Hello,


Since this is my first post I suppose I should give everyone a little background.


Even though I have a great respect for the environment overall (avid shooter, Hunter and Outdoorsman) I DO NOT consider myself Green by any means!


My Boss has ordered a 2007 LE Hybrid Camry for me as a company bonus to be delivered at the end of this month (you guys/gals probably hate me already ).


I would like to hear what you folks have to say about the vehicles performance?


My wife drives a BMW X5 (that I get a chance to use on the weekends) and I commute to work with a ratty 1991 Ford Ranger 4.0 V6 that performs like a small V8.


My commute is 20 miles one-way with about 85% of it highway miles @ 80-85MPH of so.



I'm also a lead foot and like to get from point A to point B in a timely manor.





Thanks,
John



BTW, when I get this vehicle I plan on putting it through its paces as I do with everything I own (just short of beating it) and I will report the findings here.

The Camry is not a performance sedan. It's handling is competent, but by no means is it a BMW or Porsche. It has better pick-up then the 4 cylinder Camry, but is not as fast as the six cylinder. Most people buy TCHs because they want to get the most out of them and drive them as such. If you just drive with a lead foot you'll get better mileage than you would with any other Camry, but you won't be getting the full potential out of it.

Enjoy.e\

Thanks for the reply.

I don't expect too much performance wise, I'm just hoping it's not a complete dog.

It's not all that bad. I would put it about on par with the '97 Camry V6 I had years ago. It's far from a dog, but your mileage WILL suffer.

I am more than pleased with mine and if I have a REAL need for speed, I pick one of the other vehicles in my stable (see my sig line).

Good Luck!!

'06 Honda ST1300A
'07 Honda CR-V EX-L
'05 Suzuki DL1000 V-Strom

"Work Hard, Play Hard, Drive Fast"

I was merging onto the freeway one day when this nimrod behind me jumped the white line, surged ahead and tailgated the car on the freeway in front of me, literally stealing my space. The jackass obviously was trying to prove something in his beater Jeep. I stomped on the gas and by the end of the merge was doing 90 mph and easily made it in front.

Will the TCH win any races? No. Will it impress you? Probably not. But for me, its balance between 'green' and 'go' is exemplary.

So John, there's another thread that asks if anybody's done a neutral drop on their TCH to maximize 0-60. Give it a try and let us know how it does.

Thanks TCH2007,

Since my Ranger gets 20MPG (no matter how I drive it), the wife’s X5 averages 17.8MPG and my almost never used (these days anyways) high performance 400 smallblock K5 Blazer gets a little over 9MPG , I figure no matter how hard I drive this soon to be Camry I will probably notice a positive difference!

John...

You sound more like me than anybody else I've met on here! I bought the TCH to gain access to the HOV lanes. Candidly, that was really my only motivation. I had no particular desire to drive a "green" car.

I was leaning towards an Accord Hybrid for performance reasons, but I ended up being blown away by the Camry's overall design and package/price. My concern was that I would be giving up power.

So far, 1100 miles in, I just have not found myself missing much of anything power wise. The battery provides a nice torque assist when you are trying to accelerate/pass quickly. At highway speeds, it really "feels" like a V6. Road and Track had it at 7.3 seconds to 60, that was the quickest number but C/D had it a 7.7 too. I think that's believeable. I routinely drive 75-80 in my mixed highway/city commute. My 02 Oldsmobile Intrigue got 22 mpg in that run, my Camry Hybrid is getting 34. Am I matching other posters? No. I'm not maximizing my fuel economy. But I'm still getting what I consider to be really good mileage. 12 mpg better is nothing to sneeze at.

Perhaps this is not a performance car, per se. But handling is competent and probably above average for a midsize sedan. Driving position is good, steering is good, despite fairly average braking distances I've found panic stops to be excellent. I really think you'll be pleasantly surprised with the performance of this car, even under hard acceleration. I am.

I may get crazy at times,..... But I'm not stupid.


I know all about natural drops. Had a 1974 automatic, 340 cubic inch six-pack powered Dodge Challenger for years and went through many a tranny back then)

MFLetou thanks, it's good to know I'm not a total outsider.


And thanks to everyone else for their input.

I've had many high performance cars and used to race. Many of my automotive buddies agree with me that there is often more pleasure to be derived from driving an UNDERpowered car, since its performance requires more skill of you, with challenges that you wouldn't have otherwise.

Steve Villatoro
www.stevenvillatoro.com
“An enlightened guide to small business mastery.”

i haven't gotten a chance to test drive a TCH.... because there is never one at the dealer... but i did test drive the SE v6 and it was really smooth... I'm also wondering about performance.... my sales guy was telling me the TCH performs just like the v6... but i'm kind of iffy about it... I did get to sit in a red TCH with tan interior.. it was a base model...i couldn't drive it... but sitting in (THAT) car didn't feel right to me

YES the TCH saves on gas and pollution... but I still want something with reasonable power.... I say this because i test drove a new civic hybrid... and i couldn't see myself getting any joy from driving it

I have this little misconception that hybrid means no power... and yea it will take time to learn how to drive the TCH to maximize the full use of the cars tech. but at the same time i want to know if i needed that extra power that i can still have some fun... that might upset some members here.. but i'm trying to look at the flip sides of things.... its not everyday that i get to buy a new car

also curious about if someone was to drive it normal as if they would a 07 CE or LE if they would still get pretty decent mpg

thanks guys