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Originally Posted by gonehiking
I have also noticed that I get better fuel efficiency when I accelerate a little harder as opposed to driving like grandma. When accelerating gently, I hardly got any motor assist. Now that I am accelerating harder (hard enough to leave all other cars way behind from a red light), I am seeing lot more sustained assist and mpg has gone up. So I think I CAN use the power and still get decent fuel efficiency. I will draw more firm conclusions after I have a few thousand miles on the car.
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That's very curious. When I'm done with my current test (premium fuel) I'll have to see what difference "normal" driving vs "granny" driving has... (we all know "race" driving can produce terrible results -- but it feels good on the back!)
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Originally Posted by HAH_fan_2006
Still, the Camry Hybrid is a terrific car, and either one is an excellent choice! If you compare either of these cars to the BMW 3-series or Mercedes C-class, the advantage becomes immediately clear. Indeed, the HAH and TCH are the only "entry-level" luxury models that achieve the same fuel efficiency as small cars. When you consider that these cars weight more than 1600 kg (the weight of a 2005 Buick LeSabre) and when you consider their power and performance (TCH is only 1 second slower 0-100 km/hr than the very fast HAH), the fuel economy they achieve is truly astonishing.
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I recently compared power and size to the BMW 5-series (the 530 and 525, not the 550). Interestingly enough, interior size was about the same: some measurements (like rear leg room) are actually better on the HAH while others (front shoulder room) were better on the BMW. But the 530 has a nearly identical engine - 3.0L 6 cylinder with 255hp. The BMW weighed a little less and only came in manual 6 speed, so it should perform a bit better -- in acceleration and not fuel economy, though. This actually surprised me a bit. But then, the 3-series is most definitely a compact car (they really are small inside).
So yeah, you might call the HAH a budget luxury, complete with the power you'd find on a mid-sized luxury the only costs a bit more (e.g. 40-45k, not the massive cost of something like the 550). I imagine the TCH can draw similar comparisons.
A coworker recently got a TCH (same weekend I got my HAH, I think) so I'll have to compare notes with them, too.
(I had actually thouht the TCH was closer to 2.5 seconds slower to 100km/h? I've seen 6.7 for the HAH and 8.9 for the TCH... but not from the same source.)