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My observations on our C

Discussion in 'Prius c Main Forum' started by TrailRunner, Mar 8, 2012.

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  1. TrailRunner

    TrailRunner New Member

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    Although my profile says we own a 2012 Prius four, it's really a 2012 Prius C, four.

    So far we love the car.

    I am frustrated by the gearshift, however. Having driven a Prius since 2005, it's a pain to now have to shift into Park, then press Power. Were I King, I would edict "Away with the shifter, back with the dongle"!

    Speaking of 'back', there is no 'beeping' sound when in reverse on our C. I'm not sure if I like that or not.

    We now have over 50 miles on the car, half freeway, half city, and the car tells us we're getting 35 miles to the gallon. We're expecting to see substantial improvement in that area as the car 'breaks in'.

    Our car has 16" wheels. Multiple times when parking, I've hit the steering wheel stops as my mind seems to think I should have been able to turn a little more sharply. I didn't test drive a 15" wheeled C so I don't know if hitting the stops is something I would do on that car, too.

    Several people have commented on the headrests reducing the rear view. Since there are just two of us, we leave the seats down and it helps a bit.

    As more thoughts occur, we'll post them.
     
    #1 TrailRunner, Mar 8, 2012
    1 person likes this.
  2. Sunkiss'd C

    Sunkiss'd C Junior Member

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    yes, the headrests do obstruct much of the rear view, but its not surprising given the size of the car. One thing that I do like about the C over the current gen Prius is that it doesn't have that ridiculous foot parking brake.
     
    #2 Sunkiss'd C, Mar 9, 2012
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Congrats!

    Ohh, is there not a Prius c option? We'll get that fixed!
     
    #3 Tideland Prius, Mar 9, 2012
  4. smokiejoe

    smokiejoe Member

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    Best of Luck. You'll have to report Gas Mileage after a few weeks.

    Thanks.
     
    #4 smokiejoe, Mar 9, 2012
  5. strongbad

    strongbad Member

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    A couple of the online car test sites have reported a big difference in turning circle between the 15" wheels and 16" wheels. MotorTrend measured 31.4ft for the 15s and 37.4ft(!) for the 16s.
     
    #5 strongbad, Mar 9, 2012
  6. B. Roberts

    B. Roberts Hypah Milah! Ayuh.

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    Don't understand why Toyota decided to de-dongle the c. Bad move for those of us that will be trading rides between a Liftback (or v) and a c. What were they thinking?

    No reverse beep? Does the ICE stay on when you back up? At first I thought the beep was a nuisance, but it is very quiet in our Prii while doing the EV backing up routine and it could go unnoticed!

    That 35 MPG figure is a little scary. Might want to check your tire pressures. What kind of conditions and temperatures were you driving in. The lowest MPG figure I ever saw on our '05 Prius was 42, and that was coming home in a snow storm with high winds and temperatures around 10 degrees F.

    Glad to see you're going to give us some updates on your observation. I think the c is going to be a great car.
     
    #6 B. Roberts, Mar 9, 2012
  7. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    According to Toyota, they were looking for a more "mainstream" look and feel. This also explains why the front is not as much like a Prius. You have to keep in mind that the c is not a Prius everywhere else in the world; the concept of a Prius Family is exclusive to the United States. In every other country, the c is just a fun-to-drive Toyota hybrid and that's it. The audience they are appealing to are not typically downsizing from a Liftback to a c.
     
    #7 TonyPSchaefer, Mar 9, 2012
  8. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    You mean like:

    Basically, the car's designed for 15s.
     
    #8 ItsNotAboutTheMoney, Mar 9, 2012
  9. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    And 14s. The base Toyota Aqua L in Japan rides on 14" rims.
     
    #9 Tideland Prius, Mar 9, 2012
  10. phenoyz

    phenoyz Member

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    Update on this, i think there is something wrong???

    What about going uphill does the car struggle?
     
