Although I've seen very little comment about it, I'd have to say the CV transmission is just as important to the hybrid experience as the addition of an HV battery and electric motor. The smooth uninterrupted application of power throughtout the entire speed range is fabulous. During our test drive of the TCH, I was trying to explain to my wife what the CV transmission does. To make it obvious, right have the TCH test drive we took out a regular Camry. After the first couple of gear shifts she says "Oh I understand now, we gotta get the Hybrid".

The new 6speed auto on the regular Camry sounds good on paper, but to me it's just one more gear for the transmission software to try to figure out when to upshift, downshift, left shift, right shift, and just plain bad shift . When I bought my 04 Sienna in early 03 the new 5 speed auto was something that appealed to me. While the van itself has been really nice, the auto transmission turned out to be the greatest dissappointment. Although it works better now after several releases of new transmission software by Toyota, it still is a reminder how much I dislike auto transmissions (give me a manual anyday, if my wife could drive one ).

To end I'd say, the tranny in the TCH is the best automatic transmission driving experience I've ever had!