What other cars did you test drive before picking the Prius C?

Hmm, I'm a little more like 6' 3" (maybe I have more height in the torso than legs, I don't know), but I hit my head on the roof of the C with a sunroof. It was only when I got into one without a roof that I felt like I really fit in the car.

 

I didn't test drive any this round, but I only had my last car a year before it started having some major issues. It was a 2004 Honda Civic Hybrid. I tested the Prius c a few months ago. When I was looking last year, I test drove a fit and a CR-Z.

 

I assume you tried adjusting the seat height a little bit?

 

All the way down.

 

I can answer this too as I've driven both. IMO both interior are "Honda tragic" in that they're over styled and under thought-out. The CR-Z has kinda fun chassis dynamics, but not as fun as my Golf TDI. The Fit doesn't handle very well and it's also painfully slow. My friend was in the car and as I exited a corner he asked "So when are you going to floor it?" My response was "It has been!". I'm sure if you're a Honda lover you'll rationalize liking them, but to me they simply didn't have the right mix for me. Poor fuel economy, low power, haphazard interior styling, luddite-style tech features, and neither were fun enough to make up for any of the negatives.

Fit:
Pros:
*massive cargo hauling
*crap-ton of junk bins which is perfect if you're a Hoarder
*decent fuel economy

Cons:
*Interior unsuitable for anyone that likes clean and orderly
*"Where's the Beef?" lack of power
*terminal understeer is a handling buzzkill


CR-Z
Pros:
*Exterior looks cool
*Better fuel economy than it's EPA rating
*"It's a Hybrid" with Manual transmission
*One of the few Hybrids that may not prevent you from getting laid

Cons:
*ADHD interior stabs your eyes with blue light and a cacophony of materials and textures [this coming from driving a Prius c!]
*Chassis not alive enough to have legitimate sporting intentions
*Bad fuel economy for being a sleek & small hybrid


Oh hell, let's put our Prius c out to dry while I'm on a roll:
Pros:
*Killer MPG
*Whimsical interior
*Isn't your neighbors typical boring sedan, thank goodness
*Handles better than a Prius has a right to [esp. once the factory alignment is exorcized]
*Cheap to buy & own

Cons:
*Slower than molasses in Feburary in Fargo
*Prius branding practically puts a chastity belt on your social life
*Yaris underpinnings are modest, don't expect Lexus levels of comfort or quiet
*"Whimsical interior" ends up being the laughing stock of people with real cars

 

Ryephile beat me to it, lol. I can pretty much say I feel the same way about the CR-Z and Fit. I would add that my husband's 04 civic coupe gets better mpg than the fit, so I was disappointed that the numbers weren't higher. Also the CR-Z has an awful blind spot on either side of the cargo area. I wasn't thrilled with that. Worst car I've been in for blind spots. The new Prius c IMHO is the best I've been in for lack of huge blind spots. If the Prius c wasn't an option, I probably would have ended up with a CR-Z. I love manuals and that is one thing I miss in the C, though it obviously wasn't a deal-breaker.

 

I thought the Fit felt like it had a lot of body roll in corners and on paper it is actually slower than a Prius C. However, it does have its place and is substantially cheaper than the Prius C.

The CRZ I didn't even test drive on account of it being a ridiculous car. Not sporty enough to be a sports car and not fuel efficient enough compared to other hybrids. It just seems like a sad attempt to cash in on CRX nostalgia (though the fastest version of the CRX is faster than the CRZ and the economy version more fuel efficient). The manual transmission just seems like a joke to top the whole thing off.

I don't really understand why anyone would want a manual transmission in a hybrid over a CVT or power sharing transmission. The Prius C transmission is way more efficient than any manual transmission could ever be in such a car.

 

I love manual transmissions and the interaction with the powertrain they require of the driver. Obviously, the way the Prius' powertrain is designed means a manual trans isn't applicable, however I appreciate that Honda offered a manual in the 1st gen Insight and now the CR-Z, even if it's ultimately not as efficient across the entire load range as an Atkinson cycle ICE + CVT. Don't get it twisted though, a manual trans still offers exceptionally low drag and still gives the driver the opportunity to run the engine at peak efficiency, peak torque, or peak power.

Sometimes fun, and thus mental health, is more important than being OCD efficient. Just for the record, if the Miata was offered as a turbo-Diesel with an IMA and a 7-speed manual, I'd run so fast to the dealership I'd probably trip and fall on my face.

 

I drove the Honda Civic and Hyundai Elantra GT.
A couple years ago I drove the Insight and Fit, and when I found out that those hadn't changed, I skipped them this time around.
Having owned many Civics in the past that is always my baseline for a compact car.
The Civic was just unimpressive and nearly unchanged from the previous generation.
The Elantra was a nice car, but the value proposition just didn't make sense..

I think a lot of people buy guys for where they want to drive or where they hope to drive, rather than where they actually drive.

I like having a 4x4 if I'm going off road and a nice convertible for a drive down the coast on vacation, and a big truck if I'm moving a large piece of furniture. For my daily commute I'm quite happy with the C and an average of nearly 60mpg.

 

We drove a Honda Fit, Honda Civic, Subaru Impreza, Chevy Spark & Chevy Sonic.

The Fit was the closest contender even though the drive felt strangely light. We liked the overall design of it much better than anything else.

The Civic was just too boring, plus bigger than we really wanted.

The Impreza drove the best by far, but was ugly & also bigger than we wanted.

Spark was cute as hell but drove like a cardboard box.

The Sonic drove ok but designwise the dashboard was a hot mess & it just couldn't compete w/ the Fit.

We sorta thought about a Mini but we wanted 4 doors & felt that there was no point driving a Mini 4-door.

In the end we went back & forth a lot between the Fit & the C. I'm really really happy we went w/ the C