Prius C comes in four trim levels all powered by a 1.5-liter DOHC, 16-valve engine with VVT-i, a 60 hp permanent magnet AC synchronous motor, and a 144 volt nickel-metal hydride battery pack which generates 25.9 horsepower.
While Detroit Three Automakers concentrate on increasing the transaction prices of their new models, Toyota Motor Sales is proving that price matters. In the first three days since the small Prius C went on sale it sold 1,201 units, bypassing sales of the much more expensive – two times the price – Chevrolet Volt and Nissan Leaf for the entire month of February. The Volt plant in Detroit suspends production for five weeks starting next Monday because of slow sales.
With a 53 mpg EPA city rating and prices starting at $19,610, initial sales of the Prius C are strong. Though Prius C also has relatively high prices for a sub-compact car in the U.S., Toyota is betting that the hatchback with an EPA-estimated 53/46/50 city/highway/combined mpg. So far it’s working.
Notably, the Prius C EPA highway rating leads all cars except plug-in hybrids, which benefit in the ratings from credits – exaggerated in my view – when they run on electricity. Even the base Prius C model is loaded with equipment as an added incentive to spur sales.
“A number of factors drive the auto market, and fuel prices are one of them,” said Bob Carter, group vice president and general manager of the Toyota Division.
Prius C is now available in four trim levels, all powered by a 1.5-liter DOHC, 16-valve engine with VVT-i, a permanent magnet AC synchronous motor, and a 144 volt nickel-metal hydride battery pack, not the more expensive lithium ion battery packs that automakers are migrating to.
All told, Prius C is rated as a 99 horsepower car. The Prius c comes with 9 standard airbags, Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Traction control (TRAC), Anti-lock Brake System (ABS), Electronic Brake-force Distribution (EBD), Brake Assist (BA), and Smart Stop Technology (SST).
The Prius C is much smaller and lighter than its mid-size Prius stable mate with 19.1 inches less length (157.3 vs. 176.4 inches OAL) and 542 lbs. less weight than the Prius Liftback (2,500 vs. 3,042 lbs.). In adapting the Hybrid Synergy Drive to the smaller Prius c platform, each of the system’s components was re-designed to reduce weight, scale, and improve efficiency – an idea whose time has come again.
During the first half of March, the four-member Prius Family, including the new Prius C, the third-generation Liftback and a new Plug-in Hybrid, accounted for sales of 9,821. Last month Prius sales totaled 20,593 and 32,593 year-to-date.
Hyundai does not break out sales of its Sonata hybrid separately, but in a recall filing with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration this month, the Korean maker revealed that it had built about 15,000 Sonata hybrids during the 2011 and 2012 model years through 7 March 2012
