Hybrid scores five stars

Toyota’s popular Prius c now has a five-star ANCAP safety rating with Neeraj Lala, the marque’s general manager of product in this country, delighted with its safety package. “We know New Zealanders want to use hybridss with their sales growing by 150 per cent in the past five years,” he says. “We also know safety is important to our customers and their families.” The model, which retails from $26,990, was launched in 2012 and won praise for its compact five-door format and real-world hybrid capabilities. Its average fuel consumption is 3.9l/100km and its convenience features include an eco-drive support monitor, which gives the driver the ability to calculate potential running cost-related savings. “When the Prius c first arrived on the market, it demonstrated that highly efficient hybrid technology could be packaged in a cost-effective hatchback,” says Lala. The five-star safety rating applies to all three variants. Every grade includes a seven-piece airbag system, three-point seatbelts, anti-lock braking, brake assist, electronic brake-force distribution, and vehicle stability, traction and hill-start assist control. In 2013, 462 units of the Prius c were sold and, so far in 2014, 273 have been registered.