After only driving small manual Volkswagens for the past ten years, I decided I wanted a change. My requirements were 1) reliable, 2) small hatchback, 3) mpgs, 4) low miles. Looked at Fiesta, Yaris, and I think I entertained the idea of a Baja, but it wasn't what I wanted and would have landed me in the position I was already in, and I didn't want to keep buying (and constantly fixing) fifteen year old cars. Some friends of ours had been driving around the country in their second gen. Prius and made a pit stop at our house. Never thought much of them until that day. Went online to do some research and came across the C. Fiancé and I fell in love with them. Went and purchased a habanero 2014 C 2 with 30k miles a few weeks ago. Never looking back. Goodbye VW! iPhone ?
I looked at a few cars but can't remember what. I had a 2010 Scion TC. I got into an accident. Airbag deployed. I walked away. Only injury was a minor leg bruise. I knew I needed/wanted another Scion, but gas prices changed that. I took the insurance check and wanted the BEST MPG car without a plug in. Plug in where still very new. Gas was $4.00-$5.00 a gallon at the time. Everyone had/has heard of the Prius 2012 was the first year for the Prius C I saw it in a magazine. I have nothing against the Prius I just wanted something different. Plus I did not care for the center console/transmission shifter in a Prius. The Prius C had/has a more traditional shiftier/center console. Few things I don't like on the Prius C. No temperature gauge. Not that I worried about over heating. But in the cold Chicago (suburbs) winter it would be nice to know when to turn the heat on. The 2012 you can't turn the traction control off, but I think on the newer ones you can.
If you use the "Auto" setting on the climate control system it's very smart about not running the fan until the heater core has warmed up. It's a feature I have come to quite like. Another downside of the 2012 Prius C compared to it's newer brethren is that it doesn't have a jump start terminal in the engine compartment - you have to open up the panel under the right side of the rear set and connect directly to the 12V battery nestled in there. I had to do that once when I gave someone a jump start and it would have been so much easier to have had that engine compartment terminal.
My present car is now 8 years old, I had plans to change my car.I started looking at new Toyota Corolla & Honda Civic models. However due to-the rising fuel prices and congestion on roads I seriously started considering Hybrids. The vehicles of my choice were the Honda Fit & Toyota Aqua (prius C). I being more comfortable with Toyota Synergy Drive selected Toyota Aqua (Prius C). These cars are not available in our country from dealership and have to be imported from Japan via car auction. I got mine its 2014 S package.
Enjoy your Aqua. We love our 2007 Honda Fit - wife's car and when I needed a new car back in 2011 I looked at the Fit. No hybrid Fits. Honda Insight - kinda like "Prius Light" - not as efficient. Bought the C as soon as it was available in Hawaii and have never looked back. The Toyota Synergy Drive - I knew nothing about it when I got the Prius C but it still amazes me that more cars don't have something similar. YMMV.
I was looking at quite a few. Used 2014 cube (standard), 2015 brz with exhaust. Also maybe getting another fit. Considered a Prius for mpg and also First hybrid I would own. My thoughts toyota had hybrids longer than any car maker makes sense to get one.
I made the buying decision in early 2013. I believe the study that found the cheating was done in 2013, but not released to the public until 2014. So yes, it was before. Also found out later that the Mini Cooper problem was timing chains breaking, rather than belts. I had just assumed it was belts, as chains usually last the life of a car. Not to change the subject, but, I was recently looking at the 2018 Camry Hybrid which is getting really good reviews, with mileage in the LE version close to what I am getting now; but was completely turned off by the lack of built in navigation. While some may prefer the option of using nav apps on their cell phone, I would rather not have to be "tethered", and use up data and phone battery. Even with Toyota's outrageous map update fees, I would rather have it integrated. This was a deal breaker for a car that was otherwise vastly improved over the previous hybrid, and is poised to give those seeking Toyota hybrids more choices.