Test Drive: The 2012 Toyota Prius C

Prius's are not really good cars, the are not as efficient as a turbo diesel, also the Toyota is very very slow. Just get a Volkswagen Bluemotion the far superior car, 73 mpg, end of discussion.

This is a very cute looking car and I like the mileage. But the sad fact is, it's too expensive and so not justified to purchase....

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Every day is a new day!

Well... is it actually worth it?

Let's compare it to the Yaris, since the Yaris is in almost all size and specs virtually identical to the C.

Base model C is about $4,835 more than the base model Yaris. So you'll also pay an additional $338 in sales taxes (assuming 7% in your state), for a total of $5,173 more. There is no more tax credit since this is not a plug-in or pure electric vehicle.

Where is the break even point? Today's average gas price in the us is $3.47. Toyota's listed average MPG for the Yaris is 33, and for the C is 50, a difference of 17 MPG. If you drive 15,000 miles a year, you'd use 300 gallons in the C, and 455 gallons in the Yaris. A savings of 155 gallons a year, at $3.47 a gallon, for an annual gas savings of $537.85. So to recoup your extra initial layout of $5,173 would take 9.6 years.

I'm not sure the economics make sense in terms of just saving money. Certainly some people drive more, and gas prices might go back up, or be higher in certain areas. But it is also yet to be seen how long it takes before the battery pack needs replacement, what kind of mileage you'll get as that battery pack degrades, and if there are more or fewer maintenance expenses compared to a Yaris.

For the sake of playing devil's advocate, let's assume gas goes up to $5 a gallon for the life of the vehicle, that you actually drive it a ton ($25,000 miles a year) and that all other costs are the same as a Yaris. How does that extreme scenario affect the break even? You would now save 258 gallons a year at $5 each for a yearly savings of $1,290. That would give you a break even of 4 years. So in that very extreme scenario, a person might then break even while they still own it. But not many people really fit that amount of driving, and gas prices are nowhere near $5 in any state.

There are also a couple of other points.
1. The extra parts in a hybrid certainly do take up a lot of useful room.
2. These same parts add complexity, which at some point leads to service costs.

I owned a 10,000 dollar Chevy Sprint. If I take in account inflation, it adds up really close to the same dollar amount of this car above. All things being equal, I am more incline to believe the quality of 2012 Toyota Prius is the greatest benefit for the consumer.

The Chevy Sprint with intended planned obsolesces. If the USA ever changes their attitude, we might create an equally competitive car. It hard for our USA engineers, accountants and stock holders to get off the greed tread mill and just focus on quality.

The foreign cars are force to make better quality cars, simply because of the cost to compete with the cost of shipping them to the USA or the world and being competitive.

Now some may say for the USA business to get out of its economic slump we need to increase the quality of our products so we can compete better on a world market. Sadly, we are already do things, but because of our government’s tax incentivizes or penalties to USA businesses, they simply take their good ideas and create products overseas, at a cheaper labor rate.

The real thing we need to change it the motivational cost factors put upon business in the USA by our USA government. Of course they are stuck in the mud of in decision as they are to hang on to their positions. I love our USA, and its laws, we just need to leadership in our government.

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See life in all its beautiful colors, and
from different perspectives too!

Sorry, but I realy don't see the point in buying a hybrid - it's like the worst of both worlds. Give me an ICE or all electric/solar/hydrogen, whatever.

Love, Peace & Soul

I like how this car drive and handles. I had a chance to drive one last month at a local car show. It's a bit pricey for my taste and not roomy enough for my family, but I like the car and glad we are finally seeing alternatives to gas-powered vehicles.

I think that the car is overpriced.Obviously the Prius C has some good features but that doesn't still make it worth the expense.Instead of spending almost 19 grands on the Prius C to save some gas,I think its better to go for a Volkswagen Bluemotion which gives you greater mileage.
http://jeffsmbz.com/services.htm

This is good for drive but not excellent. I think something is missing here.

I have a Prius 3rd gen lift back and when I first got it, I struggled to get48 mpg. After a year and a half, I have learned to drive it properly, the drivetrain has broken-in and I started using only gas without Ethanol; I now reach 75 mpg around town and 65 on the road. I will admit I won't get stopped for speeding and I don'T get in a hurry. On the same note if I do go back to my old style of driving I still get 58 mpg easily and over the life I have driven over 37,000 miles and have averaged 57.7 mpg. So someone that buys a Prius C I think should be able to accomplish as much by working at it as I did.