I do not own a hybrid vehicle yet. I have test driven the 05 Prius and HCH and now the 06 HCH. I think most things about the new HCH have been covered here, but I do have a few concerns/questions for the owners of the 06's.

I really noticed the ICE start up as I let off the brake while in auto-stop. Does this get smoother with age or was it normal? Maybe I just need to get used to it. I did not notice this when I drove either of the 05 vehicles. I think it will really bother my Wife.

The brakes on the 06 HCH seemed to have stages. I had to adjust the braking pressure as the vehicle slowed to keep the vehicle slowing at the same rate. Without the adjustment it seemed like I might not stop any time soon.

The dealer had already installed items on the vehicle and would not come off the cost of these items. They said unless I get on the waiting list that's the way it is. I guess that their claim not to sell above the MSRP is not really true.

Prius 06 Black Pack#2

MG48,
With the braking, what I think you are feeling is the regen kicking in. With an ever so light tap of the pedal you should notice that the car will start to brake and the charge LED's light up. At this point there is little or no brake pad being used, only the motor generator making juice for the battery. If you play the regen braking game each time you anticipate a stop, your pads will last a very long time.

Pushing the brake a little more will engage the brake pads and you will feel another slight decel or hard decel depending on how hard you stomp.

Hope this helps.

Ralph

The ICA engine startup is noticable on my 06, but it doesn't bother me at all. The brakes do have a slightly non-linear feel because of the regeneration as stated above, but I got used to it quickly, and like it because I can modulate when I am using the pads, or just the regen.

It either smoothes out with time, or I've just gotten used to it because I don't even notice it anymore.

Regarding the brakes, I try to maximize my regen when slowing down anyway, so I'm already making adjustments. Even if you weren't doing that, I think you would get used to that pretty quickly too.

I'm not sure if this is the issue, but I do know that if you press the accelerator very shortly after releasing the brake in my '03 model, it begins to rev the engine before the transmission fully engages, meaning there will be more of a difference between driveshaft speed and engine speed causing the tranny to "tug" a bit more.

Are you noticing this, or is the actual engine startup itself louder/rougher?

I've got a HCH'03 with 90k miles on it. When I test drove the HCH'06 this past weekend, I thought the transition out of autostop was smoother on the '06. Of course, *that* car only had 54 miles on it too.

just wait a second between letting up on the brake and pushing on the gas, and you won't feel such a harsh transition. i own both HCHI and HCHII models and I can attest that the HCHII transitions from autostop much smoother than the HCHI does.

It's normal and it's annoying, but there are some ways you can adjust. Besides waiting a second before pressing on the gas pedal, you can just release the brake pedal, then press it again, when you know you're about to start moving. This will disengage auto-stop even though you're still stopped so when you do press on the accelerator, it will work immediately.

Yeah, I really hated that, but I barely notice it now.

This is standard operating practice for cars on the lot with many dealers, but as that dealer said, you can put yourself on their waiting list for a car without any of that crap. You can also usually negotiate a better price when you do this.

Thanks for the comments. Now to find one with nav just in time for the tax credit.

Prius 06 Black Pack#2