You may get closer to the rated fuel-efficiency numbers by playing with the driving modes: There are Eco and EV buttons beside the handbrake where you’d normally expect to find the fun stuff. Switch from normal driving to Eco and you notice the accelerator becoming a sponge. On cold days it takes longer to heat up the car too. So use Eco on unhurried drives with gloves on and you’ll be fine.
For distances of less than one kilometre, driving under 40 km/h, you can switch to EV (electric vehicle) mode. No, it won’t let you switch while on the highway.
   2013 Toyota Prius c Technology. Click image to enlarge |
I have a friend who uses her 2010 Prius to pick up her kids and groceries (for weekends they have a tree-choking Escalade) and swears she almost never pays for gasoline. For Anne and many “green” vehicle owners, not filling up becomes a game, and the manufacturers know it. Let’s face it — you wouldn’t buy a hybrid if you didn’t have some latent competitive streak that you need to exercise.
So, like the Nissan Leaf and other “green” vehicles, the Prius c has what amounts to a virtual game you can play to maximize your fuel efficiency. The on-screen information modes offer real-time feedback, one providing an Eco score out of 100. (Another reports how much you paid for a trip when you’re in park.)
This is all pretty standard, especially in hybrids, but again we’re discussing a new level of value in the category. So the fuel efficiency game may seem novel. It’s definitely useful and, once you’ve been bitten, actually works to lighten your foot next time you start up.
Be careful, though. If your attention’s on the screen instead of the road it could result in some truly world-class inefficiency.
Now let’s talk about the ride.
Variable power assist helps balance the steering fairly well at different speeds. Between the favourable turning radius and that steering, reversing is a breeze. The regenerative brakes feedback well too. You get a good sense of the road.
   2013 Toyota Prius c Technology. Click image to enlarge |
Indeed, feeling the road is not a problem.
Recently a cab driver being interviewed on CBC radio said the roads in the GTA rival Pakistan’s for quality. After this winter of extremes, they’re seemingly held together by potholes. You feel the bigger ones running up your spine on those narrow 15-inch tires. (The suspension is fairly sporty, as you’d expect with its low stance and centre of gravity. Bang, bang, backbone!) Plus, with so little rubber grabbing the road, you pay for better fuel efficiency with less confidence in inertia-rich turns.
Between the size of the engine and the CVT, things get a bit noisy at high speeds, but that’s life in a subcompact. On the other hand, when you start the Prius c up you may think it’s not on because it’s in electric mode, practically silent.
For its size there’s good headroom and legroom — even in the backseats, which lower in a 60/40 split. They come close to flat but not quite, so you’ll never want to sleep back there unless you’re working on your Richard III impression. When they’re up, you get 0.48 cu m (480 litres) of space. If it’s hard to picture what that means, look at the photo with the ski equipment. 0.48 cu m is not a lot. City dwellers will need to plan trips the way they decorate their condos: minimally.
If the c’s size makes you a bit nervous, you’ll appreciate that amid a heap of other safety features, the entire Prius line comes standard with Toyota’s STAR safety system. That includes vehicle stability and traction control, anti-lock brakes, electronic brake-force distribution, brake assist, and ‘Smart Stop’ technology.
Speaking of safety, check out the photo of the anchors for the driver’s side carpet. To keep the carpet from riding up beneath the brakes and to keep Toyota out of court, there are little switches securing it in place. Furthermore, the carpet’s underside is spiked like huge Velcro. So even if it does come loose, you’d need to push hard and long to force it away from you.
