2013 Prius C (Leaked photos of brochure)

It appears that Japanese testing cycle confirms my (GenII and GenIII) mpg loss when replacing 15" wheels with 17" wheels. That UK test is bogus. 1mpg loss my arse! lol

 

except that he read those tests wrong, and they were all 15" tires, just different weights

 

BAH!

lol

 

To me, it looks nothing like the prototype.
And these images do not give me a clear picture of what the actual 3D production car will look like. I hope I still like it.

 

I have come to terms with the fact that the Prius C does not look as good as the "regular" Prius.

I am cautiously optimistic that the production version of the Prius C will make up for its Matrix-like appearance with better fuel efficiency and a better purchase price.

 

Ergonomically - it would be nice for hypermiling if the Prius c had a fast-n-easy way to shift from Drive to Neutral and then back again to Drive (this would make easier to implement NICE on shorter uphill grades). I'd like Toyota to use more LEDs to light up the Prius' door control panels, radio console, and dash board so it would be easier to find things at night. I'd also like an optional air intake grill blocking panel (that snaps on and off), an optional engine block heater, and an optional hood inside reflective heat (the type tacked onto the roof sheathings of attics) blanket (that snaps off and on) for colder weather. The kids that I shuttle around this summer complained that there was no place to put their trash in the back so some sort of place to put kiddie trash receptacle would be nice. I would like a tougher body paint or more color injected(not painted) plastic external body components which would be impact resistant (e.g. door panels, front/rear fenders).

Yeah, and some dancing hamsters would be cute too.

 

Push Button start and keyless entry have become mainstream over the past couple years, and are also synonymous with luxury! The little shifter is another story!

 

I've got to say the joy stick plus park button is not an advance, but something that seems to change convention for the sake of changing it. Ergonomically there are problems, which seem to divide. I'm not saying that it is hard to get used to the little knob, but I see disadvantages instead of advantages versus a traditional shifter. Others have a different opinion. I do not see any reason not to have a positive detent position on a shifter for park and instead force a push button that sometimes puts it in neutral instead of park. So IMHO a traditional shifter is a positive not a negative. Push button start does offer ergonomic advantages of allowing the key to remain in pocket, and no driver involvement to decide how long the motor should turn the engine.

 

Are you really 9mpg worse?

 

I liked the position of the stick on the gen2. The closer to the wheel, the less time the hand is off the wheel. As long as the system communicates it isn't in park, I think the park button is fine, but the switch style doesn't matter to me. Besides, the parking brake should always be used.

Driver involvement on starter motor turning can be removed without using a button. Turning the key in my current car to start works no differently than holding down start button. The starter turns until the engine fires up. If held in the start position like a tradition ignition, the system ignores the input. The other advantage of the push button is really an advantage of a smart key system. The gen1 and some gen2 required the fob to be inserted in a slot in order to start the car.

 

"emergency brake not included" ?

 

I don't think any car has had a true emergency brake for quite awhile, if at all. Parking brakes are only on one set of wheels, and are cable actuated. Every time I've forgotten to release it, the engine easily overpowered them from a stop. I think the name got changed to emergency around the time automatics became popular to shut up paininthebuttinski customers asking why you needed a parking brake with a park gear.

 

I'm not sure how your car works, but my 2004 Corolla definitely has an E-brake. When I'm at a stop light on a slope with my foot on the brake pedal and I gradually ("quantitatively") pull up on the hand brake E-brake, I can feel the gradual pressure change on my brake pedal at my foot.

While in motion, I have used my E-brake before (to test it out and make sure it works).

.

 

I never really push park. I always just turn the car off and it puts into park automatically, and safely for the transmission. With the way you describe it I'd have to also move it out of gear all the time, if I had an additional P. When I bought the vehicle, at first thinking it always had to go into P I could definitely see your point, but knowing how it's not even necessary, the way toyota has done it makes some sense.

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Push button start to me now is virtually mandatory. Going to a car without it would be like going back to manual wind-up windows. I know a guy who bought a 2010 or 2011 Highlander, with leather, and the thing still requires key-turn, I was quite surprised.

 

Reality is about 7-8mpg worse. I just started using fuelly so this doesn't account for some of the other tanks. In essence, if I hypermile but don't pulse and glide I can get about 55-57mpg with the 15" wheels. Using the exact same techniques in the same areas I manage between 47-49mpg. I used to observe only a 6mpg even with my old performance oriented 17" tires but now that I am doing a lot more gliding, the 15" tires cause the gap to widen because they roll easier and further. No matter what I do I cannot seem to really close the gap because whatever I try and do to enhance mpg with the 17s just makes the 15s even more efficient.

The performance difference is HUGE, however, as as the looks so I'm going to stick with the 17s regardless of the mpg hit.

*Keep in mind that this large 6-8mpg hit has been observed for over 5yrs and with 5 different brand/model of tires. It sucks but at least it is consistent. lol

 

The time it almost got me in trouble was hitting it at a stop light, while stopped. I wanted to reach back into the back seat to get something. It shifted to neutral instead of park, but the honking of the car behind me had me hit the brakes as I was rolling back.

Reason to hit park instead of off is to have ac and stereo when stopped and waiting for shot times. It seems like a good reason to have park to me, but if you don't use it, the button doesn't matter. Lots of days over 100 here.

 

I didn't. But it was good for accidentally bumping into B gear on the freeway and scaring the daylights out of me. ....

 

Does it have rear drum brakes? If so, your E-brake is taking some of the pressure off the hydralics to maintain the shoes in place. That could explain the feeling of the pedal.

I've used my hand brake while coasting, and it does slow the car. Only some since it only engages the rear brakes which are really inefficient for braking while going forward.

Try moving with it set. I've gotten down the block once or twice before realizing the parking brake was still set.

It's also nice for drive throughs, or if you want to leave the AC on for the dog.

The wife once knocked it into neutral on me. I thought the car just died while I was in fast traffic of the highway.

 

For me, it is about 5 MPG hit. That's with a lot of resistance to the desire to push the Prius harder due to the "on the rail" feel of the sticky summer tires.

Gen2 Prius is probably torqued/tuned specifically for the light wheels. 17" rims with wider tires really threw if off in term of ICE efficiency mapping.

Gen3 Prius has a superior 1.8L ICE that has near ideal BSFC across wider RPMs. I believe that is why they offer a trim with 17" wheels.