Toyota Revamped 2014 Prius C - 37km/L

When Toyota Aqua, or Prius C was launched at the end of 2011, it has a fuel mileage of 35.4 km/L, a feat that no other hybrid in the world manage to beat. However, the new generation Honda Fit/Jazz Hybrid stole the throne when Honda ditched the old IMA system to match the advanced Toyota hybrid system, the new Jazz/Fit Hybrid achieved 36.4 km/L.

Not quite satisfied to be beaten, Toyota has upped the ante by improving the efficiency of its THS-II system in the form of quicker engine turn off during idling and a reduction in resistance upon a restart. It yields small improvement, but sufficient to beat the fellow Japanese maker at 37 km/L.

Is it part of the improvement introduced to Toyota Aqua/Prius C which will be on sale next week in Japan. Apart from the improved drivetrain unit, the revamped Prius C also features a retune suspension and upgraded sound insulation. New shade of purple color also has been added to the color scheme, making 11 shades available in total.

There's also new variant added to the family, called Aqua G. As can be observed above, Toyota Aqua G comes with an exclusive front and rear bumper, smoked headlamp, funky LED DRL in the lower lip and 17" alloy wheel. What can't be seen is the added bracing and spot welding to improve chassis rigidity to augment the retune suspension. The interior is an all-black item with sporty touch sprinkled over.

With the hybrid incentive in Malaysia is rumoured to be retract for CBU cars, it would be pity if we primitively missed the next round of Toyota Prius C enhancement. With no local facilities set up for this model, UMW can opt anytime to stop importing, especially if the price become prohibitively high for a small vehicle like this.

In Photo - Toyota Prius C at AEON Rawang

Toyota Prius C (or Aqua in its homeland) is Toyota's foray into the hybrid supermini. Thanks to the tax-incentive (meaning tax free) in Malaysia, Prius C can have a competitive price, just like other foreign supermini in Malaysia, making the extra price of hybrid car goes unnoticeable. Prius C was introduced in Malaysia in February 2012, a very quick move by local UMW Toyota judging by the fact that the car was introduced to Japanese market only in December 2011. Below are some galleries of Toyota Prius C, caught in AEON Rawang.

To recap, externally, Prius C is  3,995mm long, 1,695mm wide and 1,445mm tall, and rides on a wheelbase of 2,550mm. The car is powered by 1.5l gasoline engine hooked to THS-II, Toyota hybrid drive system. Under the Japanese test cycle of JC08, the Aqua will return 35km/l, while in 10.15 mode, it returns a staggering 40km/l. The new hybrid powertrain is 40kg lighter than the unit in Prius. The petrol lump produced 73PS@4800rpm and 111Nm@4000rpm while the electric motor punched out 61PS and 169Nm. With some algorithm involved, total power output is calculated to be 101PS. Interior photo and the 260L of bootspace photos can be viewed after the jump.

Toyota Prius C di lancarkan di pasaran Malaysia

UMW Toyota hari ini melancarkan model hibrid terbarunya, Prius C ke pasaran Malaysia. MMN telah mengulas tentang model hibrid terbaru Toyota ini pada November tahun lalu, semasa ianya di lancarkan di pasaran Jepun dengan menggunakan nama Toyota Aqua, klik sini untuk artikel.

Model in di kuasakan oleh enjin 1NZ-FXE 1,497cc Atkinson cycle yang di hubungkan kepada sistem hibrid Toyota THS-II. Enjin petrol 4 silinder dengan mekanisma VVT ini menghasilkan kuasa sebanyak 73PS@4,800 rpm and tork 111Nm@4,000rpm. Motor elektriknya yang dikuasakan oleh sistem bateri Nikel-Metal Hydride mengeluarkan 61PS and 169Nm and kombinasi kedua-dua sumber kuasa ini menghasilkan 101PS. Toyota Prius C menggunakan sistem transmisi CVT. Bagi pasaran Jepun, Toyota telah mengisytiharkan kadar penggunaan minyak sekadar 40 km/L untuk 10.15 mode, manakala bagi cycle Eropah pula, kadar penggunaan minyak 26.5 km/L masih boleh di banggakan. 

Dari segi saiz, Toyota Prius C lebih kecil daripada Honda Insight yang merupakan pencabar terdekatnya dari segi harga. Dengan dimensi panjang keseluruhan 3,995mm, Toyota Prius C jauh lebih pendek berbanding Insight yang berukuran panjang keseluruhan 4,390mm. Lebarnya ialah 1,695mm and tinggi 1,445mm. Wheelbase ialah 2,550mm. Selain dari menyediakan ruang kabin yang mencukupi, Prius C juga praktikal dengan saiz boot 305L yang juga fleksibel dengan seat belakang yang boleh di baringkan dengan nisbah 60:40.

