The influential Consumer Reports did create waves when it panned the smallest and least expensive of the Prii as so sub-par and cheapened compared to a regular Prius Liftback, that it recommended buying a clean used Liftback instead of a new c.

This judgment, like every other it seems these days, was met with counterpoints, and to be sure the U.S. market voted its pocketbook in favor of the c. Since its launch in March 2012, the Prius c has been essentially the third best-selling of all hybrids. In 2012, it sold 35,733 in only three-quarters of a selling year. With a full 12 months of sales, the only other cars to top it were other Toyota hybrids – the v, the Camry and Liftback

Powertrain

The Prius c is motivated by a 1.5-liter four cylinder Atkinson cycle engine based on an updated version from the previous generation regular Prius. Compared to the new 1.8-liter in the Liftback, it gives up 25 horsepower totaling 73, with 82 pound-feet of torque.

This meager energy is of course augmented by a seamlessly integrated electric motor and fed through a continuously variable transmission (CVT). Output for the total Hybrid Synergy Drive system is 99 horsepower for a vehicle weighing 500 pounds less.

Dimensions

The little c – with “c” standing for “city” – is essentially based on Toyota’s Yaris platform. The car is around four inches longer than the Yaris and dimensionally also quite similar to the original Prius.
Both have a 100.4-inch wheelbase, the same 66.7-inch width and employ a 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine. However, the Prius c is 12 inches shorter than the original Prius, and 265 pounds lighter.
Economy

While the c looks like an original Prius revisited in many respects, a big difference is fuel economy: The Prius c is EPA rated at 53 mpg city/46 highway and 50 combined compared to the first model’s 42/41/41 rating.

Interior

As for some of the issues Consumer Reports found issues with, the interior is indeed laden with inexpensive plastic, and does lag behind others in the subcompact class like the Ford Focus and Hyundai Accent.

The dash and layout are designed to appeal to that most elusive of consumer species: the so-called Millennial generation.

One of Toyota’s ad campaigns this year was a series called the Game of Life based on a game by Hasbro to appeal to the connected generation’s assumed general mindset.

Driving

On the road, the Prius c is within what one would expect of a Toyota city car. Of course it can be driven coast to coast if desired, and the car verges on being fun to drive, but it’s best suited as a local runner.

Its excellent fuel mileage returned is within range of the EPA estimate assuming one drives at a legal pace, avoiding jackrabbit starts, and keeps a steady hand.

The Prius c is not especially powerful however, and this is one area where those who feel they need more than the minimum daily allowance of horsepower supplementation will want to search for other alternatives.

Of course, if they do, they will be hard pressed to find a less expensive car offering such efficiency. So, it is a trade-off, and one which many feel is more than worth it.

Pricing

The Prius c comes in several trim levels from One through Four.

Toyota announced the 2013 Prius c will be be offered with interior upgrades that now include a standard SofTex®-trimmed steering wheel on the Prius c Four, and a black SofTex dash panel on Prius c Two and Three models, matching the dash of the top-line Prius c Four.

Suggested retail prices will range from $19,080 for the Prius c One to $23,360 for the Prius c Four, an increase of $130 or 0.6 percent.

For more information, you can read our full 2012 review on what is essentially the same car.

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Sandwiched between those classic American pony cars? The Toyota Prius.

In the interest of full disclosure, editors at Autoweek.com, admit that the Prius doesn’t get their blood pumping. Yet, as auto enthusiasts covering the full spectrum of the four-wheeled-world, the site’s staffers can’t deny the staying power of Toyota’s market-leading hybrid car.

Without postulating why the Prius rated so high in a publication that values performance facets of cars as much as practicality and comfort, the editors simply let the search results chips fall.

“All assumptions aside, the numbers don’t lie,” wrote Sherrice Gilsbach of Autoweek.com.

Reading (electronic) tea leaves

What does the number two out of 12 position say about the Prius?

There’s no end to the number of ways we could extract meaning from AW’s search results, and what they say about the Web site’s readership, or those merely doing informational searches on the site. To say that the influences of creeping numbers at the pump and the ever-increasing acceptance of alternative-fuel vehicles also likely play roles in boosting the Prius’ profile aren’t stretches of probability.

