Hello all,

I am a newbie and glad I stumbled across this forum. I own a 2004 Acura TSX. Love it, but with a 40 mile commute one way each day (typically), I want something with better gas mileage (though I have been averaging 28-30) and, more importantly, gets me out of having to buy premium gas (that is 20 cents/gallon right there).

I have driven the HCH and while it seems very good, I must say I was disappointed with the fact that it seemed to almost lurch when I was driving slow (5mph) through the parking lot at the dealership. It was almost like driving a stick shift. Not to mention, I am a techie guy when it comes to my cars, and the HCH just seemed to miss the boat a bit with some things. Plus, I'm sorry, the color palette choices are very limited (where's a decent blue or red?).

So, I have now narrowed it to the NAH and the TCH. I have driven the NAH with the tech package (good luck finding that one in Cali right now). It is a great ride. Exactly what I am looking for. I am driving a comparably equipped TCH later today so I'll be able to determine if one fits me better over the other. Based on what I have read here, everyone seems to be getting comparable mileage on both of these vehicles. I would ask what insurance rates have been like if there are single people in their 30s out there.

So, let me ask, which seems to be the favorite and why for the group at large? I look forward to my first of what I know will be many more green cars in the future.

Thanks for your feedback.

JCM

As the 4Gen IMA platform, the HCH is significantly more sophisticated than the Honda Accord Hybrid. Second, the Accord hybrid is not going to improve much on the FE of your TSX. Granted, you'll have the benefit of using regular gas but still, not a dramatic difference when comparing your current TSX mileage to that of a typical Gen 2 HCH.

The trully green hybrids are the HCH and the Toyota Prius as they are rated as PZEV vehicles.

The Nissan Hybrid is not a good long term bet as a platform that Nissan is willing to support. This information has been public for quite a while as Nissan intends to develop their own hybrid technology.

The Camry hybrid may be what you are looking for but sadly, it is not as green as the Prius or the HCH.

Cheers;

MSantos

The Camry Hybrid (TCH) is very reliable; I've had mine for one year and 22,000 miles and there have been no problems whatsoever. The only maintenance ever done was oil changes every 5000 miles, and occasional tire reinflation. You can see I only average 33.5 mpg lifetime, but I drive pretty aggressively and deal with alot of stoplights. Extended highway drives at 80 miles per hour yield 36-38 mpg, and 90 miles per hour gives 34 mpg.

I have not driven an Altima Hybrid (NAH) though I'd love to. Nissan is not known for their reliability, however, but Toyota isn't known for creating sporty cars (not recently, at least) so maybe the Altima drives better.

Thanks for the thoughts folks. Anyone else care to weigh in? I am close to buying, finally, after much debate...

Check out the engine noise. When recently driving a new 2.5S, the road rumble and engine noise was such that I had to elevate my voice to be heard clearly by the FS passenger. Even the salesman admitted he heard similar comments fromother test drivers, and said "they're all like that" when I pressed him to reveal which trim was most quiet. I thought the suspension tranmitted quite a bit of thwunk noise over some of the rougher stuff.

I've driven both cars. We ended up purchasing the Altima Hybrid. I prefer MANY aspects of the car over the Camry Hybrid, but there are also more "ifs" associated with the vehicle.

So far, it seems very mechanically reliable, but we've only got 3,000 miles on it. It drives like a dream and is hands down the sporty winner as far as hybrids go.

The Camry hybrid is the safer bet. The Altima Hybrid is the funner bet.

My wife and I test drove both cars and picked the Altima. The Altima felt peppy and accelerated nicely. I thought both cars felt comfortable but my wife kept banging her right leg on the Camry's central console. I preferred the look of the Altima and I felt it had a more solid over all feel. I also liked the standard features on the Altima that seemed to be extra on the Camry. Nissan has improved their quality greatly in recent years and the Altima is one of their best-rated cars. Getting it fixed should not be a problem ether because its using the same system Toyota and Ford are. More and more mechanics are fixing these systems. I have already used Jiffy Lube to change the oil. While it may be true that "Mutt and Jeff" at the local gas station (who fix every car with duct tape and gum) might not be able to fix it (they will not be able to fix the Camry as well), within no time there will be plenty of places that can. So far I have been very pleased with the Altima and recommend giving it a test drive.

I beg to differ with you on the TCH. I have a 2007 and it IS rated as one of only 6 vehicles in the U.S. as an AT-PZEV (Advanced technlology - partial zero emissions vehicle). I was reading the rating on this site http://www.hybridsynergydrive.com/en/start.html. I just thought i would pass that along. Happy motoring!

If you purchased your TCH in NC, it's not a AT-PZEV. It's Bin 3, which is somewhere between ULEV II and SULEV II/PZEV. Only CA/NE-state spec models are.

All NAHs are AT-PZEV/Bin 2, because they're only sold in select states.

I doubt that Toyota ships different cars to California emissions states. That would be a logistics nightmare. In fact my car (Illinois) was packaged with "50 state emissions".