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The smallest and least-expensive Prius is also the most attractive and efficient.
The 2012 Toyota Prius C has landed at the Tokyo auto show. Well, not our Prius C ; it was the Japanese-market version, called the Aqua, that made its first public appearance at the show. Our C will be essentially the same car excepting left-hand drive and different badges. The U.S.-spec version of the smallest member of the Prius family will be unveiled at the Detroit show in January.
A Pretty Prius?
“Attractive” isn’t really a word we would use to describe the normal-size Prius, let alone the even-funkier Prius V people mover. While nowhere near as cool as the Prius C concept from last year’s Detroit show, the production C isn’t half bad-looking. The hatchback has clean styling punctuated by interesting details like the tall vertical taillights, and its aggressive grille treatment manages to avoid the fish face that characterizes the mugs of other Priuses. With a 100.4-inch wheelbase and a length of 157.3 inches, a width of 66.7, and a height of 56.9, the Prius C is just a few inches longer than Toyota’s own Yaris.
The interior combines signature Prius cues—centralized digital gauge cluster, blue start button—with a distinctive dashboard design similar to that of the 2012 Yaris. The steering wheel is shared with other Prius models, but the C gets a conventional floor-mounted shifter instead of the bizarre nub used in its bigger siblings.
All Prius, All the Time
Powering the Prius C is a downsized version of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive system: a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine and an electric motor paired with a CVT. Toyota hasn’t officially spilled output figures yet, but based on a leaked Japanese brochure for the Aqua, we expect the gas engine will produce 72 hp and the electric motor 60. Total system output should fall in the neighborhood of 98 hp. For reference, the bigger Prius and Prius V both use a 98-hp, 1.8-liter four and an 80-hp electric motor, with total output of 134 hp.
Toyota claims it will get the best city fuel economy of any non-plug-in hybrid available, expecting an urban rating of more than 50 mpg. That title is currently held by the larger Prius, which has a 51-mpg EPA city rating. We’ll have to wait until the Prius C makes its American debut in Detroit for the full rundown on its technical specs, fuel-economy ratings, and pricing. The baby Prius will go on sale in the spring of 2012.
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