If you’re the cynical type, weary of a something as simple as a tally of search results telling the greater story of the popularity of the Prius, you need look no further than sales data to see how it is that apparently so many people might hunt down info on the Prius nowadays.

Model-year 2013 marks a commendable 17 years of Prius production, with first sales starting in Japan in 1997. In April 2011 Toyota had sold its 1 millionth Prius in the U.S. since the car first went on sale here in 2000.

For a more current perspective, peeking at our November Dashboard sales totals for the hybrid market you can see that the Prius Liftback’s 8,925 sales is more than twice as many as the next best seller. And 2012 year-to-date Liftback sales of nearly 135,000 units is more than three times the next best selling hybrid in a market of more than 40 models.

First in line

In the U.S. the car has essentially reached cult status; it has transcended from a practical means of personal transportation to being an icon. The Prius has been synonymous with green car technology for most of the past decade and a half.

While not taking anything away from Toyota’s design and engineering prowess behind the Prius, a key factor in the car’s success is often lost in the boiling enthusiasm for the green car market: the Prius got here first.

Yes, we know Toyota didn’t pioneer the technology of hybrid powertrain vehicles; the premise of such a machine has existed for decades. But Toyota was the first mainline automaker in years to make the green car leap into an American auto market traditionally in love with displacement, eye-candy appeal, and a long-running ethos of bigger is better.

Not only did Toyota jump into a red-hot caldron spilling over with fuel-swilling Escalades and Expeditions, but it also stuck the landing, and hasn’t looked back since.

2012 Prius c.

Being first to market with a product can pay immense dividends. A savvy company can leverage a product’s first-to-market status as a tremendously strong marketing and branding tool. If the product is viable and its image managed, a company can leave a positive indelible mark on the market that may reap rewards for years to come.

If you’re a hybrid car enthusiast old enough to remember, think back to a time before you were so enthusiastic. Think also of those friends, family, and casual acquaintances that even now only have cursory knowledge of green cars. When the term “hybrid car” first crosses eardrums, what comes to mind? Probably an image of a Prius.

As a brand the Prius is so well managed that it allowed Toyota to grow the Prius line. Now consumers can pick from among three hybrids: the Prius Liftback, Prius c, Prius v, and a plug-in hybrid, called simply enough, the Prius Plug-in.

Toyota has capitalized on its reputation of building reliable, user-friendly vehicles, and parlayed that cache of credit with consumers – as well as the Prius’ ability to do what Toyota implied the car could do (use less fuel, lower emissions, and save customers money) – into an image for the Prius that goes beyond Toyota.

2012 Prius v Five.

“Prius is a Prius first and a Toyota second,” said Toyota’s Group Vice President of Global Sales, Bob Carter, when the Prius family of cars became a top-three seller earlier this year.

Not universally loved, but loved by a loyal following

The car was, and still is, often derided for being a treehugger’s car of choice. Yet, despite no major departures in the car’s core styling theme that gives diehard auto enthusiasts the willies, the Prius has moved beyond being an automobile.

It’s hard to argue against the notion that for a portion of Prius owners the car is as much a badge of honor, an affirmation of lifestyle, or a 3,000-pound representation of ideologies, as it is a way to get from A to B.

2012 Prius Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle.

In 2007 the <em>New York Times</em> cited a marketing survey that saw 57 percent of respondents say they purchased a Prius because it made a declaration about them as a person, while far fewer (36 percent) purchased the car for its fuel economy.

However, like people and their ideals the king of hybrids isn’t infallible. The Prius has seen its share of safety recalls and negative press.

In November of this year Toyota issued a recall for certain 2004 to 2009 model-year Prius vehicles in the U.S. to inspect and in some cases replace the steering intermediate extension shaft. A total of 670,000 Prius were subject to the recall. In 2010 a similar number of cars were recalled for a coolant pump glitch, and the Prius was also caught up in the floor mat public relations nightmare in 2009.

