2012 Toyota Prius c: Video Road Test and Review

The Toyota Prius c is a four door five passenger compact hatchback, and is the smallest member of the Prius family, which include the traditional Prius that hypermilers have come to love, the plus sized Prius v and the outlet friendly Prius Plug-in Hybrid.  The city going Prius is powered by a 1.5 Liter four cylinder mated to a 60 HP electric motor being fed electrons from a Nickle-Metal Hydride battery under the back seat that together generate a combined output of 99 HP being channeled through an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission which is good for an estimated 53 MPG in the city and as much as 46 MPG on the highway thanks to regenerative braking.  Toyota offers the Prius c in four trim levels: One, Two, Three and Four.

The entry level Prius c One starts at $18,950 and comes with items like projector beam headlamps, LED rear brake lights, bespoke Hybrid Synergy Drive blue accent badges, color matched power side mirrors with integrated turn signals and a matching rear spoiler while riding on a set of 15 inch steel wheels.  On the inside the base Prius c gets nine airbags, cloth upholstery, automatic climate control, power windows with one touch driver feature, a 3.5 inch color TFT multi information display, a four speaker AM/FM/CD/MP3 stereo with auxiliary input and USB jack with Bluetooth hands free wireless connectivity and remote keyless entry.  The Prius c Two upgrades to a six speaker stereo with two tone six way adjustable drivers seat and matching passenger upholstery and a 60/40 split rear bench.  Meanwhile standard cruise control, center console with armrest and storage as well as a cargo area tonneau cover and lamp make life with the $19,900 Prius c a little easier.

The next step up is the Prius c Three which receives the Japanese automaker’s Display Audio with Navigation and Entune that centers around a 6.1 inch touch screen display, Entune includes Bing and Pandora real time traffic, weather and sports amongst other things.  The $21,630 Prius also comes with a Smart Key System for the front doors and lift gate with locking/unlocking touch sensors on the exterior door handles and a push button starter and remote illuminated entry inside.  Optional equipment includes a set of 15 inch 8 spoke alloys and a power tilt/slide moonroof with sliding sunshade  The top of the line Prius c is the Four, and it receives a pair of heated side mirrors, integrated fog lamps and SofTex trimmed upholstery.  While the 15 inch 8 spoke alloys are now standard, there is also a package that brings a set of available 16 inch 8 spoke wheel with a power tilt/slide moonroof starting at $23,230.

A list of cars similar to the Prius c includes the 2012 Honda Insight, 2012 Honda CR-Z and 2012 Volkswagen Golf TDI.

See more details about the 2012 Toyota Prius c.