mom just got a galaxy gray 06 hch in the garage, non-navi today



parked right next to my 04 hch

first driving impressions: the 06 cvt and ima system feel very different from my 04 hch. the pedals felt much ligher, and the engine is more than willing to give full assist and rev to 3000 RPM starting from a light, something i rarely see in my 04 hch which likes to stick around 2000 RPM and 3-4 bars of assist.

however, once the 06 gets going about 20 miles per hour from the light, assist drops to 1-2 bars and the engine revs quickly get back to 2500 RPM without me moving the pedal's position.

regarding highway acceleration and passing power (50-70 miles per hour), the 06 hch accelerates much faster on the highway, but for some reason, it's slower than my 04 hch up a 35 degree hill with higher revs (04: 2900 rpm @ 31 miles per hour, 06: 3200 rpm @ 28 miles per hour).

The 06 also has a tough time getting up my steep driveway (takes twice as long as the 04) and revs way higher, moving much less distance.

my thoughts are that the two trannies are geared differently, the engine designs are different, and the ima assists variably. however, it feels totally different when driving compared to my 04.

i'll post more as i drive more it's only got 24 miles on its odometer