Hybrid hatch an agile little runabout for city driving
OK, is there anybody out there who does not think of Toyota’s Prius when someone mentions hybrid car? Anybody? I thought not. No matter that other companies engineer and market vehicles with hybrid gas/electric powertrains, they are not going to make as big a statement or be as successful as a Prius.
But, say the word “Prius” and it’s likely the thought you’ll have is of an oddly shaped sedan with the weird joystick shift lever. Yet Prius is not a single model; it is a family. There are three other lesser-known versions sold in Canada: The larger Prius V with the generous cargo space, the Prius Prime plug-in model and the subcompact, urban runabout Prius C, tested here. Sales of the four models under the Prius nameplate were up 51.6 per cent in Canada last year. However, that hasn’t prevented Toyota from announcing it will be axing the C, throwing its weight behind the new Corolla Hybrid instead.
According to Toyota, the letter C represents “city” in the Prius C name, the car designed to function as “an urban-friendly vehicle with an engaging driving experience and hatchback utility.” And, obviously, low fuel consumption. Being urban-friendly is definitely the C’s forte. As a suburbanite, I try to avoid trips into the downtown core at all costs. But I had to wade into morning rush hour, further complicated by snow pellets raining down on the city. There’s something to be said about a car with such low horsepower — and good snow rubber — that spinning the tires was a rare occurrence.
Sure, the 32-kilometre stopand-go trip took almost three times longer than normal, but the gauge readout indicated that I averaged 6.1 L/100 kilometres for the excursion and used a negligible $2.20 worth of gas. Yes, the car somehow calculates the cost of fuel used. Measured fuel economy for the week was 7.2 L/100 km, most of that city driving in moderate to heavy traffic.
There’s nothing about the C’s powertrain — sorry, Hybrid Synergy Drive — to get anyone’s heart pumping with excitement. The main elements consist of a 73-horsepower, 1.5-litre Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder engine with exhaust heat recovery, a high-torque electric motor, a nickel-metal hydride battery pack and a sophisticated power management system. This works together with a continuously variable transmission to produce — wait for it — 99 net system horsepower.
Smooth acceleration? OK. Quick? Hardly — it takes about 11.5 seconds to hit 100 km/h. This is likely not an issue within an urban setting, but trying to merge onto a highway or pass a slower-moving vehicle is a planned event.
So, let’s just say the Prius C’s strengths are its small size, making it an agile little runabout within the city core, and parsimony at the pumps — and subsequent lower emissions. The car’s ride and handling are decent enough, even sporting as long as one does not try to follow a Volkswagen Golf GTI through a twisting set of curves.
It looks like an ordinary, somewhat stylish hatchback. The C has been around for a while, joining the Prius family as a 2012 model, and except for a minor facelift in 2015, not much has changed over the years. The 2019 model is essentially status quo except for a more complete Safety Sense C technology package, upgraded with the addition of pedestrian detection to the pre-collision system.
From the outside, the C gives off a youthful, modern vibe, and its aerodynamic profile keeps puts a damper on wind noise. On the inside, however, the cabin’s theme is one of hard, black plastic. Now, nobody is expecting the finest wood inlays and supplest Connolly leather in a runabout starting at $22,350, but the interior is fairly spartan and rear-seat room is limited.
There are a few concessions to livability: The usual power functions, plus air conditioning, cruise control and rear-view camera. Oh, and the colour display that will entertain you with all sorts of fuel-saving information, including the aforementioned fuel-cost calculator, plus bar graphs and an “eco score” that rewards a light throttle.
Driving.ca