ABC

My thinking exactly. If the Prius C comes in under $20k and has ~60mpg, that would be a serious win for Toyota IMO.

TRDFantasy

It's interesting that Toyota mentions the production Prius C will

- be the most fun-to-drive Prius model
- have BETTER fuel economy than the current regular Prius
- cost less than the regular Prius

I'm not sure if an MSRP under 20K is possible for the Prius C, but I can definitely see an MSRP around 21K. Also EPA fuel economy should easily be in the 50-60 mpg range.

spwolf

I would like 18-18.5k and probably MPG around 55MPG... Not sure how much lighter modern vehicle, with 7 airbags, VSC, crumple zones, batteries and two engines could be.

Probably just 10-15% lighter than Prius with its aluminium hood, suspension,

Another thing would be that it probably uses smaller engine, which will be less efficient at highway speeds but more efficient in start/stop city driving.

rogers2

Go ToYota. I guess they plan to destroy everything Honda puts out or duplicate. This car might not be able to move out its on way on the highway. Despite that it's a great idea. Where is VW?

TRDFantasy

The 0-60 is slow, but it is comparable to many slow diesel-powered vehicles in Europe.

Prius V 0-60 is still noticeably faster than a Smart car for example.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

when will either V or C hit the market?

TRDFantasy

Toyota said this summer for the V. The C hits first half of next year, so I expect the production C to debut either in LA late this year or next year Detroit.

Mister Two

I wouldn't be so sure about the fuel economy of the Prius C being better than the regular Prius if "fun to drive" is a priority. Just look at how much worse the CT200h's mileage is just by having wider tires, larger wheels and a sportier but less aero-efficient silhouette. Also "fun to drive" may mean more expensive suspension and chassis setups a la the CT200h, so the Prius C may not be cheaper than the regular Prius either.

-J-P-L-

Still, the C is smaller and lighter with what appears to have even better aerodynamics, although it's hard to tell from a visual standpoint, but its lower which undoubtedly helps.
The assumption is that it will have the same powerplant, which peered with a lighter car will do the job of making it sportier yet more efficient. Giving it a better steering and suspension setup wouldn't effect efficiency in any significant way. It may have wider tires but even they would only lower MPG by about 2 at most.

With all these assumptions, I would put the C at at least 55 MPG. And Toyota wouldn't price it above the standard Prius, although it may be alongside the base Prius price of $22K. I'm hoping they can launch it at $20K to start.

TRDFantasy

This is coming straight from Toyota, so yes I actually would be sure. It's common sense when you think about it. The C has less front and rear overhangs, which means less weigh on the corners of the car. It's also likely going to be smaller and lighter than the regular Prius, and from the looks of things, shorter too. That will all add up to a more nimble and faster car with better fuel economy.

Nobody said anything about a totally new suspension system or chassis setup. This is supposed to be cheaper than the regular Prius (again, Toyota's own words). Therefore, I think mechanically it will be almost identical to the Prius, except maybe with some sportier tuning. Plus, due to factors I mentioned above, it would be more fun to drive mainly by virtue of being smaller.

spwolf

i dont think C will have to do much with Prius... it is way too small to have prius platform. It is probably going to be based on iQ/Yaris platform.

TRDFantasy

This is possible. Whatever platform it's based on, I think it will be more fun simply because it's smaller and will be lighter than a regular Prius.

jruhi4

I totally agree. I'd expect the production Prius c to be a Yaris derivative.

jruhi4

Again, I totally agree. And that is but one of my beefs with Prius v. Another one is the name itself, and I explain on something I wrote for the Kaizen Factor blog:

http://kaizenfactor.wordpress.com/20...for-confusion/

jruhi4

North American debut, maybe, but keep in mind that Toyota has a full plate of new reveals this year. Camry and Tacoma are North American-centric, and RAV4 could go either way (or, perhaps, into calendar year 2012). With Prius c expected to be more Euro-centric than any of those Toyotas, I'd predict a Geneva (March 2011), Frankfurt (September 2011) or, possibly Tokyo (December 2011) world debut.