost 47.5 MPG In all honesty I think your getting a good price for what you are getting!

 

My C3's sticker is 23939 with alloys, moonroof, mats and rear bumper protector. I didn't ask for the rear bumper protector so they are eating the cost of that so my sticker price is 23,860 before taxes. I think I am getting it for a little less than that acutally but won't know until I see all the paperwork and sign. They are giving me a heck of a deal on my trade in and 1.94% financing. I think the 21,900 is a great price!!

 

It's probably a good thing that you're tired of shifting. Some people have test driven the C and were disappointed in the lack of feedback from the transmission. It was probably their first experience with a constantly variable type of tranny.

The ECVT , or PSD as it's sometimes called, is truely a remarkable technological achievement. It balances the distribution of power to the wheels from the electric moters and the gas engine almost seemlessly, while also making sure that the main battery keeps sufficiently charged. Toyota provides a neat little animated dashboard display showing how it all works in action. What you won't get with this transmission is that momentery seat of the pants surge you get from downshifting a manual or flooring it with an automatic. Accelleration happens gradually and seemlesly, but it does happen. Your only feedback will be watching the numbers rise on the speedometer, and of course, if you push it really hard, the gas engine does tend to get loud for a few seconds while the PSD makes it's adjustment.

I have the 15" alloys wheels, and like everything else on this vehicle, no doubt Toyota went to great lenghts to make sure that their spoke design did not detract from the aerodynamics over the hubcaps on the steel wheels. The price is right at only $390.00.

You can get a little under sticker with some dealers. I did. Which is surpising since there are not enough of these to meet all the demand at the moment. I have heard of others adding huge "market adjustment" fees.


Regarding your driving speed, Toyota also provides a multitude of dash displays you can pick from. Most of them will show your your average MPG at any time, and one will show you your current MPG, although it's with bar graph and jumps all over the place. The ECO score display is the one that will dramatically show you how every movement of your right foot is effecting your gas milage. It constantly challenges you to drive more efficiently. Of course, you can ignore it, but I get the feeling now that I notice all the other Prius on the road, that it gets to most of us after a while, and we adjust our habits, at least somewhat. I still have a radar detecter on the dash of my C, but now I only drive 10-15 mph over the liimit as opposed the 20 I might have in the past.

Coming from Jetta TDI, you should already be used to gas mileage in the 50s. If it was the sedan that they lowered in price last year, you probably won't notice much difference in the C, except perhaps in handling on the curves. If it was the wagon, you'll lose a bit in ride quality and overall road noise. But you'll also lose the high price of diesel. The Golf TDI and the Jetta Wagon TDI were the other two cars I was considering, when I chose the C. Take a good long test drive.

 

Wow! 1200 for Alloys? Sounds like they are adding the wheels to a car they already have, rather than finding the vehicle you want with alloys already on it. Either that, or more dealers are starting to take advantage of the short supply on the C and jacking up prices.

I have three Toyota dealers within a reasonable distance, and visited all of them. None quoted me higher than list price for any trim level or options. $390 for 15" alloys at each place. And one gave me a little off list on the total package I wanted This was in March though, before Toyota started more heavily advertising the C and the V, and the demand shot up.

It appears the supply situation will probably not improve for a while. In Japan alone, from its introduction in December, the sales for the C(Aqua) wildly exceeded their production plans of 12000/month. The single factory making them is on constant overtime to keep up. The US allocation has to suffer as well.

Toyota's engineers have produced as remarkable vehicle for its price, and deserve a pat on the back. It's marketing department, on the other hand..........,well some body should have realized that bringing 50+ MPG hybrid technology down to the 18m-23m price range ( and in a much better looking package, IMHO) would open up a huge new market segment with lots a eager buyers.