Any Chance that Toyota Might Make the Prius C at Least a Little Fun?

I must be wired differently -- I hate exhaust noise as much as I hate exhaust.

 

Well, I fully expect that they'll have a Prius C Plus package available for the whippersnappers who want more than fuel economy.

 

Joe, I think people will assume you bought it because it is a wiser economical choice considering it is cheaper and will likely get 10mpg more than a standard Prius. I know way too many rich people who drive economical cars to assume they cannot afford something better. Not everyone is into showing off or living above their means.

 

Why are you looking for a Prius that looks and drives like a BMW with the gas mileage of a Prius, for the price of a Prius. You can design a car for efficiency/high mileage or function can follow form.

As for the MINI Cooper, this model is about 11 or 12 years, classified as a Minicompact by EPA, has 18 cu ft less than the subcompact 2-door Toyota Yaris.

 

But I'm sure it is still more fun to drive than a Yaris or Prius.

Keep in mind, the Prius brand is about clean, efficient, practical transportation. Most things that make a car fun have a negative impact on at least one of those criteria. Look at the CT200 and Prius for an example of this. The Lexus has the same drive train as the Prius, but has nearly a 20% lower fuel economy.

 

I am also really looking forward to seeing if the Prius C is any fun to drive. I really like manual trans but keeping the weight and size down can do wonders. We have a 2000 honda insight 5-speed which is actually really fun to drive, even with stock tiny tires, etc. miata-like but obviously not rwd and 50/50 weight distibution.

I am starting to need something with a backseat and I tried out a 5-speed 2003 civic hybrid, but it was surprisingly not fun to drive at all! I thought it would be tolerable, I actually drove our 2010 Prius to go test drive it and thought the CVT Prius was more fun to drive. So I i think I can live with a CVT.

So is Prius C suppose to be the same chassis as the 2012 Yaris? Those should be at dealers soon and can draw some pre-conclusions after driving one of those. I've read some reviews though saying that sport SE trim is quite sporty though has a horrible turning radius (which would be really annoying) Hopefully any sport trimmed Prius C won't suffer from that. Any idea of Prius C curb weight?

This is how I would rank things I've mentioned in 0-10 for "fun to drive" and waiting to fill in the blanks...

10 - 1991 Miata 5-speed, ~2100 lbs
8 - 1994 Civic VX 5-speed, ~2100 lbs
8 - 2000 Insight 5-speed, ~1800 lbs
? - 2012 Yaris , ~2300 lbs
? - 2012 Prius C ???, ???
5 - 2010 Prius, ~3100 lbs
4 - 2003 Civic Hybrid 5-speed, ~2700 lbs
1 - 1992 Ford F250 Diesel

 

Or maybe I'm a little younger? lol. I'm not really a fan of it on cars, but for some reason I like it on motorcycles. Just as long as it's not extremely overbearing loud. I originally thought my exhaust was loud on the Harley, and wanted to tone it down a little. However, doing that with a smaller baffle was going to take out some the bass that I like. It's now grown on me, although, most of the noise from it is directed behind me.

 

Well since the Prius c is still unavailable I don't think buyers are getting any impressions yet.

But I think you've hit on exactly why I think Toyota cannot afford to make the Prius c simply a smaller Prius.

The Prius v, can be a larger Prius and appeal to a whole different market. But I don't think Toyota wants the new Prius family to simply be...Plug In, and Small, Medium or Large Prius.

So they almost HAVE to go in a new direction with Prius c.

If Toyota can make an upwards of 60 mpg, HSD Hybrid, and sell it for less than $20,000, they may do what Honda failed to do with the new Insight. That is make a Hybrid for everyone. But I don't think Toyota wants or needs to make The Prius c, compete with The Prius itself...therefore I'm expecting something that leans toward being a smaller, at least visually "sportier" looking vehicle. Probably to primarily appeal to younger buyers looking for a "first" Hybrid.

If you use Scion as an example, then I think one can expect diversity in the available products.

Being a Hybrid and having to employ HSD, if people are looking for "Performance" to be the difference maker? I don't know, if this is to be the least expensive Hybrid Toyota sells? Then I don't see how they make it a high performance sports model. I think they can lean it visually, and tweak it to be "sportier" but my guess is it's simply not going to be able to compete with Mini-Coopers, or other sports cars...but IMO that's not what Hybrids are really about anyway. At least not an "entry level" Hybrid.