Toyota Prius C first drive: is this the country’s most efficient car?

In 2013, during a press conference in Nagoya, Japan, this author asked Toyota chief engineer Kouji Toyoshima: Do Toyota’s hybrid cars really need to sacrifice form in favor of function? The query came on the heels of public criticism that the automaker’s flagship eco-car, the hybrid Prius, came in a “bland” design, whereas some of its other luxury hybrid counterparts were “dressed to the nines.”

Toyoshima didn’t hesitate to answer. He said that “bigger volumes” are needed to make a car look “sexy.” He added: “Realistically speaking, when one considers aerodynamic resistance, the hatchback style is most effective. Making the bumpers edgier at the same time is another important characteristic. That’s why, for aerodynamic consideration, the current styling and shape of a Prius have become the standard. In addition to aerodynamic resistance, interior packaging is another important factor. The Prius, of course, is a compact car.”

The new Prius C—a reiteration of the more compact version of the iconic Prius hatch (the “hybrid that started it all,” chosen by Design Museum as among the “50 cars that changed the world,” and included in Matt Stone’s “365 cars you must drive”)—is also stamped with the groundbreaking Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive technology.

It is probably also a reminder that Toyota design engineers do know how to have some fun on the drawing boards—and they must have had lots of it when it particularly came to designing the front part of the car: the front bumper, grille and headlamps.

Compared to the first version of the Prius C, the new one is already fitted with the Toyota Emergency Brake Signal as manifested by LED rear brake lamps flashing rapidly when brakes are suddenly applied at high speeds.

Its audio system has a new navigation feature, not unlike that of the Fortuner SUV. The new Prius C now also has vehicle stability control and traction control features with cut-off switches, preventing the tires from slipping sideways when cornering, and hindering wheel slip when accelerating on slippery surfaces, respectively.

Motioncars.inquirer.net simultaneously test-drove the old and new Prius C models for visual, ride, and fuel mileage comparisons (in spite of the fact that the older Prius C was quite well-worn at 35,000 kilometers, and the new one logged only 600 km in its odometer).

It turned out that age didn’t matter much in fuel consumption, as both cars yielded averages between 30 and 35 km per liter on highway runs.

(For the record, Toyota’s fuel consumption rating for Prius C was 3.9 liters/100 km, or 25 kpl.)

Orientation for first-timers

Unlike the original Prius sedan, the Prius C is easier to park, and there is no irritating glare of sunlight that hounded rear passengers of the original Prius.

First-time drivers of a Toyota hybrid will still need to orient themselves a bit on some of the exclusive-to-hybrid drive controls, such as the “B” slot in the gear (for engine brake assist), the engaging energy monitors on the dashboard, and that unnervingly “still vibration” (“Is the car dead?”), and noise-free cabin when only the electric engine is working.

But in no time, you’ll be driving the Prius hybrid like it has been with you for so long. Some nifty features are already existent in conventional gas or diesel-powered vehicles, such as the keyless entry and start/stop ignition button.

But the heart, or hearts, of the Prius powerplant is/are what sets the hybrid apart from the conventionals.

The Prius and the Prius C wouldn’t have earned their legendary status if not for the Hybrid Synergy Drive technology.

The new Prius C is powered with the same old reliable 1.5-liter, four-cylinder 1NZ-FXE VVT-i Atkinson cycle engine that complies with standard regulations of Euro V emissions.

Toyota couldn’t have explained this better: “The characteristics of its hybrid system include the ability to accurately use the gasoline engine and electric motors based on the current driving conditions which offer smooth and reactive driving while significantly minimizing fuel consumption and gas emissions.”

The development of the Prius, and its Hybrid Synergy, has taken all of over four decades, harking back to the shock of the 1970s oil crisis that prompted Toyota to begin the R&D on a combined gasoline engine and electric motor.

Hilton Holloway and Martin Buckley (author of “A-Z of Cars”) added that the aversion to diesel fuel (which was then regarded as too dirty) and the passage in the United States of the first Clean Air laws in the late 1960s added impetus to the development of hybrid technology.

Still, it took two decades for the first working gasoline-electric hybrid models to appear. Finally, the commercial-grade Prius was ready to roll out of Toyota and drive into American garages in 2000, effectively making it the world’s first hybrid car.

Despite the global popularity of the Prius, and the universality (and even urgency) of the reason for its creation, the car and its drive technologies are still largely unappreciated in this corner of the world, no thanks to a prohibitive price that places it beyond the reach of much of its interested public, and no thanks, too, to the absence of a system of tax breaks or incentives for automakers creating and selling environment-friendly vehicles.

And this is one truly heavy ball-and-chain that the Prius and its little brother, the Prius C, have to unnecessarily drag along.

The Prius C full option white pearl goes for a pocket-strangling P1.602 million; the Prius C Full Option at P1.587 million, and the Prius C standard white pearl at P1.552 million. The lowest priced Prius C (the Standard) goes for P1.537 million—still more expensive than most full-size diesel-powered vans.

But miracles still happen, and as of last count, there are 100 Filipino owners of Prius and Prius C. Don’t take these buyers for fools. Their motoring consciences are “greener and cleaner,” and so are their pockets.