Toyota Launches Aqua in Japan, Same Model as Prius c in the U.S.

Those waiting for yet another Prius iteration won’t have to hang on much longer. Toyota Motor Corporation has just launched the Aqua model in Japan, the Japanese market name for the Prius c that will come to the U.S. shortly. The U.S. debut of the Prius c will occur in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show in early January.

Representing the smallest of the Prius models, the Aqua retains the distinctive Prius exterior design cues while offering what’s reported to be quite reasonable acceleration and agility. The Toyota Yaris-sized four-door hatchback is expected to be the most fuel efficient of the gasoline-electric Prius offerings here with the exception of the plug-in variant, with this new model achieving greater efficiency than the original Prius, which already nets 50 mpg. While the Aqua is rated at better than 80 mpg in Japan, that country’s fuel economy test cycle is different than that in the U.S. and doesn’t translate well to EPA fuel efficiency ratings here.

The Aqua’s price in Japanese yen translates to under $22,000 here in the U.S., although that’s not always an accurate indicator of the MSRP we’ll see here in the States. Still, expect a price somewhere in that vicinity since this new smaller hybrid variant will be the lowest point of entry for the Prius family brand. For reference, the standard Prius starts at about $23,500 and goes to nearly $29,000 depending on equipment and trim level, with the plug-in version ranging from $32,000 to just under $40,000.