I don't know what a Prius C is but mine hauls tail. I haven't experienced anything the articles mentioned. 50 miles to the gallon and as fast as most cars on the road.
Some vehicles feel faster than they are.
2019 Toyota Prius XLE AWD-e
BASE PRICE $29,750
0-60 MPH 9.8 sec
QUARTER MILE 17.3 sec @ 79.5 mph
BRAKING, 60-0 MPH 125 ft
Those specs put the Prius well behind every vehicle I own. Actually, I expected better.
Here are some other common vehicles, for comparison:
2019 Dodge Caravan 0-60: 7.2s
2019 Honda Accord 0-60: 6s
2019 Jeep Cherokee 0-60: 7.5s
2019 Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab 0-60: 6s
2018 Chevrolet Tahoe 0-60: 6s
2018 Ford F150 EcoBoost 0-60: 6.6s
2019 Nissan Maxima 0-60: 5.7s
2019 Chevy Volt 0-60: 8.4s
2019 Chevrolet Impala 0-60: 6.2s
2019 Volkswagen Jetta 0-60: 7.6s
2018 Mazda 6 0-60: 6.4s
2019 Ford Ranger 0-60: 6.8s
2015 Volkswagen Beetle 0-60: 7.5s
2005 Jeep Liberty 0-60: 8.1s
I think the facts speak for themselves. I didn't include anything particularly fast, and certainly there are more vehicles that I didn't look up.