Le petit hybrid: Toyota's all-new Prius c
Words by Jose Carlo Roberto R. Sapera | Photos courtesy of Toyota Motors Corporation

Hybrid technology has once again found its way into the subcompact car segment when Toyota wriggled in the new Prius c at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit earlier this week. The 'c' in Prius c stands for 'city' and with it targets a younger crowd who'd like to drive in the urban jungle in an affordable set of wheels with hybrid technology. Also known as the Prius Aqua in Japan, the Prius c is the latest addition to the Prius family after the introduction of the Prius v mini-van last year.

This little city car is powered by a smaller 1NZ-FXE 1.5 liter in-line four cylinder VVT-i power block bundled with Toyota's Hybrid Synergy Drive that collectively churns out 99 horses and 111 Nm of torque. It utilizes an Atkinson cycle to achieve optimum fuel efficiency with three different driving modes - Normal, Eco, and EV mode. Plus, it comes with Start Stop Technology (SST) feature to contribute to its thriftiness and should get around 22.5 km/L.

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