I am a gear head. I have had 37 cars. 37 Cars. And a lot of them were hot rods. SO, yeah, I am a car enthusiast. In fact, it was hard for me to move towards a four door car at all.


But a deciding factor in buying the Toyota brand of Hybrid, was the fact that the A/C stayed on while the car was at a stop, which is important here in South Florida. So, the initial reasoning was selfish. Again, not a perfect person am I. But once I got into the brand, and became more self aware of the brand, the fact that I am doing something for the environment was a real eye opener.

And once you go Green, at least for me, it is hard to go back. It's as if now, I want to do what I can to save the planet. I have bought four hemp grocer bags, so I no longer use plastic, I recycle papers, cans, bottles...some of that I was doing before, but now with more regularity.

Now, I'm a realist. Not everyone is going to buy a Hybrid; they can't. They are expensive, for one, more so then a regular car. But once you get one, and you would think you know what you are buying when you get it, you should try to stick with it.

If I was just looking into a luxury car, the Camry would not be the first choice for me. And if those things were important, then that would be my driving force in buying that car. That's all.

 

I walk about 180 miles a year; (I keep a record of that).
I can't ride a bike, since I don't have one.

My HiHy gets about 30 MPG, which is about the same as my HyCam got before it got rear ended. On a recent trip to Disney, I got 32 MPG with luggage. And again, the HiHy works on the same principle as the other Toyota branded Hybrids. When the ICE is off, it's not polluting, which means at lights, during pulse and glide, when the electric motor is all that is pushing the car...and it hauls more stuff then my HyCam did, or my Prius does.

 

Newsflash. People buy the TCH and Prius for reasons other than saving the environment. They buy them for other reasons than fuel economy. To not realize this is admitting your are either uninformed or narrowminded.
I for one purchased a '04 Prius at the recommendation of my brother who at the time was selling Toyotas in Cincy. I am a gadget/technology person. And $/gadget the Prius is the cheapest car on the market. The fact that it single handedly will save the environment and gets 50/mpg is an added side bonus and wasn't even part of my decision making process.
At the time I purchased the Prius the TCH was just a gleam in Toyota's eye. I made a second decision that my ideal "Techo Car" would be the Hybrid Camry if/when it came out. When it did in May '06 I traded in my '04 Prius in a heartbeat (and got back what I paid for it BTW) and got the TCH.
Again, in it's size class it has the best bang for the gadgetbuck on the market.
Again the fact that it helps improve the environment and will eliminate our dependence on foreigh oil is just a big shoulder shrugging and yawning "oh well" added freebee in my book. I guess it's a nice one but certainly not a major factor in my purchasing decision.

 

I am considering selling my TCH due to the drivers seat not having even support. I had the dealer replace the drivers seat because it was not leaning toward the passenger seat, two weeks later and the new seat is developing the same issue. I really like the car but it doesn't make much sense to keep it if my back hurts every time I drive it.

The passenger seat (not power) seems to have even support, I wonder if the design of the power seat causes the seat to get off kilter...

 

I've driven compacts or subcompacts in my 30 years of driving and probably low on the creature comforts side, yet happy with what I have now. I added a nav system. The big thing I'd change is the seats to improve comfort, but that's what a lot of drivers would say.

I took a Prius for a spin this fall and would be happy in it. Without being in a TCH, I'd expect to experience even more creature comforts. I'm just not one of these people that view a vehicle like a mobile room of my home and think that would be a healthy attitude for everybody in general.

 

I just came back from Indiana where we borrowed my sister's Dodge Neon for running back and forth to the motel. Needless to say I was SOOOOOO GLAD to be back to my nice quiet, smooth to drive TCH. After driving that Neon I have no qualms about my little beauty.

 

It's hardly fair to compare a TCH to a Neon, they are totally different classes of vehicle with a huge difference in price and quality.

 

I wasn't meaning to compare the two, just that whatever little squeaks that crop up occassionally are really minor compared to some 'regular' vehicles. It just made me appreciate my TCH. I think that we get caught up in things we don't like and need a reality check once in a while...kind of like the old folk tale "Too Much Noise"...

 

Can I ask you, were you pleased with the resale value of your TCH?

 

One ought to like the car he or she drives, as there's no sense plunking down $30K (or even half that) and then being driven nuts by it. Believe it or not, the TL isn't that bad on fuel relative to the myriad other things that the OP could have purchased. There's at least one guy at DriveAccord who routinely posts 30mpg+ tanks on his (I think it's an '04 maybe?) You would have to reign-in that V6 and drive very smart to do it but this is not beyond possibility. (Honda-built engines can be almost magical). And in the end, even 25mpg overall is better than getting a "comfortable" large SUV (**shudders**).

Do I personally think 25 or 30mpg is particularly good? No, my standards have changed. But that's just me. Kluken will decide his standards for himself, and getting in his face about it isn't likely to help matters. 'Sugar' and deep breaths are better than 'vinegar' and keyboard-cramped fingers.

Just my two cents.