    #10 phenoyz, Mar 11, 2012
  11. HabaneroBomb

    HabaneroBomb Junior Member

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    I bet the reading of 35 mpg was due to a short, under one mile trip! Don't worry your car's fine.
     
    #11 HabaneroBomb, Mar 12, 2012
  12. HabaneroBomb

    HabaneroBomb Junior Member

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    Or, maybe keeping up with traffic 80mph.
     
    #12 HabaneroBomb, Mar 12, 2012
  13. outhouse

    outhouse Member

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    new C's need a litle breaking in.

    between 200 -300 miles mine broke in and I started getting 4mph more

    also there is a learning curve to driving these.

    fuel economy will go up another 4 with practice.

    rate it after a full tank of gas, and then on your second tank. you will see a difference between tanks
     
    #13 outhouse, Mar 12, 2012
  14. TrailRunner

    TrailRunner New Member

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    Just completed our first fill up. The odometer reading was 396, the gas added was 8.67 gallons.

    Calculated mileage for the first tank was 45.67 per gallon. Trip A meter showed 45.1MPG.

    80% driving was city, 20% highway. Never above 71MPH on the highway. All city driving was below 38MPH.

    Needless to say, we're disappointed in our gas mileage.

    I'm wondering if our 'computer' is screwed up. The driving time on Trip A was 88+ hours - I'm not sure where that number comes from. At that rate it means I was driving 13.3 minute miles!

    The owner's manual says the ODO display should show MPG from the start (I assume that means from the beginning of the tank of gas), but on our car the ODO MPG zeros out each time we shut the car down. Maybe I'm missing a setting somewhere.

    After a couple weeks with the car I'm still hitting the stops on the steering wheel quite often. Were I to be buying this car now, knowing my experience with the car, I would definately get the 15" wheels with their much tighter turning radius.

    We're loving the Bluetooth connection with our iPod. We 'rip' multi-disk audio books and sync them to the iPod, then there is no need to change disks while driving. Very convenient!
     
    #14 TrailRunner, Mar 24, 2012
  15. RichardAK

    RichardAK Member

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    The tank may have not been full when you picked it up. That was the way it was for us. First tank 28 mpg by hand and 39 on the display. We'll see on the next tank.
     
    #15 RichardAK, Mar 24, 2012
  16. vinnie97

    vinnie97 Whatever Works

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    "From the start" means the start of that driving session. I don't think that can be altered (Trips A and B are for other mpg purposes).
     
    #16 vinnie97, Mar 24, 2012
  17. alfon

    alfon Senior Member

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    I see no need for 16 inch tires on the Prius C. The 15 inch
    is all that is needed. Also the 16 inch tires probably takes
    a 2-3 mpg hit on your mpg. Maybe even more if their not
    inflated to near maximum sidewall pressued which is located
    on the side of each tire.Yes that mpg mileage is somewhat low. But it will get better as time goes on.
     
    #17 alfon, Mar 24, 2012
  18. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Trailrunner never mentioned anything about trip length which we all know is a killer on gas mileage for every car and could easily throw even the c into the mid 40s. Obviously the best advice is the refill the tank and get used to driving it, researching the fuel economy forums for the GenII and GenIII, and not sweating the small stuff. The monetary difference between 50mpg and 45mpg is pretty insignificant.
     
    #18 F8L, Mar 24, 2012
  19. TrailRunner

    TrailRunner New Member

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    The majority of our trips are in the 3-8 mile range, at sea level, in moderate temperatures (central coastal California).
     
    #19 TrailRunner, Mar 25, 2012
  20. ItsNotAboutTheMoney

    ItsNotAboutTheMoney EditProfOptInfoCustomUser Title

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    Moderate temperatures means what in Fahrenheit?
    And you aren't currently using the climate control?

    The shorter trips will hurt mileage as the engine warms up when you start your journeys.
    The 16" wheels don't help.
    The tires (and the car) still need break-in.
    Also, check tire pressures, just in case.

    Your mileage will vary.
     
    #20 ItsNotAboutTheMoney, Mar 25, 2012
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