At the Tokyo International Motor Show (December 2011), Toyota presented the world with the "little brother" of the world-famous Prius hybrid - a dual-drive modification of the Aqua compact hatchback. And a month later (at the North American Auto Show) the official premiere of the "left-hand drive" edition of this five-door, which was named "Prius C" (where the letter "C" means "City" - "city") took place.
In 2015, the car underwent a cosmetic update - the exterior was "refreshed" and improvements were made to the interior, leaving the technical part unattended.
Another modernization overtook the five-door in January 2017: it was again slightly retouched the exterior design and offered richer basic equipment due to the Toyota Safety Sense C safety system, but again they did not reach the power plant.
In general, we can say that the exterior of the Toyota Prius C, designed in the corporate style of the Japanese brand, is nothing extraordinary. Although, at the same time, this "hybrid" looks fresh, attractive and quite dynamic - an aggressive front end with LED optics and a trapezoidal grille, a wedge-shaped silhouette with a steeply "cut" stern and lean tailgate with large LED lights and an inflated bumper.
In terms of its overall dimensions, the hatchback fits into the B-class frames: 4031 mm in length, 1694 mm in width and 1455 mm in height. The wheelbase and ground clearance of the "urban" hybrid are 2550 mm and 140 mm, respectively. Depending on the version, the equipped "Prius S" weighs from 1100 to 1140 kg.
Inside, Toyota Prius C demonstrates a modern and very stylish, but ordinary design, even despite the wide visor under the windshield covering the color displays of the dashboard, an asymmetric console in the center of the dashboard with a 6.1-inch multimedia complex screen and an original "remote control" of the climate system and a four-spoke multifunction steering wheel. The interior of the compact hybrid is qualitatively assembled, but the materials used in it are mainly "budget".
In the front of the cabin of the Japanese hatchback, there are quite ordinary chairs with unobtrusive lateral support rollers and sufficient adjustment ranges. The three-seater rear sofa is actually only suitable for two people, although even for them it does not shine with excess space.
The luggage compartment of the Toyota Prius C is typical for representatives of the B-class - its volume is 484 liters. The second row of seats transforms in a 60:40 ratio, but does not form a flat surface. In the underground "hold" - a spare wheel, however, compact.
Specifications. The Toyota Prius C is powered by a hybrid powertrain. Under the hood of the car is a 1.5-liter gasoline aluminum "four", operating on the Atkinson cycle and equipped with a 16-valve timing, variable valve timing and distributed fuel injection, the return of which is 73 "horses" at 4800 rpm and 111 Nm of peak thrust at 4000 rpm. Together with it, an AC electric motor is installed, producing 61 "mares" and 169 Nm of torque, nickel-metal hybrid batteries with a capacity of 0.94 kW / h and an electric continuously variable transmission that transfers power to the front axle. The total potential of the gasoline-electric unit is 100 horsepower.
From a standstill to 100 km / h, the "Urban Prius" accelerates in 10.7 seconds, and reaches a maximum of 175 km / h. In mixed driving mode, the hybrid consumes on average 4.7 liters of fuel for every "hundred" of the way, and on pure electric traction it is able to cover only a few kilometers.
At the heart of the Prius C is the Toyota B front-wheel drive platform with MacPherson struts on the front and semi-independent on mating trailing arms on the rear axle (both with coil springs and anti-roll bars).
The steering gear of the "pinion-rack" type on the "Japanese" is supplemented with an electric control amplifier. At the front, the car is equipped with ventilated brake discs with a diameter of 254 mm, and at the rear - with drum devices (with "standard" ABS and dynamic stabilization system).
Options and prices. In the US market, the 2017 Toyota Prius C is sold at a price of $ 20,150 to $ 24,965 (1,195 ~ 1,485 thousand rubles at the current exchange rate).
The basic configuration of the hybrid is nine airbags, an infotainment complex with a 6-inch screen, 15-inch alloy wheels, full LED optics (including fog lights), dual-zone "climate", keyless entry system, ABS, EBD, ESP , BAS, TSC, audio system, "painted" instrument cluster and other "gadgets". In addition, the "staff" has a complex "TSS-C", which includes an automatic braking system (operates in the range from 11 to 137 km / h), automatic switching from high beam to low beam and lane tracking technology.
