Toyota Prius & Prius C - Rethink The Way You Drive !

The all-new Toyota Prius C & new Prius were launched in Sunway Pyramid Convention Centre yesterday. Good news for hybrid lovers as the Prius C is priced at RM97k OTR with insurance, opposed to the initial price estimation of RM104k by Toyota. Price of the Prius C undercuts Honda Insight, which is previously the cheapest hybrid car in Malaysia by roughly RM2k.

The Prius C is powered by Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive, where it is fitted with a 1.5litre petrol engine with 73bhp and 111Nm of torque and an electric motor with 61bhp and 169Nm of torque. Combining both create a total system output of 101bhp. The battery is optimally positioned below the rear passenger's seat so that it does not intrude the cabin space as well as lowering down the centre of gravity.


With a coefficient drag of 0.28 and an efficient powerplant, the Prius C can acheive a 25.6km/l of fuel in a European combined cycle! That's similar to its larger sibling Prius in terms of fuel consumption. 0-100km/h can be achieved in 10.7 seconds.


You can travel in the Prius C with 3 modes - Normal, ECO and EV. In ECO mode, the car will optimise the fuel consumption by tweaking the throttle response and onboard energy use such as air-cond. EV mode uses only the electric motor to provide a quiet, relaxing and emission-free drive.

In terms of safety, the Prius C comes with the ABS, EBD and BA as well as TRC, VSC, Hill Start Assist and 7 airbags (including knee airbag). The Prius C below is fitted with bodykits, not sure the production TRD bodykit will be the same or not. Equipment wise, it comes with keyless entry system, push-start button, auto air-conditioning, steering button with Touch Tracer which is touch-sensitive and display the button you are touching on the multi information display (MID). I would say the list of equipment is quite impressive for a compact car like Prius C!


First impression on the cabin can be said as refreshing. Toyota added 2-tone & curves on the dashboard to prevent the cabin from looking dull. However, some parts felt plasticky, especially the door panel. A DVD-AVN system with 6.1inch colour touchscreen, navigation system and reverse camera are optional at the cost of RM2,990.

A person with a tall frame like me will find the space at the rear seat is at a premium. But still, I think it will still be comfortable for short journeys.


At 260litres, the boot space is slightly larger than Myvi's 208litres, to make a comparison.


For the facelifted Prius, it is priced at RM139,900 and RM145,500 for the Prius Luxury which gain extras like LED projector (with Auto Levelling & Washer), leather seats with heated front seats and electro chromic mirror. The new Prius uses the same powerplant as the pre-facelift Prius. A 1.8litre petrol engine produces 99bhp and 142Nm of torque while an electric motor churns out 82bhp and 207Nm of torque. Therefore, they produce a combined output of 136bhp.

Minor changes were spotted in this facelift exercise. Changes include new, sportier front bumper with daytime running LED, new rim design and rear light clusters. These changes made the Prius more appealing to younger buyers.


New dark themed cabin goes well with the dark leather seats. Quality is top notch and everything felt solid to the touch. Since the Prius is a bigger car compared to Prius C, I found the Prius to be spacious at the back, with ample legroom but the headroom is sacrificed (by a little) due to the sloping roof.

The cabin comes with a 6.1inch touch screen display with AUX jack, Bluetooth integrated with a reverse camera, auto air-conditioning, push-start button, steering buttons with Touch Tracer, cruise control and a head-up display so that you can pay more attention on the road. Safety wise, it is equipped with ABS, EBD, BA, TRC, VSC, 7 airbags like in the Prius C, Toyota also fitted JBL 8-speaker system with 8-channel amplifier, sounds terrific even by reading it!

Unlike the Prius C, the new Prius comes with 3 additional driving modes: Power Mode for extra power, ECO mode and EV mode.


Redesigned taillight clusters and a huge boot. Fold the rear seats down and you'll have a wagon, litterally!


195/65R15 rim, wish for a sportier design without compromising aerodynamics to match with the sportier exterior now.


I love Toyota's attention to details like the front passenger footwell illumination (top) and vertical chrome strip on the air-cond outlet (bottom)!


Toyota targeted sales of 1,500 units for the new Toyota Prius while 2,500 units for the Toyota Prius C. I'm sure the Prius C will be selling well thanks to its generous list of equipment, fuel efficiency and compact size which most of the female buyers will appreciate.

Check out some studio shots of the Toyota Prius C & Prius:

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