I'm thinking about moving on, and looking for what others have done...

I have loved my '07, only have had to put in a water pump. 115,000 miles, not even down to the wear indicators on the brake pads! Of course tires, gas, oil, wipers, etc. Concerned about future battery replacement costs, and the dreaded VSC? issue, as well as mileage dropoff over time.

Leaning towards another hybrid.

Reading lots of reviews. Consensus is that Camry has remained where it was and others have out-innovated it. Accord, Fusion both beat it in almost every review I read/watch. Plus, both Accord and Fusion have plug-in versions that get ~$4,000 tax credit and go 15-20 miles on a charge.

Anybody considered moving on? Anybody moved up to another Camry, and what were your impressions?

Still loyal, but looking...

 

Hahaha, try that "still loyal, but looking" line on your wife!

Can't answer your main Q though. We just picked up a 2014 TCH XLE. Wife didn't like the Accord and we didn't consider the Fusion. Good luck in your search.

 

You are going to cringe when I tell you this but my daughter is now driving my Camry and I am driving a 4WD Tacoma pickup. Sounds bad but then again, the other truck in the driveway is a 4WD F-350 crew cab dually with a 6.7 diesel under the hood. 20 mpg is better than 14 mpg but I do miss the Camry when fill up time comes around. We had to swap a few vehicles around after the youngest wrecked hers and life left me without much choice....

 

Your Camry has got a LONG way to go! I am quickly approaching 200,000 with ours and the only problems we have had are fixing the rattles, lubing the intermediate steering shaft, the water pump and a front wheel/hub bearing. At over 180,000 miles we are still on the original brake pads too...

Even if you had the dealer fix the problems you mentioned and you had to spend 2 or 3 grand on a new ABS accumulator or a new battery, it is still cheaper than buying a new car. The depreciation hit you would take on a new one would easily cover the cost of either replacing the battery or the ABS accumulator.

A quick visit to the Fuelly website will prove that the Fusion "is not" performing as it should and the Camry still outperforms it.

Have you sat in the new Accord? The Accord is like a limo compared to the Camry. So, if passenger room (especially in the backseat) is an issue, the Accord is a clear winner.

Lots of interesting stuff out there now. Like the Mazda 6 Grand Touring that uses capacitors instead of a battery to run accessories while the engine is off.

I think I will be moving away from Toyota on my next purchase. I'm not brand loyal to anything. I would like to try something different.

Good luck!

 

Has anyone gone from the vintage TCH to the newer ones, and have any notable impressions (good or bad)?

I do know that it's always cheaper to keep an old car than to buy a new car.

I also know in my head that these hybrids (and their plug-in cousins) don't make a lot of sense with gas prices as low as they are, but I love them anyway!

I know this, but now, I've driven the Fusion Energi, and the Accord Plug In, so I'm in trouble. I need to drive the newest TCH for a comparison. I like the fact that I can go 12-18 miles on electricity alone, (sounding like a Prius nut, aren't I?).

 

Thanks for the fuelly site, I didn't know it existed.

The Ford Fusion Energi (which is a plug-in so really depends on how far a person's commute is), is averaging 75.3 for 2013 models, and 51.7 for 2014 models.

Maybe not as good as Plug-in Prius, or Volt, but much nicer inside, bigger and smoother ride.

Funny, the Accord PHEV didn't do so well, maybe the vagaries of the commute length...

 

The cost of charging a PHEV can cost around $500 or more each year. I would also worry big time about the huge high amp battery used in these mostly EV cars.

I get great mpg from my '12 TCH XLE and will stick with Toyota as they were the first to come up with a sell-able Prius back in 2000. They first sold it in Japan for 2 years. I think it was 1995 or '96 when they put some of their early models out to be test driven in their country looking for any problems.

They did the same in 1999 here in the States. They tested many of the disguised American model Prius out before the new model was to be first released for sale starting in 2000.

With Toyota you get the Nippon/Toyota quality hybrid parts and electric AC compressor that seems to always be trouble free. Consumer Reports show the Camry hybrid as better quality car than the gas only version.

 

I have a 2012, so certainly not looking yet. However, if I was, I would wait for the new 2015 Camry Hybrid, and hope it gives a slightly better fit with the options I want and don't want. I would like leather seats, possibly a sun roof, but I don't want Navigation. But, I normally keep a car for 10+ years so not really looking.

If I was buying now, I think the Accord looks interesting. I would be a no-go until it has at least 3 years of proven experience on the road. Toyota learned with the water pump and brake accumulator, but the early purchasers paid the price. Fusion essentially uses the same technology as Toyota. However it has Li-Ion batteries and I don't accept they are as good as NiMH. Again they need probably 10 years experience to determine. Toyota has been using the NiMH since 1996 or so in the Prius. And you have a Ford not a Toyota. The engine is smaller with less HP, and the weight is higher. So Ford is also a no-go for me.

I am against electric plug-in vehicles of all kinds, and don't agree with the government hand-outs trying to make them economic, when they are not. Hybrid technology makes sense. Plug-in electric does not. But, then there is the hand-outs...

 

I haven't checked in here in years. We've got a 2007 TCH and last November bought a 2014 Ford Fusion Hybrid (not the plug-in Energi). We felt the new TCH wasn't that much different from the one we have and the Fusion has a much larger set of features. The Fusion has been delivering nearly 10 mpg better on trips (49.1 on our most recent while I haven't seen 40 in the TCH in years). It can also run electric at highway speeds. Around town the Fusion does much better - warms up and can run electric much faster. I can't feel any difference in acceleration, but the Fusion handles better. Major strike against Ford is the "Ford Sync" which is infuriatingly poor.

Still have the TCH though, and gave what was my 2000 Ford Ranger pickup to our daughter.

Note -- have bias pro-Ford. Except for the TCH have bought nothing but Fords since 1987 and like the dealer. We don't like the Toyota dealer at all.

 

I'm glad your enjoying your Fusion Hybrid. Your 49.1 mpg sure beats out my 2007 TCH at 47 mpg highway when i'm driving at 60 using the cruise with the AC on a summer trip. I traded up to a '12 TCH XLE and it gets 48 highway at the same speed. Both cars got around 50 mpg city but that's because I drive rather slow around 45 to 50 when I can and a drive the speed limits in town.

Enjoy you gas mileage and nice ride.