The Toyota Prius has been quite successful despite the fact that it’s downright hideous. Regardless of this one fact, the engineers at Toyota have been trying to improve its looks every year and this year they may have been successful. We had the chance to review the smaller 2012 Toyota Prius C and here are our thoughts. This Prius uses the Hybrid Synergy Drive technology, which, consists of a small four-cylinder gas engine running on the Atkinson cycle, an electric motor, a nickel-metal-hydride battery pack, and a continuously variable transaxle.
Instead of the usual 1.8-liter four cylinder that we’re used to seeing in the Prius’s, the C has a 1.5-liter four cylinder and its battery pack now consist of 120 cells versus the usual 168 in order to get rid of 25 pounds. The Prius has a CVT transaxle that also contains the electric motor and is cooled by its own transmission fluid rather than by water, meaning it does not need a radiator. The 2012 Toyota Prius C is about 500 pounds lighter than the standard Prius but it gets about the same gas mileage of 50 mpg despite being smaller. The annual fuel cost will run you about $1,100, which means you will be spending about $92 a month or $23 a week in gas, which is one of the biggest reason we would choose to buy this hybrid car.
The interior of the Prius C felt pretty roomy even though it’s the compact version of the standard Prius and the interior overall was pretty nice. This car starts as low as $23,230. If you’re looking for something relatively cheap to cruise around town with that won’t cost you much money on gas, than this Prius is the one for you. Rear original post here
By Tabitha Baez
