The most affordable hybrid on the market just got a little less so.
The 2019 Toyota Prius C will cost $900 more, with a sticker of $22,450, including destination, based on a recent official price list released by Toyota and shared by our partners at CarsDirect.
Toyota has replaced its traditional Prius trim lines—One, Two, Three, and Four—with trims more akin to the rest of its product lineup. In the process, it has cut the Prius C down to just two trim levels, the L and LE.
The new base-trim L is equipped a lot like the former Prius C Two, with cruise control and a split-folding rear seat. It also adds pedestrian detection to its forward-collision warning system.
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The LE is equivalent to the 2018 Prius C Three. It adds keyless entry, keyless ignition, satellite radio and a premium Entune audio system to the L's features and starts at $23,775.
Effectively, Toyota has dropped the top and bottom trims from the Prius C lineup.
That puts the price of the 2019 Prius C just $1,945 less than the price of the larger entry-level Prius One.
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CarsDirect reports that the Prius C has been selling slowly in the face of newer, larger, more efficient competition.
The Prius C is rated at 48 mpg city, 43 highway, and 46 combined.
Those numbers can no longer match the larger Prius with its 54/50/52-mpg ratings or the most efficient Prius Eco, which is rated at 58 mpg city, 53 highway and 56 combined.
The Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid is another newer competitor with higher fuel-economy ratings. It starts just $630 more than the Prius C at $23,085 and gets EPA ratings of 57 mpg city, 59 highway, and 58 combined.
