Car and Driver Reviews the 2015 Prius c

These guys are HORSEPOWER biased and look down their noses at anything that won't do 0-60 in under 4 seconds.

Their statement that the C is "not related to the regular Prius" shows a high degree of ignorance about the design.

 

Reading some of the comments on that article on that site, it seems most of them don't care for the prius. Which is fine; it's not for everyone. At least they reviewed it I suppose.

This also got me to thinking though. Those commenters on that site are some of the type of people Toyota will have to try and convince to buy the next gen prius.

Because of the perceived notion of the prius being "expensive (the "hybrid premium" issue again)" and "not a fun car to drive (which to them, it seems any car that takes more than 4 seconds to go 0-60 = bad, regardless of everything else a car offers)" and someone mentioned "building the hybrid battery is worse for the environment" excuse too, I can see why they're taking their time on it, and attempting to make it "sportier" as a result.

Most of us here are aware of those hybrid myths, but it's still persisting in the general public mindset if you read through those comments.

But then if they go "too mainstream", it may also turn off people who own a prius already, and was looking to buy another one precisely because it stood out from other "normal" cars. The Gen 2 Volt similarly is getting both praise and criticism for its new exterior styling.

And with more electric vehicles coming out that may have that "fun to drive" thing that everyone wants, I wonder what kind of competition the Gen 4 prius will be facing off against. Time will tell if their constant delays on the Gen 4 will pay off, or if they missed the boat and other competitors came in and ate their market share pie on hybrids.

 

"It has wheels and gets good gas mileage.” That’s still true."

Pretty much what it is.

 

I thought that was rather silly. The prius reviewer hated the shifter, not because it looked "futuristic", but because there was a separate park button, and the pattern seemed wrong. So going back to the c, I think that original reviewer would have liked the lighter weight and "normal" shift pattern. To me the prius shifter looks like it is what someone thought as futuristic in the '90s, but doesn't look good now. Still not much to buy or not buy the car.

IMHO the prius c isn't inexpensive enough versus the disounted gen III prii, they don't get better fuel economy, and don't improve on the acceleration, so why not buy a prius liftback, or a fit, corolla, civic, focus, etc. The prius c (aqua) sells well in japan and its likely pricing difference is greater there. Still it provided a lower cost option for the prius, and should allow the prius to add some of that acceleration and handling in the next generation.

 

Article sounded spot on to me.

 

You and all crack me up: Prius c does 0 to 60 in what? 11 sec? Probably, So C&D calls the total HP wheezy and you say 'they only like something that goes 0 to 60 in under 4 seconds, wahhhhh'

Good gravy, where did the other 7 seconds go?
I'd like to get my hands on a Prius c to see how it drives and feels .... on the freeway, climbing some of our tougher freeway grades in Bay Area.

Ah, stupid article, too short.

 

Since they said it was based on the Yaris just before, it is safe to say they weren't talking about the HSD, and were correct. The Prius c is a Prius in name only, and only in North America at that. In Japan, it is the Aqua, and in Europe, the Yaris hybrid.

 

Me too.

It sounded accurate and well informed.
Yeah, they used words like 'wheezing' and 'meager' to describe the 99BHP drive-train which.......is pretty accurate. When they first came out, I was hoping that the c-model would be a scaled-down G3 with the same power plant.
I was disappointed with the 3/4 scale HSD plant that they developed, but it's a good reliable drive-train that's economical and as powerful as it needs to be.......even if it's not as much fun to drive as I want it to be.

The only other negative things that they said about the car was that the exterior design didn't appear to them to be well executed.
That's subjective to me.
I don't like Toyota's big-mouthed bass grilles, and I've never been wild about the rear of the C-model, but it's the least Priussy looking Prius of the bunch, and the vibrant colors at least make a bold statement. I'm not a fan of the current crop of light pipes that make adult cars look like cartoon characters, but Toyota is rather restrained (so far) with this fad. I think that the interior is fairly well done for an econobox and C&D called even the entry level trim "rather well equipped."
That's more generous than I was prepared to be after finding out that Toyota makes you club up a trim level to get cruise control.
Boooo!
Even at 99BHP the C-has enough grunt to pull interstate duty, and Toyota is a fairly reliable make.

The C-type shares just about zero components with the adult Prius.
Different ICE.
Different transaxle.
Different batteries.
Different platform.

I'm thinking that this is what C&D meant by "unrelated to the regular Prius."
The v is a stretch G3, and the pip is a G3 that's been up-optioned as a minimal PHEV.


I'm not much of a fan of C&D, but I didn't think that their article colored very far outside the lines at all.

YMMV

 

I'm a big fan of C&D. I'm impressed at the level of restraint by the author of this article. I can tell he tried really hard to look at it as an A to B vehicle and not a Nurburgring lapper. I mean, the magazine is called Car and Driver so this is actually a glowing review for a Prius C.

 

When does a Gen III get 70 MPG?

 

Bingo!

 

Was that a rhetorical question? EPA sets them both at 50 mpg. The prius c gets better in the city, the prius liftback on the highway, but they are not all that different in either. So no I don't think anyone averages 70 mpg in either. If you believe Japanese tests though and are using that for the aqua, the liftback gets 77 mpg. No one drives that way, but they test them really easy.

 

You'd be surprised. With temps up C is getting many trips in 70s, with overall per tank in low 60s. This is on green car with FuelMax'es which we know are not as good as Energy Savers.

With respect to Gen3 vs C, they are more different than EPA numbers suggest. Biggest issue with C it gets much worse MPG when temps go down and better when they go up, and EPA numbers do not reflect it.

 

"new gaping mouth grill"? Oh dear. I think we'll be sitting out the next gen Prius. Probably would have anyway, but hey.

Edit:

Not too bad. The "intakes" at the signal lights are just silly though:



More edit:

What the heck happened to bumpers? Now cars are "leading with their teeth" lol.

 

If he had said low 60s I wouldn't have objected, but I'm sure many here have gotten some great trip mpg in the liftback. I think my high trip was 84 mpg freeway crawl at 70 degrees, and my low 19 mpg 100 degree day crawl with lights and the ac turning the engine on and off. On average over the year do you really think you'll open up a double digit lead with either car?

 

<AHEM> or driving stunt.

Bob Wilson

 

They are not just myths, they are excuses.