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Did you consider the prius c?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Fuel Economy' started by bentbow, Apr 29, 2018.

  1. bentbow

    bentbow Junior Member

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    Before the testing changes, Prius EPA was 51/48/50 mpg and the c was 53/46/50 mpg, so they have the same combined mpg but the c on fuelly is doing much better. the new combined mpg is prius 48 vs prius c 46

    From 2010 to 2015 the average is about 46 here Toyota Prius MPG - Actual MPG from 7,007 Toyota Prius owners

    The average from 2012 to 2017 is about 49. I skipped 10 and 18 since there's only 3 cars Toyota Prius C MPG - Actual MPG from 1,245 Toyota Prius C owners

    i know the interior quality is inferior and what not but did you consider from a MPG standpoint?
     
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    too small for me. they are very different cars. and while mpg is everything, it isn't the only thing.
     
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  3. dubit

    dubit Senior Member

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    Nah, never even considered any Prius model to be truthful. I bought mine when I stopped into the dealership to say hello to some friends. Seen the Orange car and thought it looked pretty cool. I was driving a Yaris at the time, full of model airplanes. Walked back around the side and my friend had all my airplanes inside the Orange Prius. Says "See it all fits". We chuckled. I unpacked them and put them all back into my Yaris.

    But 2 days later I bought the Orange Prius C. Couldn't get it out of my head. MPG's didn't play any part in the purchase though. Like I said I was driving a Yaris (5 speed manual transmission) and was getting around 42-45 mpg in that. Now I get around 55 (better if I try, but meh, I'm honestly getting tired of "working for better MPG's"). So I just drive it like a normal car. Better mpg's was just a bonus. What does worry me is maintenance costs for the car...

    That Yaris ran for 10 years with virtually no maintenance whatsoever besides oil changes and one set of brakes. Doubt I can get away with mistreating a Prius like that.
     
  4. JimboPalmer

    JimboPalmer Tsar of all the Rushers

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    September 2012 a semi ran a red light and totaled my 2009 Prius. As my gear JUST barely fit in the 2009 i was torn between the PIP and the v. in the end the v won. Tons of room. For me, the C was not a big enough cargo hauler. (kind of a shame, I owned a Mazda GLC back in the day: similar size)
     
  5. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    I don't consider it, except the mpg FE. Test driven a few and couldn't get to the real time and average mpg read out to display. Lacks hatchback space in the back and the wielding in the tire wields were sloppy done at the assembly line. A lot of shortcuts were taken and the taillights are the worst looking ever. Pass on asthetics.
     
  6. dubit

    dubit Senior Member

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    lol - have you seen the new Prius Prime?

    Real time and average mpg read out's must have been turned off in the settings when you went on the test drive. That's the display I generally use myself. As for hatchback space, I'm not sure what "C" you drove, but mine has a crap ton of room back there. (Seats down obviously). It's generally packed with model airplanes, but have had 4 wooden skids in the back plus 2 tackle boxes at the same time. As for the tire wields - are you meaning "welds"?

    If so, its welded by robots, passed a quality inspection at point of manufacture and again passed a quality inspection at the end of the assembly line. (Assuming they do it in Japan like they do it here in the US) So I'm not exactly sure why you say "a lot of shortcuts were taken". The company I am currently employed by supplies Toyota with parts for their forklifts. Trust me when I say their quality standards are extremely high.
     
  7. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    For me, at the time I bought my standard Prius 2, Gen 3...a really nice, fully loaded Prius c, cost about the same as the standard Prius 2. Given the nicer interior and bigger utilizable size, it just didn't make sense to buy a Prius c. The MPG were about a wash.

    I think since, the price difference now between a "standard" Prius in any incarnation, vs a Prius c, has widened, I would today probably be forced to really consider a Prius c.

    Also I was coming from a Honda Fit to a Prius, and sometimes you just want a little change. The Prius c, would of at the time just left me comparing the two vehicles. Very similar in size and even layout.

    With the demise of the Prius v, my concern about Prius c, would be Toyota's commitment to keeping it alive. I think Prius c, was meant to be a primarily urban commuter, angled to appeal to younger first time buyers of hybrids. But I don't know if it's really reaching that audience. Or any specific audience.
    Seems like either people want a "standard" Prius, OR they look at newer used Prius, kind of bypassing The Prius c.
    Which probably goes unfortunately back to, Americans like things bigger.

    Also at the time the Prius c was released, I was disappointed the MPG wasn't better. I think for a lot of people when they look at the MPG numbers being so equal, the feeling is why not get the standard size Prius?
    If Toyota could build a Prius c that has significantly higher MPG than a standard Prius, I think it would attract more buyers.
    A bonus for going small.

    Now the bonus, is pretty much lower new buy in cost.
     
  8. tpenny67

    tpenny67 Active Member

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    That's exactly why I didn't look at the C, and for that matter when buying past cars I didn't look at a Ford Fiesta, Chevy Aveo, Mazda 2, etc. These are all tiny cars that somehow manage the trick of being smaller and slower than other cars from the same brand while not offering any huge benefit in MPG.
     
  9. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    I looked at the C but it kind of felt like a 'tin can' to me compared to the liftback ( no offense ). That is why we went with the larger car.
     
  10. BruceInOKC

    BruceInOKC Member

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    When I test drove the Prius c, I couldn't squeeze my left arm between my leg and the door. The back seat and cargo area were small.
     
  11. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    Owned 2012 Pruis for 50k miles. Now have Gen 3 Prius. I liked the Prius C, it was a great car. But I love the Gen 3. It's more refined, more power, more room. It gets just as good MPG. So would I buy a C again? Yes. But if given the choice I would take the Gen3 or Gen4.
     
  12. MelonPrius

    MelonPrius Senior Member

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    I looked at a c when I was seriously considering a Honda Insight (2nd gen). Both the Insight and c were smaller than what I hoped, and I was replacing a 1st gen Scion xB.

    At the end of the day, it was difficult to find a competitively priced used car for either model, and I was able to find much better deals for the Prius hatchback. I think this has something to do with having so many of them on the used car market.