Well, I own a honda insight and I do agree Prius is generally a better hybrid car
But for the price difference of 40k++, I am willing to accept for all the shortcoming of an Insight when being compared to Prius.

As for Prius C, the specs were great and being priced at the right point...
probably would be a better deal than getting an insight in general
but then, there are some downside of Prius C that you may need to compromise such as the car size & space, interior, warranty period of the hybrid battery, etc

There is no perfect budget car in the world
All I would say is different car cater for different needs..