Why did you decide on the HAH over the Toyota Camry Hybrid (or any other comparable hybrids)? What were your pros and cons during decision making process? Are you happy with your decision?

Although most of my reasoning is elsewhere, I can summarize it here:

I chose the HAH mostly because of the following reasons:

- Better power (it's got great acceleration)
- Better interior storage (cup holders, placement of things, etc. worked better for me)
- Slightly cheaper when compared to the equivalently features TCH (TCH with options got the Navi, but was still thousands more because 2006 HAH goes for under invoice -- if there are any left)
- IMO, it had better handling then the TCH and thus would be more comfortable on my commute over a small "mountain pass"
- I didn't like the instrument panel much on the TCH (non-navi version)
- The salesman and I had some trouble with the smart key operation -- not intuitive and didn't work as he thought it should have, oddly enough
- The HAH is a bit more rare, and thus more unique (oddly, though, I've now seen more HAHs on the road than TCHs)


Ultimately, it came down to small things. And, I still second guess my choice. It's only been about 3 weeks, though. I really enjoy driving my HAH, but sometimes I wish I'd got something with better fuel economy, or maybe something that can do full EV, or that is more popular since there might be more hacks or upgrades for it (e.g. plug-in mod, EV mode mod, etc.) I like the power, but if I want to get anywhere near 30mpg I can't use the power, which also has me questioning that as a decision point.

I'd like to see why other people chose the HAH over the TCH, too.

And going up...

Moved to "Model Comparisons" for obvious reasons.

For me it was one simple reason - I did not like the way camry handles at all. I rented a 2005 Camry SE (not hybrid) earlier this year and I had no road feel while driving it. When taking curves at even posted suggested speeds, I could not get a feel for how well the tires were holding. Car felt floaty at all times. As I understand handling has improved in 2006 but it would have to improve by a huge margin to come close to where I would start feeling it may be tolerable. I did not even test drive a TCH before buying HAH.

I have been driving HAH for barely a month now. I am getting around 23mpg with mostly city driving and very cold temperatures. Under the same conditions, my 2006 accord EX-v6 6MT has been giving around 18.5 mpg. So I am seeing some benfit from hybrid. 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.

Silver Frost Metallic Hybrid


Sapphire Blue Pearl EX-V6 6MT

Hello,

In my case, it came down to power. The 2006 Accord Hybrid has a healthy 253 horsepower , while the Camry has just less than 190. The Camry Hybrid is really a great car, and I'll admit it gets better fuel economy. Since I'm using less than 6.7 liters / 100 km (i.e. getting more than 35 MPG) even in mixed driving, however, I'm already very pleased with the Accord's fuel economy. Under highway-only conditions, the Accord can go as low as 6.0 liters / 100 km in my experience (i.e. 38-39 MPG), so it's already efficient enough. The lifetime average, including some city driving and traffic jams, is around 6.5 liters / 100 km, and the best ever for a round trip was around 5.8 liters / 100 km (extremely light traffic conditions).

Also, it's harder to get a good deal on the Camry Hybrid. I got the Accord Hybrid with navi for just over $29 K (which is $900 to $1000 under invoice). Also, Camry Hybrids are basically gone as soon as they appear on the lot, making availability a bit of an issue. 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.

BTW, I once had a 1991 Mazda 323 rated at about 7.1 liters / 100 km highway. It was definitely less fuel efficient than the HAH by more than 0.5 liter / 100 km since my HAH has no trouble beating the EPA rating. Since my round trip commute is more than 260 km (I live about 130 km from my job) that's more than 1.3 liters of gas per day. Even worse, emissions of the 1991 323 are much higher. Even worse, the 82-horsepower 323 had less than 1/3 the net horsepower of the HAH, making hill-climbing and merging quite difficult (I had an automatic transmission). The bottom line is that the HAH is the most fuel efficient car I've owned in addition to being the most powerful. Thanks to the AT-PZEV rating, it's also the least polluting.

HAH_fan_2006

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!)


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.)

And going up...

To me they're really two different beasts; the HAH is built with performance in mind whereas the TCH is built with economy in mind. To me, if I was going to get a hybrid I wanted to maximize the economy while still getting the size car I wanted. So it made more sense to get a Camry with great mileage and OK performance than to get an Accord with great performance and OK mileage.

I do have to admit that Toyota could have dialed in some better handling characteristics without sacrificing fuel efficiency.

At the time of my decision, I wanted something better than the Prius or HCH. I didn't want the FEH or HiHy. And I wasn't interested in the Insight as a daily driver. The HAH was the only one that had the room, power, styling, and appointments that I wanted. It won hands down against every other hybrid out there.

These days, I'd probably consider the TCH, but still perfer the power and styling of the HAH over the TCH. The only thing that would sway my decision away from the HAH would be a killer price on the TCH. I've always thought the Camry was a funny looking car. Although, the 2007 model is a lot nicer than the previous design and does grow on you.

<Best Tank Economy!><Best Tank Endurance!>

I got a fabulous deal on the HAH as the dealership hadn't been able to move their's in 6 months. The dealership selling the Camry at the time was just putting people on the waiting list and selling at sticker or above.

The power of the HAH is significantly stronger then the TCH, if that is important to you. Having had the HAH for 6 months now I can say I don't need that much power and would gladly give it up for better MPG.

The other thing to consider between the two is what kind of driving you do. If it's mainly in the city then you will get significantly better mpg with the TCH and not be able to take advantage of the power of the HAH. If you spend more of your time on the interstate then the mpg balances out better. From a reliability and comfort perspective I think both cars are comparable.

In hindsight since 90% of my driving is in town I would have probably been better off with the TCH or even a Prius but I am in no way disappointed with the performance of the HAH.

FWIW,

Paul