Toyota gives the Prius c some love, updates the styling and adds some tech [News]

2017 Toyota Prius c

With the all-new 2018 Toyota Camry getting much of the attention following its debut at the 2017 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, the news that the company’s smallest hybrid, the Prius c, got a mild refresh went largely unnoticed.

The standard Prius was all-new last year, but the smaller c continues on with the same old platform – based off of a Yaris – and the same powertrain.

However, Toyota freshened the exterior styling for 2017, giving it a bolder front end and now having alloy wheels standard on all trim levels – 15 inch-alloys all around, with 16-inch alloys available on the top-of-the-line Four trim level.

LED head- and taillights round out the updated styling.

In line with the rest of the Toyota lineup, the Prius c get standard active safety features, in this case Toyota Safety Sense-C, which features pre-collision system, lane departure alert, and automatic high beams. It doesn’t have adaptive cruise control like its big brother.

The c’s 1.5-liter engine and electric motor combine to produce 99 horsepower with an EPA rating of 48 mpg city, 43 mpg highway and 46 mpg combined.

The electric motor can run the car on its own up to 25 mph for one mile.

2017_Toyota_Prius_c_12

The Prius c has four trim levels, One through Four, with increasing standard features. The Three model seems to be the best value, with the Four adding more luxury features like SofTex seats and a power moonroof.

Toyota hasn’t announced any pricing changes or availability.

Speaking of the new Camry, check out this TFLcar video of its debut in Detroit: