Last Friday I met a friend in the Toyota dealer, he bought a Solara rag top 2 weeks ago. We stood admiring his car for a few minutes until he asked what car I owned. Jokingly I said "I went the cheap route and bought a Camry Hybrid". He kinda scoffed and said "cheap, how many years do have to run it to get your money back." We laughed and went our separate ways.
Since buying my TCH in mid April I've had similar conversations with other motorists and I think most are basing their thoughts on ideas they picked up some 10 years ago when Toyota had the foresight to launch the Prius and perhaps it was easy to compare a Prius to a Corolla.
For starters they all assume that the alternative to a Hybrid would have been a base 4 cyl Camry. The truth of the matter is a 4 cyl loaded Camry still comes nowhere near the level of luxury of my B package Hybrid. I cover 30,000 plus miles a year and therefore enjoy a loaded car. My alternative to the Hybrid was the V6 XLE. In Canada the XLE is $2000 more than the B package Hybrid but also in Ontario, Canada I can get a combined rebate of $3500 from both levels of government. So before the first tank of gas has gone I'm up $5500 and about all I'm lacking from the XLE is a rear window sun shade the ability to spin tires all day.

I do have other problems though ... now when was the last time I filled up?

My TCH paid for itself the day I drove it off the lot. If not for the hybrid I would have paid just as much for any other car I might have picked because it would have been a nicely loaded family car that I would have selected in expection of enjoying driving it (exactly like the TCH), and it surely would not have been as good at the pump nor come with a govt rebate. I was not trying to decide between the TCH and a Corolla or a Hyundai Accent. If I wanted to drive a cheap sub-compact to save gas I would have bought one. I was not hood winked by some sly hybrid marketing campaign.

Two climate control systems, one inside and the other at the tailpipe.

2007 Camry Hybrid (in service June 2006)
FE: 6.77L/100km (34.8 mpg) over 37750km (23450mi)
75% city - Ave trip 20 min - 2 Winters

You are correct. If one actually does a apples to apples comparison and compares the XLE to the hybrid there is essentially no premium. The 4 cyl is cheaper but slower and the 6 cyl is more expensive but faster. People spend thousands to upgrade engines all the time.

No car is a savings. It all depends on what is important to you.

If you could care less what you drive and want savings, you'd buy a 15 year old CRX HF for $1000 and drive it into the ground.

If you like a comfortable mid-size car with some level of refinement thats cheap to run the TCH is obvious.

The next time you see your friend ask him what the payback period for the $5000 convertible option is!

You should have bluntly said. "Never. how about your Solara?"

I have been asked that question as well, and that is my usual response now a days.

Hmm, Now I wonder where the public gets the notion that it takes years to get your money back. I wonder why they are unaware of the extra's that come with a Hybrid. I wonder who is feeding them information that doesn't include the fact that using the tax incentive, the better fuel economy, the extended service intervals,the extra options and oh yeah....HELPING TO SAVE THE ENVIROMENT, maybe perhaps the hybrids aren't more expensive after all???

I always get a kick out of the newspaper articles that somehow justify buying the non-hybrid version is a better deal even if it gets less mileage per gallon...

To me the choice was simple, pay LESS for a non hybrid and get worse gas mileage (thus giving the EXTRA gas money to the oil company, OR Paying MORE for the vehicle in which I purchased and having LESS money go to the OIL companies...

OH YEAH.. AND doing my part (in a very small way) to help the enviroment for my child and her children and their children ect.ect.

How can anyone justify the cost savings of a non hybrid (same model of course) when the EXTRA gas money feeds the giant that RULES our country??

So it boils down to paying extra for the vehicle, OR eventually paying the money you saved by blowing it out the tailpipe of the less expensive non-hybrid.

This is just my opinion, and the reason I chose a hybrid Escape over the non-hybrid version.

Kinda strong for post #2, but it seemed to fit this subject perfectly!

Thanks for reading!
08FEH

I would also have paid the same amount of money for a non hybrid car as I paid for the TCH. I love the fact that I get 37 to 40 mpg and that I do something, even a little bit, for the ecology. I also love that fact that I use less gas. It costs me less everytime I fill up.

There are too many people out there who have too much time on their hands and try to calculate using adavance algebra and advanced calculus to see what the payback.

I got my money's worth when I drove out of the showroom. I love the rechnology in the car. We actually have 3 other hybrids in teh family so we are all doing our little bit to fight the oil cartel.

By the way, my wife drives a Toyota Solara convertible and I love to drive that as well on a nice sunny day.

Good grief! It's not like the TCH's only value is that it's a hybrid and uses less gas. I love this car for what it is and does, and a great fringe benefit is that doesn't suck gas.

It's a great car no matter what. It's smooth with its CVT, and quiet, with all the power and torque I'll ever need, has extras that are just plain nice, and in my case, is a car built like a vault with nary a rattle nor a hiccup to be found as of yet, after 2500 miles. I wonder if the U.S. built models, like mine, had the original complaints of rattles and squeaks from the first Japanese models tuned out during production. I just can't find a quirk to complain about. Maybe later, eh?

Speak for yourself Osbud! Jap car here with out a creak or rattle or anything period.

TCH-43mpg
VW TDI--48
08 LS 600 HL-20
08 LX 470-16

"Speak for yourself Osbud! Jap car here with out a creak or rattle or anything period."
*******************
I was speaking for myself, skywagon. Congratulations on your "Jap" car.

I have yet to hear somebody on this thread complain that the TCH is nothing more than a glorified base model. The only people that compare the base model to their hybrid counterpart are in the minority. At least that is what I've experienced.