Toyota Prius c revealed [video]

Debuts at the North American International Auto Show

Toyota has taken the wraps off the Prius c.

Virtually identical to the JDM Aqua, the hatchback will debut at the North American International Auto Show in January. It is being targeted at "youthful shoppers seeking fuel efficiency, technology, and spirited driving dynamics."

Details are fairly light, but the car measures 157.3 inches long, 66.7 inches wide and 56.9 inches tall. Additionally, the Prius c has Bluetooth connectivity, steering-wheel audio controls and an optional Entune infotainment system.

Power comes from a 1.5-liter petrol engine and a small electric motor. Specifications were not released, but a leaked brochure - for the Aqua - revealed the car will have a combined output of 100 PS (74 kW / 99 hp). More importantly, Toyota says the c has an estimated city fuel economy rating in excess of 50 mpg (4.7 L/100km; 60 mpg UK).

Source: Toyota

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Toyota Prius c Provides a Subcompact Entry Point to Prius Family of Hybrid Vehicles

Among the Most Advanced Vehicles in its Class Will Debut at 2012 NAIAS

TORRANCE (Nov. 15, 2011) -Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., will offer a fuel-efficient hybrid at a more accessible price when the Prius c joins the Prius Family of vehicles in the spring of 2012. The U.S. debut of the Prius c will be next January at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

This highly anticipated subcompact member of the Prius Family will bring Toyota's renowned Hybrid Synergy Drive® technology to a new segment of buyers when it joins the third-generation Prius Liftback hybrid vehicle, the versatile new Prius v midsize hybrid vehicle and the Prius Plug-in Hybrid model, which will also debut next spring. Positioned as an entry into the Prius Family appealing to youthful shoppers seeking fuel efficiency, technology, and spirited driving dynamics in the subcompact segment, the Prius c will offer:

Expected class-leading fuel economy better than 50 mpg in the city, which is the highest city mpg of any non-plug-in vehicle.
Proven hybrid technology, with 14 years of heritage, available at a more accessible price.
A high degree of convenience features and premium in-car electronics, uncommon in a five-door configuration, creating a less compromised compact-car experience

As with other Prius models, Prius c combines its revolutionary Hybrid Synergy Drive® with excellent aerodynamics to achieve outstanding fuel efficiency. The new Prius c is unique in the Prius Family with a more youthful expression and a sportier dynamic character that offers a more fun-to-drive experience. The vehicle's five-door format and flexible packaging will adapt to a broad range of owners' needs.

The Prius c offers an unexpected level of convenience, capability and technology in a compact hybrid-electric at an attractive price. Bluetooth® hands-free phone connectivity, steering-wheel audio controls, and nine airbags will be among the standard features on the 2012 Prius c.

In addition,owners will enjoy a new dimension of connectivity courtesy of the available Toyota Entune^TM multimedia system. Entune^TM leverages the mobile smartphone to provide a richer in-vehicle infotainment experience with fully integrated access to navigation, entertainment, and information services. It allows users to connect with popular apps such as Bing^TM, OpenTable.com, and movietickets.com. Entune^TM also provides access to real-time information services, such as live weather, traffic, fuel information (location and price), stocks, and sports. The Prius c also offers voice recognition, music streaming, and email/text to speech capabilities.

Toyota Entune^TM brings one of the largest selections of music options available to a vehicle, including iheartradio's 750+ stations and Pandora® internet radio's personalized music. In addition, the driver's personal songs from portable media players and iPods (via USB or Bluetooth® audio streaming), and more than 170 stations from SiriusXM^TM satellite radio are also available.

Making premium technology available to compact-car shoppers, the Prius c offers superior fuel economy in a stylish, user-friendly package.

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djcocum

Looks like pumpkin on that orange colour

November 15, 2011 11:26 am

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autoficianado

and behold the new Lexus CT hybrid...

November 15, 2011 11:38 am

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N20_Purge

This isn't much looker, but at least it is not as visually offensive as the Larger Prii.

November 15, 2011 11:59 am

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MRAD

So from the information we have so far, this is not going to give you much more mileage than an IQ, it will have roughly the same size and will have the same level of power. I wonder what the price point will be as it doesn't seem to be better at all than the IQ (though technically the IQ gets about 5L/100Km.

November 15, 2011 11:59 am

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Sacto8780

Actually, the fuel economy of the US-market Scion iQ is not that great: 36 mpg city, 37 mpg highway (EPA 2008 test). Meanwhile, Toyota Prius c probably has better fuel economy than the current Prius Mk. III hatchback, which is rate at 51 mpg city, 48 mpg highway (EPA 2008 test).

November 15, 2011 8:11 pm

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MRAD

The Scion wasn't tested for the 2008 release in the same form that it is being released in now, the engine they are using is their smaller more efficient model and the 5/100Km rating is the updated stats for the model from the Canadian market tests which finished a few months ago. You can get the official ratings on quite a few sites for the 2012 North American IQ, but the US and Canadian stats do differ apparently on the 2012 model (the first to be released in this market). Even the lower figures would still be pretty damn good for a non-hybrid, as most cars in that range get slightly lower figures, it even places ahead of the Smart Fortwo, but with twice as many seats (though really only 3 are usable for adults, it's a great car, I test drove one of the concepts recently and was getting damn good figures, though for a short distance I must add).

November 16, 2011 6:43 am

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DHM1

Front looks like the DS3.

November 15, 2011 12:13 pm

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