“C+pod” was released by Toyota as an ultra-compact mobility vehicle.
With a price of approximately 1.7 million yen, a cruising range of 150 km even in the catalogue, and a compact appearance that makes you feel uneasy just by looking at it, it is a car that is likely to take first place in the car rankings that you won’t understand until you drive it.
I was able to rent it through a service called TOYOTA SHARE, so I went to see what it was like late at night during a heavy rain.
Summary at the beginning
Unexpected or surprising. It was a type of car that I was impressed with because of its good running performance .
If you turn it over,
- even though it boasts good turning ability. at extremely low speeds, The steering wheel is heavy
- The turning angle of the front tire seems to be insufficient, so have to turn the steering wheel a lot. you
- Although the car body is small, visibility to the rear is not good considering its size.
- The car body is not as small as I imagined.
- Acceleration performance is too low and I can’t drive in time with the cars around me.
Etc., I have shaken it off so compactly.
the vehicle One aspect of it didn’t have what I wanted it to have . that stood out was that
In this case, it would be cheaper and more comfortable to buy a light truck or light bonnet van .
Although it lacks acceleration performance, it’s not the size that allows you to easily pass a bicycle or moped .
Electrically assisted bicycles, mopeds, light cars, whatever you’re competing against , you’ll lose in some way, and the prices are too high to begin with . Also, there is so little acceleration that I don’t feel like driving on public roads with something like this .
That’s the conclusion I came to.
In fact, there is a deep side to handling.
Contrary to the appearance that it might spin easily, the running is stable, and if you have the technique to shift the load on a machine that tends to understeer, you can enjoy downhill riding to the fullest.
About the specs of the test vehicle
It is a G grade with a new car price of 1.73 million yen .
- Vehicle size is 2490mm/1290mm /1550mm
- Vehicle weight is 690kg
- Motor output/maximum torque is 12.5 horsepower/56 Nm (rear wheel drive)
- Equipped with a 51Ah lithium-ion battery
- Minimum turning radius is 3.9m
- Tire size is 155/70R13
- Fast charging is not supported.
- Charging takes about 5 hours at 200V. Approximately 12 hours at 100V
- The cruising range in the catalog is 150km. We recommend not relying on this value.
- Officially the upper limit is 60km/h, but I’ve seen videos that say it’s about 84km/h.
Toyota’s official website and the specs page of the Goo-net catalog I quoted information from about 1 million yen . , and apparently used cars sell for
than the acceleration above 40km/h . areas where the ease of passing each other and the small size of the car are more important I think it’s a good option if you have the money to go shopping in
About interior and exterior
exterior
It doesn’t look very good in the pictures online, but it looks cute and nice in real life .
I parked it behind a truck parked on the road, but it was only about half the width.
Even when parked on the street, it hardly causes any inconvenience.
The designs are similar to Roomy and Sienta, which are friendly to the elderly.
When I opened and closed the door, the impression I got was that although the basic structure was solid, it basically felt flimsy.
Even if I forcefully open and close the door, even if I put my weight on it, the car still shakes slowly.
About the suspension
With a car this simple, you’ll want to take a peek at what’s going on behind the scenes.
First, regarding the tires, they are 155 wide Bridgestone Ecopia.
The fact that proper tires are used is an important point when reporting driving performance.
First of all, let’s take a look from the back.
You can see the torsion beam connecting the left and right sides and the orange power cord.
It seems to be rear-wheel drive, but there is an aluminum-colored object that looks like a motor in the area where a normal car’s differential would be.
It looks like the drive shaft boot is connected to it.
The front has strut-type coil springs, but you can clearly see that they are small.
I tried inserting my smartphone from the back of the front tire.
You can see the lower arm, stabilizer and stabilizer link, front shaft and brake hose extending from below.
Although it’s a close look, the basic configuration seems to be the same as a regular car.
The main frame appears to be painted in a white color.