More recently the Prius c was dubbed by Consumer Reports as a car to avoid.

The consumer watchdog publication reported that the c model it evaluated provided fuel economy figures far below the car’s EPA-rated 53 mpg city rating; the magazine also opined the c had poor ride quality and a chintzy interior. And just last week the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) rated the Prius v “poor” for its performance in the Institute’s new small overlap frontal crash test.

By and large, however, the Prius family of cars is generally regarded as a safe, economical, and reliable choice of vehicles.

Quietly storming the gates of automobile conventionalism

While the alternative-fuel powertrain vehicle market is currently but a sliver of the larger automobile scene, it is trending upward. Yet it’s virtually impossible to surmise the future of the green car merely by how many people visiting <em>Autoweek.com’s</em> searched for the Prius over the period of one year.

One the other hand, with the Prius surpassing the Corvette, not to mention the many other fuel-efficient, economical cars like the Ford Focus and Kia Optima that faired well in the AW.com top 12 searched list, you have to wonder if practicality is storming the gates of power and passion that for so long have underpinned the often emotional act of purchasing a car.

Had Toyota not so effectively implemented its Prius program, chances are that another manufacturer would’ve stepped in and had cracking success with some form of alternative-fuel vehicle.

Commercially successful green technology cars, like the Nissan Leaf, Chevy Volt, Tesla Model S, or Fisker Karma, stand fully on their own merits, and appeared in their own good time. But the path to success for these, and the dozens more alt-fuel vehicles now on the market, were made smoother and more accessible by the Prius’ early and continued success.

How long, then, before the Prius and its contemporaries reach the top of everyone’s search list?

Autoweek.com

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Since then, Prius grew from being a model to becoming a family of models and turned into a sub-brand under the Toyota umbrella.

Today, Toyota offers three hybrid vehicles under the Prius name: the subcompact Prius c introduced in 2012; the third generation of the original, which Toyota has begun calling the Prius Liftback; and the tall wagon Prius v, also introduced as a 2012 model year product.

A fourth Prius, we will come back to in another article is the Prius Plug-In, a variation on the Liftback which can be plugged into a household electrical outlet for the batteries to be charged.

All share an evolution of Toyota’s patented Hybrid Synergy Drive and rely on a mix of conventional gas engine and electric motor to bring forward – or backward – motion to the vehicle.

“But, which one better suits my need?” is a question we often hear.

We spent time with each of them to better understand their strengths and whom they each better serve on a daily basis, using each version as most households would.

Prius Liftback

First, let’s start with the benchmark for this article, the one most think of when the Prius name is mentioned: the Liftback.

The third generation of the original was introduced in 2010 with a heavily touched-up exterior, revised interior and updated powertrain.

Like all Prii, the Liftback seats five. Its generous size means all occupants have decent space and its 106.3 inches wheelbase helps both interior space and riding comfort.

The mechanical heart of the Liftback is built around a 1.8-litere, 4-cylinder DOHC 16-Valve engine designed with Toyota’s Variable Valve Timing w/intelligence (VVT-i) system as well as sequential multiport electronic fuel injection. This reliable engine is combined with a permanent-magnet synchronous motor and sealed nickel-metal hydride (Ni-MH) batteries.

The motive power produced by this hybrid poweertrain is sent to the front wheels through an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission (CVT).

This hybrid powertrain allows the Prius Liftback to return an EPA fuel consumption ratings of 51 mpg in the city, 48 mpg on the highway and 50 mpg combined.

This impressive fuel consumption is also helped by the 0.25 low coefficient of drag as well as the 3,042-pound curb weight.

As is true for all Prius models, drivers of the Liftback can select the drive mode; in addition to the standard driving mode, the Prius drive system also includes an Eco driving mode, an EV driving mode, and a Power mode. In Power mode, enhanced mid-range response enables easier coping with slopes and mountainous terrain. In EV mode, the Prius v can run on battery power alone for short distances and lower speeds, up to about a mile. In Eco driving mode, the engine management system prioritizes fuel economy, managing throttle response and limiting power consumption from the air conditioning.

