About a month after Toyota revealed the Aqua at the Tokyo Motor Show in Japan, the North American version of the model named the Prius C made its debut at the Detroit Auto Show today.
The Prius C is the most compact member of the Prius Family, which also includes the third generation Prius Liftback, the new Prius V minivan and the Prius Plug-in Hybrid that will arrive in early 2012.
About the same size as the latest Yaris, Toyota’s new dedicated hybrid model is a sub-compact five door hatchback that measures 157.3 in. long, 56.9 in. tall, 66.7 in. wide and tips the scales at 2,500 lbs (1,134 kg) or 542 lbs. less than the regular Prius.
It’s hybrid powertrain links a 1.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine that utilizes an Atkinson cycle and which produces 73 horsepower and 82 lb.-ft. of torque, to an electric motor and a 144-volt nickel-metal hydride battery pack located under the rear passenger seat. The hybrid system’s total output is 99-horsepower.
Toyota claims that the Prius C returns the highest rated city fuel economy estimate of any vehicle without a plug at 53 mpg in the city, along with 46 mpg on the highway for a combined rating of 50 mpg (4.7lt/100km).
The hatch offers three different driving models include Normal, Eco, and EV. The Eco mode reduces overall energy consumption by controlling the air-conditioning and throttle, while the EV mode allows the Prius C to be driven by electric power alone for under 1 mile at speeds up to 25 mph (40km/h).
Full pricing has not yet been released, but Toyota said that the Prius C will arrive in dealerships across the States in March with a starting MSRP below $19,000.
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