Well now to what makes this car different from a standard Camry. i'm not going to dive into the nitty gritty stuff, if you want that much detail on the hybrid system there are plenty of good sites to explain it. The Hybrid system in this car has its roots in the Prius and has been well proven now. I am no Hybrid expert, but in my little bit of research I feel that Toyota is the leader in Hybrid vehicles. The EV motor and gas motor can operate independantly or together. When you first start the car the first thing you notice is "nothing", literally, no gas engine purring right away, just a dash that lights up and fnal says READY (to tell you it is OK to drive now). When teh gas engine fires up it wll initially run untli it gets up to operating temperature (not very long). Then when you coast to a stop the gas engine will shut off. A strange feeling at first, but being that the Camry is so **** quiet you really can't tell most of the time when the gas engine is running or not. The transmission is a CVT style, which means it constantly varies its gearing, unlike a trationsl tranny that has 4, 5 or maybe 6 specific gear ratios. CVT is usually more economical, but some people don't like the feel as they want to hear and feel that rev up then shift of the tranny. Funny because many cars in this class shift so smoothly and are so quiet the difference is often hard to tell unless you are realling looking for it. OK what about that lag. Well when you first accelerate the EV mote will initally get you going as the gas engine is fired up, then they will both be pulling you. the Gas engine firing up and engaging is noticable and something you get used to rather quickly. You won;t be setting any speed records here, but there is a good video of a Hybrid Camry and a Gas Camry drag racing. The Gas car launchs quickly, but the TCH quickly pulls ahead as the combined torque and power of the EV and Gas engines far out performs the gas only car. Most performance reviews show the TCH at about 1 second quicker to 60 than a gas only Camry. Not bad considering the TCH also weighs a few hundred pounds more as well. Once rolling the TCH drives just liek a standard Camry with more perfoamnce thn a gas only. The car hadnles highways with ease, I have been up to 85 in no time and since the car is quiet and smooth you get there and don't even know you are doing 85. The car is a Toyota, so expect a Toyota ride, soft and smooth. You are not leaning this baby into the corners very hard, it will do ok, but puch it and you'll start to feel the body lean. The car seems a bit loose, I really think dumping the fold down seat and allowing the battery pack to go flat against the back seat would help torsional rigidity a great deal. The Camry is faily well behaved although a tad choppy on some bumps. Now to the real meat of the hybrid... gas consumption. As with any car you need to let the engine break in and as it does the gas mileage will increase as well. My mileage is still climbing so I won't say these are definitive numbers, but I am averaging 32.5 MPG on the first tank and there was a lot of idling and engine running during delivery and such. My commute whihc is a 21-23MPG ride in my old TL is getting around 35-36MPG in the TCH. a 40 mile run to the airport, mostly highway at 65-75MPH got me 40-41MPG. The non NAV units have some displays in the center of the Odmeter to give you status on your system and mileage. There is no tach, but instead a MPG guage. OK I will admit it I am starting to get bit by the "let me squeeze more MPG out" bug of using the MPG guage and the gas/ev/recharge guage as well as the MPG ECO guage. But honestly, I am driving very close to the way I drove my TL and the MPG is very impressive. I have yet to switch the AC to ECO mode(to save a bit more gas). I have 380 miles on the first tank and have 3/8 tank left. My TL woudl be begging for gas by 320-330 miles. All in all the TCH ride is transparent to a base 4 cyl Camry, with the added benefit that you get Yaris gas mileage or better in a Camry!

In summary, the TCH is a excellent value. You get alrge 4 door sedan with better performance and compact / sub-compact car fuel mileage. It is no wonder Toyota can't keep them in stock! Unlike Honda which sacrificed MPG and rather used the Hybrid to give the Accord excellent performance with respectable MPG, the TCH is a good blend of decent perfromance and excellent MPG. If you are coming form a standard 4 cyl Accord/Camry the TCH is a easy step, if you are coming from a V6 Camry/Accord you will have to get used to the lower, yet adequate performance. One thing is you will be smiling more as you pass all those gas stations and visit them less.