Drive it and see if it suits your needs. If not, check out something different. This is no hot rod for sure. I floor mine often. Love passing other vehicles, especially the larger Prius cars. Yesterday, on a 275 mile round trip, we averaged over 50 mph, calculated. No wind and drove speed limits, 65 and 70. I floored it at least twice, maybe 3 times. Sometimes I just enjoy driving it like I stole it. It will set you back. We do climb a few hills. Have no problems. Now, if you start off at the bottom of a 6% grade that is 2 miles long then expect it to be slow. Oh, but coming down the other side is so much fun. The car is a mpg getter. We have trimmed our's out to suit us. Very happy with the car. Dan
I drove from ND to LA, the C handles hills just like any other car. I drove through mountains just fine. If you have the CC on it won't drop a notch, I've blown past multiple cars going up hills/mountains. But if you are trying to accelerate(INCREASE SPEED) while going up the the hill that's another story. and Gas millage will drop.
My previous car was a 2003 Corolla hatch 1.8L manual 100 kW (134 hp) and I still occasionally drive my mother's 2006 Corolla sedan 1.8L auto 93 kW (125 hp). The c's ICE is 54 kW (73 hp), the electric motors produce 45 kW (60 hp) and total output is rated at 74 kW (99 hp). The vehicles are similar size and weight. The drivetrains are very different so in day to day driving it's hard to point to one being more or less than the other, but I certainly significantly prefer the c as I feel it's much more responsive and on the whole much nicer to drive. It has no trouble accelerating onto and performing on a freeway. However on a significant and sustained hill climb, the c's lesser power finally comes out, needing it to put in far more effort to keep up, to the point that I ease off and just accept what I see as the c's Achilles' Heel. You'll pass the slow trucks, but It's not going to hoon up mountains with the others and people are going to pass you. Or I suppose you can floor it all the way up if you like, I have done it once, but it's not how I like to drive. It's actually quite impressive that this is basically the only time the lower power/weight ratio becomes that noticeable.
Wow, I've had the opposite experience. Went up a very steep hill just this week and the car just powered up it. You have to floor it to get the most torque out of the electric motor. It's like learning to drive again. Love the Prius experience.
Alright I find I need to go into the red PWR zone if I'm merging and there is traffic behind me. Honestly I would just get up to speed and not worry about saving a few cents on fuel economy. Same with a steep hill: just get up the hill relatively quickly. And if I gun it, my C does get up to speed after a few seconds... I just choose not to gun it.
You must not be talking about a big hill... sure you probably can do that in the city, but if you're drawing heavily from the electric motor you'll soon run down the SoC. On a sustained climb, the car just won't be able to keep doing that. It's a great car but it can't break the laws of physics.