Untuk pasaran Malaysia, UMW Toyota telah melengkapkan model Prius C ini dengan tahap aksesori yang agak komprehensif terutamanya dari segi keselamatan di mana  Prius C dilengkapi dengan 7 beg udara, 3-point tali keledar untuk ketiga-tiga penumpang belakang, ISOFIX di kerusi belakang, sistem traction control, ABS dan juga EBD.

Dari segi kelengkapan dalaman pula, data-data kereta di sampaikan kepada pemandu melalui skrin TFT 3.5". Sistem audio pula adalah bersaiz 2-DIN yang memainkan MP3, USB, iPOD, radio dan CD.

Untuk chassisnya pula, Prius C menggunakan sistem suspensi yang biasa bagi kelas ni, iaitu McPhersons Strut di hadapan and torsion beam di belakang. Sistem kuasanya menggunakan sistem elektrik, manakala breknya pula menggunakan cekera di hadapan dan drum di belakang. Saiz tayar dan rim adalah 185/60 R15 dan tayar simpanan juga turut menggunakan saiz yang sama.

Walaupun jauh lebih pendek daripada model Insight, namun Toyota Prius C ini juga lebih murah sedikit berbanding model laris Honda hibrid itu. UMW Toyota meletakkan harga RM 97,000.

Untuk lebih informasi tentang Toyota Prius C, sila rujuk artikel MMN yang terdahulu di sini.

Sumber gambar: Paultan.

Toyota Aqua Hybrid - 40km/litre little hatch

Toyota Motor has announced their latest hybrid car, the Toyota Aqua, previously known as Prius C covered in previous posting here. The Aqua name is for JDM only, while the rest of the world will know the car in in its previous name, i.e Prius C to draw a family relationship with Prius and Prius V as the Toyota hybrid-only product line-up. The car will be available from December 2011 in Japanese market. The small hatchback measures only 3,995mm long, 1,695mm wide and 1,445mm tall, and rides on a wheelbase of 2,550mm. 

The 5-seater hatchback is powered by 1.5l gasoline engine hooked to THS-II, Toyota hybrid drive system. Under the Japanese test cycle of JC08, the Aqua will return 35km/l, while in 10.15 mode, it returns a staggering 40km/l. The new hybrid powertrain is 40kg lighter than the unit in Prius.

Despite the compact footprint and Yaris-level if wheelbase, the Aqua hatchback the rear legroom is comparable to Toyota Corolla, while the luggage space is equivalent to the Toyota Auris, basically a Corolla hatchback.

The Aqua hybrid gets an well-honed exterior design cue to optimize aerodynamics. For instance, a spats in fitted in front of the the tyres, fixed to the car floor. This is to prevent a pressure build-up when the fast airstream hits the tyre directly. Spat acts as a flow conditioner in shaping the airflow to smoothly flow around the tyre. 

The side mirror too gets a makeover to further reduce the drag. The side mirror base is sculpted, and has a fin to streamline the air flow. Similar fins are protruding from the rear lights as well, all works in conjunction with the tapered tail and rear spoiler to reduce the flow separation and pressure-induced drag acts on the rear fascia of the car.

Small gallery of Toyota Aqua can be found after the jump.

Toyota Prius C - Leaked brochure of new Toyota hybrid

The Toyota Prius family is set to expand further after the addition of smaller hatchback called Prius C. Previously, the sole product line-up was expanded with the introduction of Prius V, a 7-seater compact MPV. This is part of Toyota offensive strategy to expand its hybrid market to more market segment to increase its market capture. 

The 5 door hatchback dimension is 3995mm x 1695mm x 1445mm for length, width and height respectively. The car rides on 2550mm wheelbase. In a nutshell, what we have here is a Yaris-size hatchback with hybrid drivetrain.

The car is styled differently from current crops of recent Toyota offerings, which has turned into angular and edgier kind of design to pose greater visual impact perhaps. Prius C continues with Prius V design lines such as the swoopy glasshouse, which curved dramatically towards the C-pillar. The front end adopt typical aerodynamic Prius nose, and blends it with curvier and fancier design detailing for the bumper and air intakes. The rear end gets gigantic rear light, with mostly clear lens elements. The exterior style is complemented by stylish 15" alloy wheel. Overall, the car imparts youthful-look to it instead of typical staid-looking Toyota cars. The car is also slated to have 5 shades of youthful color to choose from including funky tones such as Yellow.

The cabin gets funky when it comes to console design, with asymmetric layout for the dashboard. The steering wheel is from the Prius family, but the gear console and knob is big departure from typical Toyota hybrid-look, it instead looks like a normal Yaris item. Typical to JDM fashion, the interior is highly customizable in terms of coloring for seats and dashboard, as well as the accents surrounding the power window switch and glove box. In Japan market at least, the Prius C comes in G,S and L trims where the accessories are offered differently according to spesific package. More detail and photo after the jump.