Interior
Contrary to my initial impressions, it was surprisingly well made as a passenger car . I felt that
The diversion of parts to reduce costs seems to have given the overall impression of an ordinary car.
However, the equipment is unusually simple. I’m a little surprised.
When you sit on the seat, it doesn’t feel much different from a regular car .
The soft seat that you sink into will hold your body firmly in place.
It seems to be superior to light trucks in terms of seating comfort.
By the way, afterthought . the car navigation system is an
It has a center meter, a cigarette lighter socket, a USB port, and a space on the dashboard to store small items.
When I placed my smartphone in this space, I didn’t get the impression that it would slide or rattle under the G force while driving.
It may be a good idea to leave your glasses or other items behind when you temporarily leave the car. (Although there is a risk of fire during the midsummer day.)
A center console with simple driving-related switches.
There are shift buttons that look like the Prius’s “P” range buttons, with only the printing changed.
Our car is equipped with an air conditioner, and you can adjust the air volume by turning a dial.
By pressing the “A/C” button, you can blow out cold air. When this is turned on, the cruising range decreases dramatically .
Heating seems to be provided by seat heaters.
The hot wire mark on the wiper in the upper left is for defogging the front window.
This car does not have a “P” range. The parking style is to put the car in neutral and pull the handbrake.
It has a function that automatically switches to N if you turn off the power while it is in D.
The handbrake is foot-operated. It is located in the center of the vehicle.
The layout is quite strange, so the first time you see it, you’ll probably have to peek in to find it.
The start and stop buttons are made from reused parts from regular cars, so this is the only part that feels strange.
A cup holder is placed on the floor.
There’s nothing on the door panel, but it’s easy to close thanks to the grip.
The turn signal sticks are the same as standard cars, and the wipers have a switch that allows you to finely adjust the feel of the wipers. Autolite, of course.
On the right side of the driver’s seat is a switch related to mirror adjustment.
There is also space in front of the passenger seat where you can put something.
By the way, this is what it looks like when the seat is fully reclined.
I think it will fall down better than the Roadster or Copen, but the space inside the car is not large.
Power windows are not installed.
The type that you pull by hand and move up and down.
Since the window is of the type that snaps into place when it reaches the top, you will never have to worry about the problem of the power window falling off, which often happens with foreign cars.
Actual driving impression
About the motor sound when starting to run
The short video below contains only the “motor sound”. Please try playing it.
As you can hear, the sound like a train resounds loudly.
Apart from this, the approach warning sound quite loud at low speeds, making it so noisy that you forget it’s an EV . becomes
If you can’t at least turn off the proximity warning, it’s noisy, annoying, and unpleasant. Why does Prius PHV not have certain functions?
I want to find a speaker to play the proximity warning sound myself and cut the wiring.
About hopeless acceleration performance
First of all, there is too little acceleration .
Even when I press the accelerator all the way down, it doesn’t accelerate at all.
It’s a level that makes you think, “A non-turbo light car was that fast.”
In particular, the top speed is over at around 40km/h to 50km/h, and no matter how hard I press or how long I wait, the speed doesn’t increase.
This to cause a lot of trouble for the cars around you . is sure
because of the lack of acceleration performance There are quite a lot of roads where you won’t be able to drive on it even if you bought it .
If it had at least had good acceleration performance from 40 to 70 km/h, I could have driven it normally on the main road and for everyday riding…
The running stability up to around 65km/h is not as bad as it seems, so I would like to see an upgrade to the motor torque even if it affects the cruising range.
Ride comfort
It’s not as bad as I had imagined, but it’s not good either.
The reeds give me a little stroke, but they bounce right away.
The suspension isn’t quite as “rampy” as it could be, but it wouldn’t be described as comfortable.
As long as you drive it as a short-distance car, it probably won’t prevent you from buying it.
frame and suspension
First, regarding the frame, a stronger and more rigid skeleton than I expected . it is
However, the parts that are made hard for strength and the parts that are soft are different . I get the impression that
The hard parts are solid and provide what can be called “body rigidity.”
