A 2005 jockey drives an '06 HCH
My 2005 HCH was at the dealer, getting serviced. I noticed an Opal Silver Blue 2006 HCH in the lot while I was waiting - the only hybrid at the dealership. It was a slow day for the sales dept, so I didn't feel bad about asking to take it out. The bored old guy who helped me got more than he bargained for, though, because I really wanted to take it out.
The first thing I noticed was that my view was significantly diminished from the driver's seat. I have a funny torso:leg ratio, and I sit quite high up in my car (so much so that I can't actually fit into a friend's 2002 Civic w/sunroof, because there's not enough headroom). The oddly slanted windshield and the ultra-elongated dash in this car seemed to really constrict my vision compared to what I am used to, based on my angle of observation. The next thing I noticed was that the instantaneous mileage display was not near enough to the assist/charge display, two gauges that I like to eyeball at the same time. It could have just been my imagination, but does the instantaneous on the '06 have lower resolution than the '03-05? Don't worry, this isn't all negative.
My tester didn't have NAV, but I thought the dashboard configuration was really appealing. When the friendly salesman was probably feeling like he was ready to go home, I pulled out on the interstate. Using the same driving techniques I do in my '05, I drove a mile or two. It seemed like the new car liked to lock in 60-65 mpg at a steady cruise, just like my current car. No big improvement there. Pulling off the interstate, I wanted to try to find that much talked-about "EV mode" or "zero-fuel glide" or "fuel cut" or whatever everybody is trying to call it now. At about 40 miles per hour, I eased off the gas, and just nudged it a little, and boom! Fuel display was maxed out with about 4 bars of assist. I even got 5 bars of assist for about 10 seconds before the fuel kicked back in! I must admit, that was pretty exhilarating, and I was utterly surprised by how easy it was to get into that supposedly elusive mode.
Other observations: there is noticeably more pickup in the new model than in the somewhat anemic HCH-I. I also appreciate the higher degree of variability of the IMA - my car will start assisting at 5 bars of assist (or none - there's no in between), and it has various increments of assist it seems pre-programmed to stick atl. The HCH-II has truly "continuously variable" assist, where it seemed to kick in the right amount of assist for any situation. Like everybody else has mentioned, I liked the triangular side windows in the cockpit, if only for aesthetic reasons. I still feel that the driver's view is impaired slightly relative to the HCH-I. Also, and this is totally subjective - the new HCH misses a little of the "road feel" that the HCH-I had. Maybe it's because the ride could be smoother, but I felt less connected with the car in a tactile and kinetic sort of way.
A great car, though, and I'm jealous of all you new owners, but I won't be getting a new car anytime soon; I plan on driving my '05 till she's falling apart! Hopefully many years to come!
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I also saw no less than FOUR '03-'05's - that's not including mine which was at home in the garage. This isn't a big town so I was really surprised.
