Quote:
Originally Posted by Heavymetal
... I love my TCH for what it is; but it can't compare to a larger luxury sedan. ... In buying my ’07 TCH, I just put my ’97 Sedan Deville (De Elegance) to pasture. It had 197K miles on it and the biggest thing I had to do to it was fix a minor oil leak. I love being able to pass a truck on a two lane highway going 60 miles per hour and by the time I clear it and get back into the right lane, I’m in three digits.
I rate my DTS at a 9.0 and my TCH at a 7.0. I think Toyota could have done a lot of things better ergonomically like:
1) Memory package. My DTS remembers two different drivers last settings like radio/CD station, track and volume, cabin temperature, three mirror memory, seat heat and position.
2) Armrests - need I say more?
3) Back-up sensors. Just about everybody has them now.
4) A decent navigation system. The TCH is obsolete at best.
I know a lot of you are going to take offense at these minor critiques, but I still think the TCH is a great little car ... definitely the best hybrid on the road.
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We too traded a '97 DeVille (but 50K miles) for our TCH ... and miss, yes indeed, miss the creature comforts - especially the 'memory' - of the DeVille. We added B/U sensors, and have no need of NAV system, living on a small island.
However delightful the DeVille, it was horrendous to service - "the worst car ever" our mechanic called it. Fuel System at 30K (fortunately - factory recall shortly thereafter); alternator at 33K ($1K); major A/C at 36K ($2K); oil leak at 48K that would cost $4K to remedy - and 15 mpg in our use. Loved the car - its comfort and conveniences; couldn't live with the rest.
TCH is no DeVille (or DTS, for that matter) but will run forever; require modest maintenance; provide economical mileage, and; is a generally comfortable, if not all that fully equipped car.
PLUS - the whole Stability/Safety package (VDIM).
I'd give the DeVille 9.0 for comfort/convenience; 4.0 for mechanical reliability/service
the TCH 7.5 for comfort/convenience; 9.5 for mechanical reliability/service
And gas mileage and CO2 emissions - no comparison.