Prius c disappointments

Well, your post sure sounds like a negative review, and you seem pretty unhappy.

Why would you buy it with that belief or expectation? It's not presented or advertised or promoted as having such?

My guess is that with the evolution of the Prius family, and probably even with the introduction of the Gen 4 Prius, we slowly see a bigger gap in the price difference between an entry level Standard Prius and a Prius c.

I think the Prius c is the smallest Prius, but also meant as the entry Prius. It's aimed I think at oddly either a young demographic, buying their first hybrid, or a older demographic, wanting a hybrid on a budget. Both markets that are likely to do a lot of urban "city" driving.

When I finally decided to get my Prius, the primary reason I did NOT get a Prius c was it was too similar in size and layout to my previous vehicle a Honda Fit, and I wanted some change.
But a strong secondary reason, was that I could get a nicely equipped Prius Two, at nearly the same price as a upper end, Prius c. For the price difference, The Prius Two just seemed the better investment. And yes, The MPG were so equal, that wasn't really a factor at all in my decision. I always figured that I'd do better on the highway in terms of MPG and perhaps comfort, and "slightly" worse in city driving, and without owning a Prius c for direct comparison, I think that is/has been the case. But even had I made the choice to get a Prius c, I wouldn't of expected it to get 10% better gas mileage than a Standard Prius. If if was capable of routinely getting those numbers in average, Toyota would sell and market it telling you it could.

I think if you buy a Prius c, you have to enjoy the cheaper buy in price, along with the "benefits" of owning a smaller vehicle. The standard Prius is far from a "large" car, but I occasionally do miss having a compact---which the Standard Prius is NOT. With my Honda Fit in the city, I absolutely could look to park ANYWHERE, and the compact size meant I didn't worry so much about door dings in crowded parking lots. I also think a smaller vehicle can give you a more agile feeling drive. I don't know if that is the case with a Prius c though, having not driven one.

It's too bad the OP sounds so unsatisfied with their purchase. But they bought what they bought, and nothing was really misrepresented.

 

and yet, many prius owners will not drive them for more than a few hours. it's all a very individual experience. once you move up to a hycam, it's tough to go back.

 

Oh come on? Really?

I assumed from the start that as I was logged into Prius Chat, I wasn't reading a general purpose car magazine. Almost every thread and post here is a personal opinion. But you did say "I" won't be writing a negative review. Which makes it subjective from the start. You DID write a negative review, whether it was published in a car magazine or as it was, a thread within Prius Chat. In this day and age the criteria for something being a "public review" doesn't start and end with only being within published printed media. Welcome to 2015...a time when anyone can review anything in countless publicly accessible outlets.

 

I took extended test drives in the liftback, the v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon), and the c before buying my c Three, and I have no regrets.

 

I just had mine for 5K check up. Asked to check alignment, and it was off by big margin ( 1/2" excessive toe-in on both sides). Improved accelerator response and MPG went up by 4MPG.
"C" is different from Gen3 but as an owner of both IMNO it has the potential to better Gen3 MPG. With following footnotes:
- the temperatures will need to be over 50-60F
- speeds under 60 MPH
- tires property inflated, alignment corrected
- and break-in finished

I get ~60MPG in Gen3 (best tank 68.3 over 670mi), but at the beginning it was struggle to get 52. After a couple oil changes ~20K on odometer and it was around 58. Also Gen3 computer is more optimistic and one in C more accurate. But the biggest issue Gen2 and C are more sensitive to cold. At 30F Gen3 does much better

 

Why? They're both EPA rated at 50 mpg.

As for climbing uphill and floored, I had that happen twice (both times in ECO mode, if I recall), first time RPM stayed at 3000 while my speed was about 25 mph for like 30 seconds. I didn't think that my little car was gonna make it! Second time was RPM of 2700 at 40 mph, on a less-steep road. Pushing harder to floor it didn't change a thing. I haven't yet tried it with ECO mode turned off.

About rear view and road noise, I hear ya, I think.

 

Sounds like (to me, anyways) transaxle/engine-motor software that seems to drag the C's hill performance.

