Overview: Introduced for the 2012 model year, the C is the smallest member of Toyota’s expanding Prius family, as well as the least expensive. It’s also the thriftiest around town, according to the EPA, although the standard Prius scores slightly higher ratings in the highway cycle. (We averaged 39 mpg in our last test of the C.) Shared underpinnings with the subcompact Yaris, rather than the other Prius models, mean that the C’s fuel economy is rooted in a smaller version of Toyota’s Hybrid Synergy Drive—a 1.5-liter engine and a 60-hp electric motor—delivering a combined output of 99 horsepower. The transmission is a continuously variable automatic, sending the system’s modest output to the front wheels. In addition to its normal gasoline-electric hybrid operation, the C can travel up to one mile as a pure electric (sub–25 mph), and it also offers an Eco mode, which seems odd in a car whose primary function is eco. The C’s powertrain is wrapped in a snappy, subcompact-hatchback package that’s been freshened for 2015. It’s available in four trim levels, conveniently labeled from One to Four and ranging in price from $20,365 to $25,300. That makes it about $5000 cheaper than the regular Prius. READ MORE ››
-
from Car and Driver Blog http://ift.tt/1J6dctb
via Agya
