I've got a new vehicle: a 2012 Prius C. This replaces my ecomodded 2000 Insight as my daily driver.
The fuel economy won't be as good as the Insight's, and I'll miss the way the Insight lets people know I'm serious about fuel economy. But all in all, I like the Prius C so far.
I plan to EcoMod the Prius C, but in more subtle ways than I did the Insight. Any externally visible modifications must look like it could have come from the factory that way (plausibly deniable). On the interior, I'll allow myself a freer hand, but I won't tear out half of the interior panels like I did on the Insight.
I've already removed the 541g owner's manual and the rear floor mats. The rear speakers are slated for deletion, but I'll make sure you won't be able to tell. If I can go the whole winter without wanting to turn on the rear wiper, then I'll delete it in the spring. I don't expect big gains from minor weight reduction, but every little bit helps.
I'm hoping to get bigger gains from instrumention, electronic modifications, a grille block, and possibly an engine block heater. I've pumped up the tires to sidewall max.
Here's a shot of the two cars, with the camera level with the Insight's roof:
I do love the stick shift in the Insight, but I believe the Toyota transmission is more efficient in most cases.
Toyota Prius - Power Split Device
The Prius C is no wider, 2" longer, and 3.6" taller than the Insight. A Prius Liftback (the "regular" Prius) is 2" wider, 21.1" longer, and 5.4" taller than the Insight.
Code:
Insight Prius C Prius
Weight (lb) 1850 2500 3042
Cd .25 .28 .25
Normalized CdA 1 1.20 1.13
I could go on for hours, and I probably will at a future date. But that's all for now. I'm looking forward to seeing what this car can do.