However, the rough part is as smooth as a light truck, so it flops around every time it goes over a bump.
The hard parts and stiff parts are clearly separated internally, and each part has a sense of rigidity that makes it seem like it’s distinct.
In fact, you can feel a certain sense of rigidity while driving normally.
However, when you go over a step, the whole body shakes all over the place and becomes violent.
When I went over the bump, I felt a shock that made me think it was broken, and I was forced to grab the handlebars with all my might.
Due to the impact, the shock bottomed out and the frame began to vibrate violently, making the driver unable to let his guard down.
About brakes
In the area of city riding, it feels uneasy because even if you step on it, it won’t stop at all.
Due to the weight of the vehicle, the absolute braking force when fully braking is high enough, but there is always a feeling of “ Even when I push the pedal all the way down, I still don’t get the braking force I want. anxiety when braking, as if ” You will have to deal with
Regarding the weaknesses of small turning
Although it is a car model that specializes in small turning circles, the steering wheel is heavy at extremely low speeds . it has a fatal weakness:
It’s a situation where all of your strengths are being ruined. I would like the power steering to be stronger.
The steering ratio is also rather dull, and the fact that you have to turn the steering wheel all the way makes it difficult to maneuver.
When you look back, you can easily see the back of the car, but turning the heavy steering wheel in this position is hard on your neck and makes your body tired.
I can’t say it’s suitable for older people at all.
There is significant room for improvement in terms of turning radius performance.
At the very least, I would like to be able to move while looking at the rearview monitor and turning the steering wheel.
About handling
When cornering, the car turns without rolling.
With that shape, it seems that the tilt is firmly suppressed so that it does not lose its posture while turning.
While turning, the rear remains calm, while the front enters with force.
It’s terrifyingly fun to control the front load with your left foot and bend as if sucking it in.
The tires have good grip, so you can ride safely and stably even in the rain.
If you’re good at making understeering cars turn depending on how you ride, you’ll find it a lot of fun.
It seems to be unrivaled only on steep downhill mountain passes that are so narrow that it is difficult to pass each other .
Regarding fogging of side glass
In fact, this car does not have a defogging function for the side windows .
This is a fatal weakness, and it is dangerous enough to cause an accident on curves.
It is possible to clear the fog by pointing the air vent towards the side window and turning on the A/C , but this will instantly reduce the cruising range.
I would like to apply a defogging agent.
summary
as you can drive it in ways that take advantage of the vehicle’s characteristics It has a driving feel typical of a Toyota vehicle, and is surprisingly deep, . Personally, I give it a high rating.
However, the most important turning angle is hindered by the weight of the steering wheel and the slightly cramped field of view, so I am not able to bring out my strengths as much as I expected.
It must be said that the contents of the car do not match the people who buy it .
If this were to happen, I would have preferred to have two rows of seats, front and back, to reduce the width even further .
to show off its unique personality It’s too big .
the high price, difficulty in turning, and hopeless acceleration performance above 40km/h . This result is due to the small number of users who are willing to buy despite
How would I improve it if it were me?
I thought about what I could do to make it a good product.
The price is such that it can be considered along with Mira eS and light trucks. (Maximum is around 1.2 million).
Make the handle lighter. Make the ratio comfortable.
By increasing the motor torque, it accelerates to the same level as a non-turbo light vehicle.
If you want to go even more extreme, you should make the size smaller so that it can accommodate just one person.
Also, the cruising range would be sufficient if you could drive about 25km one way in the summer with air conditioning included.
Either add more motor torque, or reduce the battery capacity and body to significantly lower the price .
In the latter case, it may be a good idea to say “don’t drive on roads that have a center line.”
It really should be made for use around the neighborhood, and its appeal should be its ability to turn quickly even on narrow roads.
As a result of being half-baked, prices have gone up and we are now losing out to light cars.
I hope that the time will come when these efforts will see the light of day.