Trim levels start at the Prius Two level ($24,200) and go all the way to the top of the line Five ($30,005 ), which can easily be considered a luxury car. For those wondering, there is a Prius One trim level, but it is basic and reserved for fleets. New for 2013 is the Prius Persona Series Special Edition ($27,130), close to the Four in price and aimed at the style-conscious buyer.

Taking place at the wheel of the Prius reserves a few surprises to the uninitiated. First, the instrument panel is located in the center on top of the dash, not behind the steering wheel as is customary. Second, gone is the usual PRND gate of traditional automatic transmissions; in its place is a gearshift lever could be considered as a joystick by anyone seeing it for the first time. This lever allows the driver to get the car moving forward, backwards, or engage regenerative braking (B on the shifter).

This last function contributes to keep the battery charged as one slows down or goes downhill. The Prius’ Hybrid Synergy Drive system does so automatically, but the driver can choose to emphasis the regenerative braking when wanted. The function can also serve as downgrading to a lower gear when some engine braking is needed, like going down a very steep hill.

Another surprise in driving the Prius is the lack of noise at low speeds and the stop/start function at intersections. Yes, the gas engine will cut off when the car is stopped and the vehicle will leave the intersection first on electric power alone when the light turns green. The gas engine will kick-in when speed, rate of acceleration or energy available in the batteries requires it to do so.

From a practical standpoint, the interior of the Liftback offers many well-placed and useful cubicles and the general size available for occupants compares favorably to other cars of its size.

The trunk, with its hatchback type of opening, can accommodate large objects and is of a decent size even though the batteries do hamper its shape, with a floor that is higher than other cars. On the plus side, the rear seats fold down, and do so creating a useful perfectly flat platform with the trunk.

On the road, the Liftback is no sports car, but power is plentiful to keep up with traffic and to go on with driving duties without feeling punished driving an underpowered car.

The first aspect an owner may start noticing after the novelty wears off is the noise level in the car. This is a direct by-product of pushing to make the car as fuel efficient as possible.

Less sound deadening has been installed in order to keep the weight down, which allows more road noises to get in the car. This combines with higher tire noise coming from the low resistance tires, once again chosen to reduce fuel consumption.

This noise level is far from being as obtrusive as the noise level of cars from thirty years ago, but make sure to pay attention to this aspect of Prius ownership when test driving one. It is very subjective; some can’t stand it, others don’t mind at all. And it does apply to all Prius models, not only the Liftback.

Prius c

As mentioned, the c is the subcompact model of the Prius family and shares many hidden components with the Yaris hatchback of similar size.

The Prius c replaces the 1.8 liter engine of the Liftback with a smaller 1.5 liter 4-cylinder DOHC 16-Valve engine designed with Toyota’s Variable Valve Timing w/intelligence (VVT-i) system as well as sequential multiport electronic fuel injection.

Total system power goes from 134 horsepower in the Liftback to 99 horsepower in the c. At the same time, weight goes down from 3,042 pounds to 2,500 pounds and the wheelbase loses almost six inches.

In short, the c’s powertrain is very similar to the one originally found in the second generation of the regular Prius.

Fuel consumption is EPA rated at 53 mpg in the city and 46 mpg on the highway, for a combined rating of 50 mpg.

As one can quickly realize from these numbers, the c makes a great city car. Its length of 157.3 inches allows it to fit easily in most parking spots and both its city fuel consumption and its size makes it a perfect city fit.

What it looses in size on the outside it does not lose completely on the inside. Yes, the inside is smaller, but this will be felt marginally in the front where most tall adults will feel just as comfortable in this c when compared to the Liftback. The c offers a little less shoulder width, but a tad more headroom, both for front and rear passengers.

The rear trunk offers 17.1 cu. ft. of very useable space compared to the Liftback’s 21.6. The space is very accessible with the help of the hatchback design and the folding rear seats gives even more cargo space when needed.

While the c is down 35 horsepower total, it is also lighter by 500 pounds; the car thus does not feel underpowered and will be more than sufficient for most situations. Even on the highway, the c does handle well and will not feel underpowered.

