Video: 2015 Toyota Prius c

Like a larger grill and new headlights. Unfortunately, the inside didn't really change. But the cabin is not all bad. The big story is the Prius C fuel economy. It's the highest mileage of any car without a plug. It's APA rated at 53 miles per gallon city 46 on the highway and 50 combined. And that's easy to achieve. During a 186 mile trip of mostly highway driving. I got 47.6 miles per gallon. To maximize fuel economy. Drivers can put the car in ECO mode. Which alters acceleration settings among other things to save energy. I found takeoffs annoyingly slow in this mode. EV mode allows the car to run on battery power alone. But I found it hard to sustain. I could only get it to stay in this mode at speeds under nine miles an hour. As its fuel economy rating suggests, it's most at home in the city. Power is adequate from a stop. And the car's automatic stop start system, is fairly smooth. What's not are the regenerative brakes. They take some getting used to. The pedal requires more pressure than you'd expect to stop. It's not really a good highway car. Largely because of noise. The road noise and wind noise really suck the fun out of a highway drive. Bump absorption also isn't good. You really feel every bump. Materials quality inside is just okay. This is the top trim level call the number Four. And I expected a little bit more upscale finishes. There's a lot of hard plastics. Some of it's shiny, some of it patterned. But the overall look just comes off as kind of mismatched and kind of budget. It also lacks some padding. There's not a whole lot of padding with this console armrest. And it's also in an uncomfortable spot. The standard 6.1 inch touchscreen multimedia system is pretty easy to use. The menus are logical. The response time is pretty quick. There's also clear tuning and volume knobs, which are great. Within the screen itself. Some of the buttons can get a bit small. But overall, the system is nice. The climate controls are also easy to use and clearly marked. And one cool feature is that the temp can be controlled via the steering wheel buttons. The fan speed still has to be controlled through the instrument panel, however. Backseat room is a bit of an issue. Taller passengers are going to need more headroom. The seats themselves are nice and comfortable. They're deeply holstered and padded. The middle section is really a non-option. However, its kind of humped and raised up. And it's not very comfortable. The backseats also not very hospitable for car seats. We installed an infant car seat. And we had to move the front seat way up to fit it. And it just didn't really work in back. In back, there's about 17 cubic feet of space. It's a little bit more than the Honda Fit and Nissan Versa Note hatchbacks. Well, it doesn't look like a large area. I was able to fit several grocery bags back here as well as a compact stroller. The 2015 Prius C starts around $20,000. If high mileage and affordability trump, everything else on your shopping priority list. The Prius C is a compelling car. But it received a poor score in the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, small front overlap, crash test. Something shoppers should definitely consider. (car trunk slams)