Thread: I bought one!
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Old 05-25-2006, 07:49 PM
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CGameProgrammer CGameProgrammer is offline
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Location: San Diego
Hybrids: Camry Hybrid
Posts: 832
Default Re: I bought one!

I was gonna wait for my first tank (only at 322 miles now, tank just under half full according to gauge, though it says cruising range is 222) but here are my thoughts very briefly, since you asked.

My tank average is 35.5 over 322 miles, driven exactly like the HCH. That means mostly around-town driving, driving in traffic, etc., but with a good amount of highway driving, which is done typically at 80 miles per hour or thereabouts. I was hoping to get at least 35 mpg with it so mission accomplished! I'm pleased.

The car is very smooth, it's often difficult telling whether the engine is running without looking at the gauge. Electric-only mode is easy to use for cruising or in heavy traffic, though I very rarely accelerate using it because you have to be very slow not to run the engine. But once cruising speed is reached, it's very easy to drop back down to EV mode and stay in it, or to allow the engine to run but get 50-60 mpg. The car is very good at coasting (no aggressive forced regeneration) and it auto-stops even when the engine is cold, though it'll run the engine most of the time you're moving until the engine warms up, which is to be expected.

I have more thoughts, but not enough experience to comment on other stuff. After this tank is done, it'll be safe for me to floor it when I want to and then I can comment on that, and I'll be driving to LA this weekend so I can comment more on how it drives.

Basically I'm very pleased. It solves every problem I had with the HCH, though it introduces a few minor ones. For example it's very large, which makes parking a big pain for me. And the interior controls aren't adequately lit, a problem the Prius also has. Like, the side mirror adjustment buttons are unlit, the door lock/unlock buttons are unlit, the window buttons are unlit except for some reason the word "AUTO" on the driver's-side window button, etc. Conversely, the radio and climate unit is too brightly lit, and while that can be adjusted (literally between 0% and 100%), the dashboard is at the same brightness, so dimming the console also dims the dashboard gauges by the same amount. You can even turn everything off completely, which is kind of neat though not very useful.

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