Overview & Reviews

User Reviews:

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  So far, mostly great - 2016 Toyota Prius c
  By TFarnon - July 2 - 6:21 pm

  Why I bought this car: I wanted a Toyota. I wanted a hybrid. I wanted heated seats. I needed an automatic transmission due to a shoulder injury. I wanted a compact or subcompact car. I didnt want an SUV. Things I knew going in: The acceleration would be pathetic, not at all zippy like the manual transmissions I have driven for decades. I knew this would be a very tech-y car. Im a scientist. Of course Id like that. Things I have found to be pleasant surprises: The car is quiet. It has a smooth ride even on a street that is notorious for its potholes, rough patches and "tank traps". Its quiet compared to the manual Toyota I drove on that same noisy street for years. The climate control is great. I set it and I dont have to mess with it. The backup camera is cool. I like the eco savings display. Its fun to monitor. The things I dont like that sort of surprise me: The rear window is really small. It doesnt matter much because between the backup camera, the mirrors and my own cautious habits I dont think its a problem. The cornering is a lot less stable than I am used to. Ill adjust. Im used to tighter handling. The cargo space is tiny. On the other hand, that means I wont load the car up with junk I dont need.

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  An Unexpected Surprise! - 2016 Toyota Prius c
  By KW - June 1 - 8:20 am

  I bought this car as a secondary commuting car to save massive amounts of gas money, as I drive probably 70-80 miles a day during the week. I figured it would just be a means to get me from point A to B, with four wheels, a steering wheel, and great gas mileage. I was pleasantly surprised, even on the test drive, but even more so after driving it daily for the past 5,000 miles. Let me start off with my complaints, although they are somewhat trivial: - The driver seat needs some lower lumbar support, at least for my back. My Jeep has an adjustment on the seat that does that; this car does not. - The forward view from the driver seat is great; however there are enormous blind spots on the side and the rear windshield is tiny. Makes changing lanes in Chicago traffic interesting to say the least. - The front collision "sensor" on the windshield gets "blocked" by the slightest rain/condensation/dirt on the windshield, and flashes an irritating warning on your dashboard until it is corrected. Thats really it. Everything else about the car I really enjoy. The sound system is surprisingly decent, I love the Audio controls of AM/FM/CD/XM/Pandora/Spotify, its so easy to switch between them and the information provided is great. The Nav works well, although I still prefer to use Google Maps on my phone when that is available. Acceleration you could say is an issue, but this is a 99hp *hybrid*. If you take that into consideration, its more than fine. I have no trouble merging into horrific Chicago traffic every morning (Advice: Turn off "Eco" mode when you do, however). Gas mileage has been way more than stated so far, I have been getting usually 55-60mpg, and thats with absolutely no consideration on how Im driving the car. Ive gotten a few 66mpg driving days as well! Handling on both curving roads and straightaway highway has been fine. When you have a crosswind on the highway though, use two hands on the wheel, this car is pretty light and can veer in heavy wind. Driving it at night is a joy, the dashboard lighting and the LED highlights are fantastic. Also, driving the kids to a friends house on a rainy day just a few blocks away in EV mode (all electric) is amusing, also be careful in parking lots as the gas engine doesnt usually turn on and you can sneak up on people! Anyways, I could go on. The point is this car is much more than just four wheels to get you to your destination. At this price, for the gas mileage and Toyota quality you get, after a thorough test drive it really was a no-brainer for me.

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  Good little commuter car - 2016 Toyota Prius c
  By D White - February 22 - 2:01 pm

  While this is not the car you want for long trips (wouldnt be comfortable after a couple of hours) or the car for a family with lanky teens (Back seat legroom is tight even for my short wife!) it will get you from point A to point B with great gas mileage and in relative comfort. Acceleration isnt great, but I didnt expect it to be with an engine smaller than many motorcycles. It will hold weekend luggage for three, but not much beyond that. Sound system and Bluetooth are adequate, and the microphone for my phone is actually better in the C than in my V!

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  In the end we bought something else - 2016 Toyota Prius c
  By Mid-Mo Car Shopper - October 5 - 2:27 am

  My husband and I are both 70. We are conservative, very conservative, and the idea of buying a high-mpg car usually drives our car searching. We were pretty sure we were going to go with a Prius and we narrowed it down to a Prius C Four or a Prius Three Touring. We wanted the amenities of leather seats and a navigation system. We were tired of allowing time to get lost every time we were going to a new location. We drove a Prius C Four first - it was bright yellow, which was probably not age-appropriate, but we liked it, except for one thing . . . the way the engine groaned when you needed it to climb a hill. We loved the car more than we had expected. Then we drove the Prius Three Touring and there wasnt anything about it we didnt like. The price difference between the two cars was about $4000. We were trying to drag out the shopping timeframe to guard against an impulse buying. Our sales person told us about his Prius Four Touring that he had just traded in the day before. It wasnt ready to test drive, but we looked at it and noticed it had the blind spot detectors. It was 3 months old and had less than 4000 miles on it. So the idea of that car was just hanging out on the "back burner" for a week or so. Another dealer let us take either of the cars we were interested in over the weekend. So we took a Prius C Three (they didnt have a four at that dealership) for the weekend. So on Saturday, we took the borrowed Prius C on an outting that took us to the dealership with the Yellow C Four and the Used Prius Four Touring. We drove that yellow car again, and still liked it. Then asked to drive the used Prius Four Touring. Our original salesman was off that day, and they were busy, so they let us drive the Four Touring without a salesperson in the car. We hardly drove off the lot before we looked at each other with eyes of super approval. When we got back to the dealership, the substitute salesperson was nowhere to be found. We waited about 20 minutes and then just left and took the borrowed Prius C back to the other dealership. I emailed the original salesperson and told him we wanted his Four Touring. And two days later we took it home. It still growls a little going up hills from a cold start, but not as much as the C did. In the end, it was the extra safety features that sold us on the car, . . . afterall, were not as mentally sharp as we once were. :-(