It is honestly ridiculous that you have to even floor it in the first place, and then you don't acclerate. The engine should rev up higher and be boosted with MG torque.
I would never drive a car such as the C. What an ole dog :/ shame

 

My 12 Prius c is a great car, you need to know how to drive it. I have never pushed the accelerator more then 1/4 of the way, and always stay below 3000 RPM in all types of driving. My average mpg is in the 50's with a high of 80 mpg. On the freeway it is happy doing 70 mph at less than 2000 rpm. Try that in most 4 bangers and see how hard the motor is working when going over 70 mph. It may not be the right car for you, but don't put it down, it is one of my favorite cars, at any price.

 

As an owner of Caravans for 20 years I can attest it is the biggest POS ever, with so many different issues that would dwarf any other car in US. Our '96 had decent seats, but '08 seats would make Prius C seats look like a luxury item. The 1st one had been go shop at least dozen times in 1st year of ownership, and then dozen times more. You have to crank up radio, stuff ears with earplugs and pretend you don't see rattling plastics, which BTW look even cheesier than C's. With 70K on the clock it burns more oil than 430K Mazda my son drives. If you find it better than v I am glad we don't have it!

 

The wind resistance is related to the frontal area and the shape. Since the c's shape is less ideal it suffers more from wind drag at higher speeds--thus its highway rating disadvantage relative to the hatchback.

The engine speed can be judged roughly by audible pitch but can also be displayed using a scanner device that plugs into the OBD port.

I said it before: "c" is for "city". If you do a lot of higher speed traveling the hatchback is the better choice.

 

Our application of physics and real life don't always match up. Physics says constant speed is most efficient and we have pulse and glide getting better fuel economy. Go figure. Anyway, I think what happened is this: Toyota told their engineers. Here's a bunch of money, build the world's most fuel efficient vehicle. They came up with Prius and over 3 generations have refined it. Then Toyota says, we need to make a cheaper model or we need to expand the model line. So the engineers grabbed a Yaris and stuck the old Prius power train into it and called it a day. They want to refine it a bit more for fuel efficiency but then the car would be more expensive. The C has higher drag and smaller engine, bad combo for highway fuel efficiency.

 

I have an Ultragauge and it reads information from the OBD connector, so there is no hacking.

I get 50 to 55 mpg on the highway going about 60 mph, but then again it's winter here for like 6 months

 

I use a device called a Scan Gauge which gives you RPM numbers among many other informational numbers including MPG as you drive rather than an average with the built in system. You can believe my MPG numbers or not, that is up to you. I know that I am getting 430 plus miles per tank.

 

too bad for you, I have had the opposite experience with my dodge caravans, have also owned a string of them for 20 years, but would not likely to have continued to own them if I would have had your experience. the electric leather seats of my current van are indeed luxury compared to any v seat out there, however they are two different kinds of cars. not sure why you are so upset that I found the v seats so uncomfortable, I was not the only one, or is it that I will not suffer with it as long as others on here chose to and kept it for such a short time? bob

 

Generic OBDII plug is 8.99 at eBay, Torque lite app is free at Google Play, and Pro is $5. Both will show RPM as a dial and let you graph it

Here are the links (not endorsing just as example):
XR7 Bluetooth OBD II 2 Advanced Diagnostics Car Scanner Tool for Android Samsung | eBay
Torque Pro (OBD 2 & Car) - Android Apps on Google Play
Torque Lite (OBD2 & Car) - Android Apps on Google Play

Transmission had to be rebuilt twice; once at 98k and then again at 140. At 68,000 engine started knocking... upon inspection we found a crack in front head. Turned out to be cast defect. Strangely enough it was mark (they X-ray them) yet installed and sold. A/C? leaked out and had to be topped off twice a year. Dodge decided to save some money and put cheap O-rings (replacement nitrite rubber was whooping $0.50!). The metal tube spider behind engine busted open in the middle of highway and left car w/o coolant in less then it took to come from 60mph to stop. And don't get me started on body rust. Do you think it is not enough to be upset about?

I find it rather ironic for someone to trash Prius and then come on the record saying that Dodge Caravan is much better.

 

I have no regrets... driving my 2nd Prius c traded my 2013 4 to a 2015 4 with moon roof. I like the changes Toyota made in the 2015.