Prius c Concept

I don't think so. Gen2 Prius has 110hp and it weights 500 lbs more. It does 0-60 in about 10 secs. Prius C should do it under 10 secs.

 

I agree with Dennis. My car doesn't feel underpowered and the c should be even faster!

 

^^
Yep, 20% less weight powered by 10% less force.
That is for overall max power; initial torque is the same in the two cars.

Do I care ? Not a whit

 

Few interesting things:
- LED fogs
- Customizable interior
- Prius steering wheel and a lot of equipment (touch tracer)
- Base 14" wheels, 15" standard on most models (important for economy).
- Battery output 26hp (for electric power).
- 40% better mpg under new JP08 cycle than Fit Hybrid or Mazda2 SkyActive (!).
- 16% better mpg than base Prius S in Japan (JP08).
- 305l trunk (7% more than in new Yaris)
- 1050kg-1080kg weight (80 kg lighter than Fit mild-hybrid!, 40kg more than much smaller Mazda2 SkyA, 300 KG lighter than Prius?! - 25%)

 

wheelbase is only slightly smaller than Corolla and significantly larger than new Yaris.

 

The problem with that comment is that, under the 10-15 cycle (lower speed), the fuel efficiency gap is lower between Prius and Prius C.

Prius C loves the more aggressive JC08 cycle due to 500 lbs lower weight. EPA cycle is even more aggressive so I would expect the gap to get wider.

JC08:


10-15 Mode:

 

FYI,

"10-15 mode" test is done after engine warming-up.
"JC08 mode" test is done under both cold and warm engine, then the data is calculated by 25% cold engine and 75% warm engine.

Ken@Japan

 

Thanks Ken. That explains a lot about the high numbers, I get much better mileage with a warm engine going slow. Do people in Japan get upset when they don't get close to the test fuel economy?

 

I wonder would Toyota for the US version of the Prius c put in a bigger engine, possibly a 1.6-liter Atkinson-cycle I-4? 1.4 liters may be perfect for the Japanese market but American drivers prefer a vehicle with a bit more power.

My "wild" guess is that the US-market Prius c will use a 1.6-liter I-4, carefully tuned so it gets about 6-8 mpg better fuel economy compared to the current Prius III hatchback.

 

It has 1.5 liter ICE. 1.496 to be exact.

 

My "conservative" guess is that Toyota will not change.

Honda Insight is 1.3liter, haven't changed...on the other hand, no many sold...can that be a reason for it?

 

If this car doesn't get 60 mpg's or is at least is a lot more sporty ,then I don't see why the car would sell. If the Prius C is a lot smaller then the regular Prius and only gets 6 more mpg's ,what is the point?

 

It's cheaper.
It's more efficient. (@$3.50/gal my wife and I, doing 20,000 miles per year would save 42.86 gallons and thus $150/year, using EPA.).
If you don't need the Prius Regular's "large compact" size why pay more for less?

Also, the smaller displacement with lower weight will likely make the Prius c much better than the Regular for anyone consciously driving economically.

 

I guess it all depends on how much cheaper the C is and how much more efficient the C is.

 

$19,995 (expected) for 56-60 MPG car is attractive. Gas saving is $9k over the 31 MPG Honda Fit ($4/gallon, 150k miles life).

31 MPG Fit (auto) starts at $15,975
33 MPG Fiesta (auto) starts at $16,595
33 MPG Elantra (auto) starts at $18,205
31 MPG Cruze Eco (auto) starts at $20,240

This new 1.5-liter HSD should be belt-less like the Gen3 Prius. Maintenance will be very low. Don't forget about the super ultra low tailpipe emission and the possibility of plugin conversion as well.

 

At the same price I'd choose the more efficient car.
At the same efficiency I'd choose the cheaper car.

I'm thinking that it's a possible replacement for my wife's Civic commuter. She doesn't like the Prius, but a different shape and lighter weight could help visibility and performance enough for her to like the c.

The Prius is our primary car, but most of the time the back seat is redundant. Even some times where we have a passenger or two a smaller car would be fine. A c might not do 20,000 but it would do at least 18,000 of the primary 20,000.

 

Written like a true American.

 

My wife's main complaint about our Prius is that it is too large. A bit over Yaris size sounds perfect.