The subcompact cost-effective king for city drivers
It’s official. C hybrid should dominate city cost effectiveness
So, you need a new car, and you live in a city like Los Angeles, but you want to be as fiscally smart as possible. It’s all about the most bang for your buck. Of course, aside from automatic windows, locks and an automatic transmission, you insist on BlueTooth and USB connectivity as well — I mean, let’s be real.
Then the Toyota Prius C is the car for you. This new small and cheap hybrid car simply blows away the competition.
At $18,950 the Prius C offers all those necessary features and more, and for urban drivers it offers unparalleled fuel economy for such an MSRP. Unparalleled.
Yeah, but the C still costs more up front than other subcompacts, and it’ll take a lifetime of gasoline savings to pay for that hybrid premium, right? Not according to analysis by either Hybridcarblog, or the likes of Cars.com.
According to Car.com, after 5 years the Prius is as cost-effective as the most cost-effective comparably equipped subcompacts, and much more cost-effective than many others. However, if one assumes Prius-like resale value, the C should blow away the competition.
But it gets even better.
That’s because Cars.com analysis was based on just 45 percent city driving, and 55 percent highway driving. If you live in a city like LA, where you have to commute through the 405 parking lot, or take the 10 downtown from the west side, or come in through the valleys on the 101, etc., etc., as your everyday commute, then you probably experience extreme stop-and-go traffic and slow commutes. Much of your drive is actually even worse than how the government determines ‘city’ driving. For such drivers the Prius C is going to shave months, even years, off its hybrid premium compared to the subcompact competition.
And that’s at $3.44 per gallon.
In a city like LA, gasoline is almost $4.00 already, and by May it’s supposed to rise another $.60. Add in a gas spike or two in the next few years and that hybrid premium is long gone well before 5 years, and your resale value is even higher.
Hold onto your Prius C for 7 or more years and the subcompact competition doesn’t even qualify as competition any longer. In fact, the comparison becomes downright embarrassing for non-Prius C buyers. By 10 years the comparison is a complete joke.
If you’re not an urban, or at least suburban, driver then the C only makes sense long term. But, if you live in a large urban area where city driving is the norm, then the C is an exceptional offering for those willing to consider a subcompact. And if you believe this is as cheap as gasoline prices will ever be, then the Prius C subcompact competition just isn’t very competitive.
The new Toyota Prius C is the urban champ.
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