2012 Toyota Prius C Takes on the High Sierras

City Slicker: Driving the Newest Prius Outside Its Comfort Zone 

Toyota's latest variant of the popular Prius is the new 2012 Toyota Prius C, with C standing for "city" driving. That basic premise begs the question, though: Is that the only place you'd ever drive it? After all, urban dwellers have been known to venture beyond town limits on occasion to experience that wonderful thing known as nature. Granted, a lot of families nowadays have multiple vehicles in their fleet for various purposes, but what if a Prius C were your only ride? Can it tackle some really challenging terrain?

To satisfy our curiosity -- thinking outside of the econo-box, so to speak -- we picked up a Habanero orange model in Northern California for a drive in both downtown San Francisco and on the mountain roads leading to Lake Tahoe, along with other types of geography. We also carefully monitored the gasoline consumption, both by onboard readouts and the old-school volume method of measurement, to compare the car's fuel efficiency from the Golden Gate Bridge, just above sea level, to Donner Pass at 8000 feet.

Toyota touts the Prius C as offering the highest EPA city rating (53 mpg). But we've all heard that familiar qualification -- your actual mileage may vary -- and there's the rub. The mileage rating drops when not in town (the opposite of traditional drivetrains), because the Hybrid Synergy Drive's 1.5-liter engine is providing propulsion instead of the electric motor. Thus the highway rating is 46 mpg, for a combined 50 mpg. Yet how does the car perform in more extreme applications, those for which it's not primarily intended?

Even though we privately wondered whether the 99-hp powerplant had the beans to clamber above the tree line, it turns out our apprehensions were fairly unfounded. But that doesn't mean were thrilled by the experience, either. First, though, the good news.

Since the Prius C is 15 inches shorter and more than 500 pounds lighter than the matronly Prius liftback, it has a snappier look and truly excels around town. While it obviously wouldn't make any sense as Steve McQueen's pursuit car in "Bullitt," it maneuvers adroitly through congested traffic and fits into a much higher percentage of tight parking spots. Just don't expect it to go flying over Nob Hill with all four wheels catching air. On some of the steeper inclines, we found ourselves recalling those optimistic lines from "The Little Engine That Could" as the car pedaled hard uphill.

We also were curious about how it would handle some really tortuous grades up to Tahoe. And when heading back down, how quickly would the regenerative braking recharge the battery pack? To find out, we headed east on I-80 toward the snow-capped Sierras. Initially we noted that the mileage monitor indicated a consistent 55 mpg on the even freeways through the flat farmland near Sacramento. Once we began climbing into the foothills, it was no surprise that mileage efficiency dropped into the high 40-mpg range. While the acceleration was acceptable, we nonetheless found ourselves taking full advantage of the rolling ribbon of road, speeding up when heading downhill, in anticipation of the next big ascent.

At some point, we inevitably lost that momentum, and a really demanding uphill slog ensued. The Prius C was able to maintain a good head of steam, while throttling up in the "power" portion of the graphic display. By the way, we found that dashboard's non-traditional, digital gauges and lack of traditional engine readouts make this highly computerized conveyance feel more like operating an iPad than driving a car. Although informative and intellectually stimulating, the experience of manning the wheel lacks some verve and passion. The interior treatment is equally sanitized and rather functional in execution. Don't expect even a smidge of woodgrain trim to warm up the look of the cockpit.

A dash shroud covering the digital display makes for easier reading even in bright sunlight, but we noticed this cowl occasionally vibrated on rough, snowplow-scarred sections of road. The narrow, hard tires (with lower rolling resistance) also tended to hunt and wander at times in the grooves worn by countless convoys of semis. On the other hand, when threading through winding mountain passes and switchbacks, the Prius C's lower center of gravity (due to the placement of the battery pack and other components) was a definite advantage, and the Yaris-derived chassis hugged tight turns with minimal body lean.

While the handling was better than expected as we flogged this city car up the steep, twisty grades of Mt. Rose, the engine complained with an annoying drone, as if to ask, "Couldn't we have just gone out for a latte at the Starbucks in town?" (Our snarky reply: "Hey, you little city slicker, just deal with it, OK?") The average trip readout dropped to 22 mpg, with the phrase "your actual mileage may vary" ringing in our ears. Conversely, when coasting downhill from Donner Pass, we saw as high as 99 mpg on the display, and the batteries recharged in just a few minutes.

After driving from the Bay area to the Reno/Tahoe area and heading back, we had to refill the 9.5-gallon tank in the old mining town of Dutch Flat. Based on the distance covered and fuel consumed (397.4 miles and 9.1 gallons), the plucky Prius managed 43.6 mpg combined. Given the steep inclines, some high-speed cruising at 65-plus mph, plus carrying a passenger and luggage for most of the trip, that's still a pretty impressive figure.

On a side note, given all the computer controls of the Hybrid Synergy Drive, we were surprised to find during fill-up that the engine can't accommodate higher ethanol blends such as E85. When we queried Toyota's engineers about this omission, they pointed out that E85 fuel has much less energy density and would require a new fuel delivery system that could accommodate the necessary increase in fuel volume. 

 

They added that E85 is very corrosive and would require a reworking of the engine's intake system and a complete reprogramming of the engine ECU to handle the new fuel delivery requirements. "At this point, we feel that the rewards of using E85 are not large enough to warrant the increase in cost to the Prius to add this equipment," they concluded.

 

All told, being a high-mileage champ doesn't guarantee for a pleasant driving experience. If anything, expelling far fewer carbon molecules actually requires some significant compromises, even sacrifices, in both comfort and performance. On smooth pavement and city streets, the ride is fairly acceptable, but gets tiresome and busy in less civilized areas and on longer trips. There's no question that the Prius C is a remarkably efficient transportation appliance, but for anyone that relishes long drives in the hill country on less-than-perfect pavement, that benefit might not outweigh the drawbacks. Then again, with all the money you save on gas, there's plenty left over for a latte or two in town.

2012 Toyota Prius C
BASE PRICE	$19,710
VEHICLE LAYOUT	Front engine, FWD, 5-pass, 4-door hatchback
ENGINE	1.5L/73-hp/82-lb-ft Atkinson cycle DOHC 16-valve I-4, plus 60-hp electric motor; 99 hp comb
TRANSMISSION	Cont. variable auto
CURB WEIGHT (F/R DIST)	2565 lb (61/39%)
WHEELBASE	100.4 in
LENGTH X WIDTH X HEIGHT	157.3 x 66.7 x 56.9 in
0-60 MPH	10.6 sec
QUARTER MILE	17.8 sec @ 76.6 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH	121 ft
LATERAL ACCELERATION	0.83 g (avg)
MT FIGURE EIGHT	28.7 sec @ 0.54 g (avg)
EPA CITY/HWY FUEL ECON	53/46 mpg
ENERGY CONSUMPTION, CITY/HWY	64/73 kW-hrs/100 miles
CO2 EMISSIONS	0.39 lb/mile