But when compared to the Liftback, the c is clearly at its best as a city / suburbs car, with occasional jaunts on the highway. It will carry five adults, but those having to often carry rear adult passengers will prefer the Liftback.

Prius v

While the c was a compact evolution on the Prius theme, the v is the model expanding the Hybrid Synergy Drive technology in the tall wagon market.

While the v shares the same mechanical components, it does so in a larger car. The v is 231 pounds heavier, has a little over three more inches of wheelbase and is bigger in all dimensions.

Most of all, it has a higher roof that reaches out further in the back, allowing for a trunk of the size found on many SUVs.

While it was designed as a seven seater for markets like Japan, only the five seat configuration is offered here.

All the extra size and weight has an impact: fuel consumption drops to a still respectable 44 city, 40 highway and 42 combined.

The v’s strength is in the practical aspect of its interior. It offers SUV interior space with drastically better fuel economy.

Practical cubicles abound and the rear seat has the benefit of offering some travel fore and aft while the seat back’s angle can be adjusted. The extra space available is felt all around the car and the difference between the v and the Liftback’s interior space is felt a lot more than numbers would lead us to believe. While stepping down to the c may not be felt too much space-wise, stepping up to the v makes a huge difference.

The extra weight and size does hamper performance, but the only time an owner would really feel it is while driving on the highway. In comparison to the Liftback, the v relies a lot more on its gas engine and will be constantly pushing to keep the wanted speed, while the Liftback seems to do so effortlessly.

We believe this explains why the vehicle is offered only as a five seater in North America. It is not unusual for a car in Japan to be in low speed traffic most of the time, with close to no trips on the highway. Considering Americans go faster more often, the extra weight of the passengers would hamper performance to a point where North American expectations would not be met.

Handling is in no way hampered by the extra size or weight. The long wheelbase contributes to make this v even more comfortable over bumps while the extra width compensates well for the extra height and weight when turning.

As expected, the trunk in this v is very useful with 34.3 cu. ft. of available cargo space before folding the rear seats. It grows to 67.3 cu. ft. when the rear row is folded down. This makes the v a perfect choice for active families.

So, Which One?

A huge part of this answer relies in you fully understanding your needs.

The Prius Liftback is a great all-around car and this is key to the success of the Prius nameplate. Not too big for the city, good on the highway and in the suburbs, it will answer the needs of most families of four or less.

The Prius c brings better city fuel economy as well as a size that will be beneficial in tight areas like San Francisco, New York or Montreal … Or any downtown core where space is at a premium. This c will make you happy if most of your driving is in the city and suburbs, or as a very practical second car used for commuting while a bigger car is kept for family outings.

The Prius v is perfect for those active families who find themselves often together in the car. Happier in the city and the suburbs, it will still carry the family on that occasional family trip, offering plenty of space and conveniences to four or five occupants.

If most of your driving is done on the highway, then the Liftback is preferable … Or step up to the Camry Hybrid, but that discussion is for another article.

The post Prius Family: Which One Is Right For Me? appeared first on HybridCars.com.

The MSRP for the Camry Hybrid will range from $26,140 for the LE trim level to $27,670 for the XLE. This represents an increase of $165, or 0.6 percent when compared to 2012 models. All versions of the 2013 Camry will arrive in dealerships early in January.

The Prius c hybrid subcompact, rated at 53 mpg highway, rolls into 2013 with interior upgrades that now include a standard SofTex-trimmed steering wheel on the Prius c Four, and a black SofTex dash panel on Prius c Two and Three models, matching the dash of the premium Prius c Four.

The MSRP for the Prius c will range from $19,080 for the Prius c One to $23,360 for the Prius c Four. This represents an increase of $130 or 0.6 percent. Like the Camry, the 2013 Prius c will arrive in dealerships early January.

Toyota also announced a price adjustment for the 2013 Highlander Hybrid. In this case, prices will range from $40,170 for the V6 AWD to $46,370 for the Limited V6 AWD, an increase of $200, or 0.4 percent. These prices are effective this December.

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