Test Drive: 2013 Toyota Prius c Technology

Review and photos by Steven Bochenek

Toyota has done an excellent job of zeroing in on the target market with the Prius c — most especially this tester, the Technology model. If you’re a young, electronically connected, enviro-conscious urban dweller — or any subset of these — put this on your list of possible purchases.

If you’re a gearhead, this may not be your cup of fair trade chai tea.

2013 Toyota Prius c Technology. Click image to enlarge

With a whopping peak 99 ponies the Prius c won’t be coming to many multi-muscle-car-decorated suburban driveways anytime soon — but back in the city, it’s finding a home.

April’s here and construction is about to replace the snow banks strangling your escape routes. At just 3,995 mm long and 1,695 wide, the Prius c is the smallest offering in the Prius line. Such a diminutive package can sneak you out of many city traffic problems and into some of the tightest city parking spots.

Its turning radius is just 4.8 m. So Queen Street hipsters can do environmentally conscious donuts while enjoying a vegan donut from Glory Hole.

Moreover, with a curb weight of just 1,132 kg, it’s light enough to keep you away from the gas pump even if you’re blessed with a heavy right foot.

The hybrid technology is worth discussing (if not racing), especially considering how affordable Toyota has managed to make it, urged on by some increasingly price-conscious competition.

The basic Prius c starts at just $20,400 and this “Technology” trimmed test car totalled $25,115.20 all-in with taxes and bling. That’s not much for a hybrid. Indeed, with the Honda Insight starting at $21,990 and the significantly larger Ford C-Max starting at $27,199, hybrid logos have become a much more affordable status symbol.

2013 Toyota Prius c Technology. Click image to enlarge

The Prius c is powered by a hybrid synergy drive system that uses a 1.5L 4-cylinder Atkinson-cycle gas engine with sequential multi-port electronic fuel injection, integrated with an electric motor and HV battery to generate 99 net hp. It all works seamlessly together with a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Really. Unlike earlier generations of hybrids, you have to pay close to attention to even notice the shift from electric power to gasoline.

That dearth of power isn’t completely hopeless. Electric motors can deliver maximum torque almost immediately, so accelerating isn’t as turtlesque as this review may imply.

Fuel efficiency is where the Prius c and its power sources really shine though. Its published claims are good enough to make you choke on your granola: 3.5L/100km in the city, 4.0 on highway and 3.7 combined. I was typically in the high fives, though, which is still quite good. It was a late winter week when I tested it, so extra energy was required to heat the Prius c and my Birkenstocks were heavy with hemp insulation. Moreover, it was riding on winter tires (15-inch Pirellis), which typically depress fuel efficiency.

Nonetheless, still nursing the first tank of gas at the end of the week, the computer estimated my cruising range at 80 km. I had traveled 513 km and it cost me just $40.18 to re-fill the 36-litre tank with regular gasoline. (Yes, that’s poor for careful hyper-milers but good for me, and a better lesson in environmentalism: Bein’ green is as much about making the most of any car’s life and driving slowly, as buying the latest world-saver.)

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.

Impressive for the price are some standard safety features that, until recently, were premium: 1) Vehicle proximity notification is a boon for urban drivers. 2) Tire pressure monitoring helps you wring every last ounce of fuel efficiency from the drive and, of course, can save your life. 3) LED brake lights are bright and attention-getting, though with them now appearing standard on so many lower-priced vehicles no doubt they’re ruining the neighbourhood for A4 owners.

The discussion of which is creeping close to looks and bling. So let’s proceed.

The push-button start is a nice opening that says you’re not cheap. But, again, you may not believe the car’s actually started, being so quiet.

Most subcompact producers have their own cutesy names for their products’ colours. Mini sells hot chocolate instead of brown cars, while Fiat offers espresso. Can’t blame them: when your vehicles look like toys its hard not to anthropomorphize and cutesify them. This Prius c tester is ‘Absolutely Red’ and, well, no one’s arguing.

2013 Toyota Prius c Technology. Click image to enlarge

Outside, the design maintains the signature Prius profile that Ford has recently been “drawing” attention to in their C-Max ads. Yet, it creates its own truncated charm. Inside, it’s a careful mixture of hard plastic and cloth softness in attractive two-tone contrasting black and cream.

Like most competitors, the Prius c has many caches for the storage of little things that young people carry. There’s a subdivided tray in front of the steering wheel, ideal for phones, sunglasses, rolling papers, condoms, etcetera. There’s an open shelf above the glove compartment with a USB dock. The deep front door wells offer an extra cupholder. (You can never have too many cupholders: each commute goes two ways.)

2013 Toyota Prius c Technology. Click image to enlarge

Beneath the carpeted tonneau protector rests the spare tire. It’s emblematic of Japanese automotive engineering: each cubic inch has been considered and none wasted.

And what electro-goodies do you get for the money? A six-speaker stereo with outré connectivity: display audio with navigation; SMS-to-speech and email-to-speech technology; utter integration with your smartphone. The systems prompts you to download relevant apps from the iTunes store (like Apple doesn’t know enough about you already) when you connect your phone.

Ultimately the Prius c Technology is like your corporate office cubicle on wheels: it’s in all the major cities; it’s parsimonious with space; it has all the important electronic trinkets so you can do nearly anything in it; and it moves slowly.

Pricing: Toyota Prius C Technology
Base price: $23,415
Freight & Pre-Delivery: $1,565
OMVIC fee: $5
A/C tax: $100
Environmental Handling Fee – tires / filters: $30.20
Price as tested: $25,115.20

Competitors:
Honda Insight
Mazda3 Skyactiv
Honda CR-Z
Ford C-Max

Crash Test Results:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)