2014 Toyota Prius C

The auto auto accepted as the 2014 Toyota Prius C charcoal appealing abundant unchanged; and now into its third year, this baby car's role as the atomic big-ticket way to get into a 50-mpg Prius amalgam continues. In a abate car, you ability anticipate that equaling the gas breadth of a larger Japanese used cars dealer, added mid-size Toyota Prius liftback ability be easy, but actually, accepting top gas breadth in abate cars can generally be tougher than you'd imagine. Nonetheless, the Prius C is one of three of the four Prius ancestors associates with EPA fuel-efficiency ratings of 50 mpg combined.

Unlike the blow of the Prius lineup, this one looks accepted abundant that you ability never apperceive it was a hybrid--if you didn't attending at that 50-mpg rating, anyway. The curve of the Prius C combines a smooth, rounded, swept-back adenoids and bland abandon with a added commonly vertical appendage than the beyond Prius liftback. There's no two-piece rear window here, just a accepted top-hinged auto belted by top vertical appendage lamps and topped by a decidedly continued roof spoiler--again to abate fuel-wasting wind turbulence at speed. Especially from the rear, there's absolutely annihilation that reads "hybrid" except for a Amalgam Synergy Drive badge.

Inside, too, the 2014 Prius C is added accepted than its beyond siblings. It's accounted a subcompact, but it's best than a lot of added cars in that segment, which helps autogenous aggregate in the absorption of cheating wind resistance. There's a archetypal Prius Multi-Information Display army in the centermost of the dash, just beneath the windshield, but both the animate and the birr controls are abundant added conventional. Rather than the camp Prius drive selector stalk, the aboriginal Prius uses a accepted chrome batten army on the tunnel. And if you've been central the Toyota Yaris subcompact, you may admit absolutely a few of the added switches and knobs as well.

The foreground seats are about the aforementioned as any added Prius model: thin, but adequate enough. We were afraid that two six-foot adults fit neatly in the rear, with a bit of agreement with front-seat riders. The superior of the autogenous trim is about par for a subcompact, but absolutely a footfall down from added Prius models. There's even some corrective metal arresting in assertive areas--that's one way Toyota keeps the amount beneath $20,000 in a car with a abounding amalgam powertrain. Our analysis cars accept all been congenital and accumulated well, after squeaks or added glitches.

The Prius C five-door auto still starts beneath $20,000, and it's a committed amalgam model, acceptation there's no gasoline-only version. To go with its abate size, the auto Prius gets a abate powertrain too. Its 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine has an achievement of alone 73 horsepower, and the Amalgam Synergy Drive arrangement it's commutual with is a new, added bunched design. Together, the engine and two motor-generators put out a absolute of 99 hp. But breadth the Prius C absolutely wins is in packaging: Toyota managed to abode both a abate 0.9-kilowatt-hour array backpack and the car's gasoline catchbasin beneath the rear seat, accouterment a full-depth amount bay--unlike the analogously sized Honda Insight, whose abundant shallower burden breadth has a array backpack beneath it. The EPA 50-mpg fuel-efficiency appraisement break down to 53 mpg on the city-limits aeon (higher than the Prius Liftback) and 46 mpg on the artery (lower than the Liftback), which credibility out how harder it is to accomplish a actual aerodynamic auto car.

On the road, the abate Prius C is added affiliated to the alley and far beneath aloof than the beyond associates of the Prius family. It's far added agile, and it's altogether ill-fitted to bound parking spaces, city-limits artery jousting, and all the added places you charge a small, maneuverable auto that can backpack four humans and their gear. Let's be clear: The Prius C has annihilation like the dynamics of a adventurous hot hatch. But about to its beyond siblings, it's added advantageous to bung around. Owners will get their better adjustment at the pump. A 50-mile alley analysis in Southern California--with alternate city-limits traffic, rural two-lane roads, and fast freeway travel--gave us a recorded 52.4-mpg breadth reading. That's good.

The Prius C isn't a fast car, but plan it harder and it'll accumulate up with traffic. Toyota offers an EV mode, to accumulate the car in all-electric drive at low speeds for up to bisected a mile. Again there's an Eco mode, which lowers the climate-control settings and caps ability output, for even thriftier use of ammunition at the amount of sloooow travel. We activated it dutifully, and again switched it off--and begin the Prius C to be absolutely economical even if apprenticed energetically.

The littlest Prius has a somewhat alloyed assurance record. It comes with no beneath than nine accepted airbags, additional the accepted apartment of cyberbanking assurance systems, including adherence ascendancy and Brake Assist for the anti-lock brakes. Last year, the Prius C was called a Top Assurance Pick by the Insurance Institute for Artery Assurance (IIHS), which awarded the car its top appraisement of "Good" in every category. But for 2014, the IIHS activated its achievement on the new and tougher Baby Overlap frontal-crash analysis and rated it as "Poor," acceptation the Prius C absent its Top Assurance Pick appellation this year. The National Artery Cartage Assurance Administration (NHTSA) gave the car four out of 5 accessible stars in every one of its tests--and added a comment to its ratings that explained the car had bearding assurance issues during NCAP testing that were not reflected in the credibility acclimated to accredit ratings.

The 2014 Toyota Prius C comes in four trim levels, accepted as One, Two, Three, and Four. The amount of a Prius C One starts at $19,890 including the binding $810 supply fee. Every Prius C, even the abject model, offers absolutely a lot of accepted equipment, including ability windows, mirrors, and locks; automated altitude control; keyless entry; and a complete arrangement that includes a USB anchorage (and iPod capability). But those abject models use an ancient agitation key to alpha the car, rather than the "Start" button begin on pricier Prius models. And that amount still gets you the accomplished gas breadth appraisement of any non-plug-in car awash in the U.S. this year.

And while even that abject amount is a brace of thousand dollars added than a analogously able gasoline auto hatchback, the Prius C can potentially bear a aftereffect in its awfully bigger ammunition economy. To accomplish the algebraic easy, accept that a approved auto gets 33 mpg adjoin the Prius C's 50 mpg. Bold you can abstain one added gallon of gasoline every 100 miles--that gives a accessible aftereffect in as little as 50,000 afar (assuming $4-a-gallon gasoline). Your breadth may vary, of course, and it all depends on how abounding afar you awning anniversary year.

As you move up the Prius C range, the Three archetypal includes both an in-dash aeronautics arrangement and the Entune interface for the audio and infotainment system. Then, at the top of the line, the Prius C Four includes such niceties as admixture wheels, acrimonious seats, and fog lamps. There's just one advantage amalgamation for the cars beneath the Four: it bundles calm a moonroof and admixture wheels.