Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
Seems to me from looking at the 'prices paid' forum, there isn't a huge difference between the Camry and the Prius in price - I just assumed the Camry was much higher.....
I get about 3 mpg less in the winter than summer. I believe it's because the ICE runs longer to warm up, plus seems to kick in more frequently than it does during warm weather -- even when the a/c is running. Maybe has something to do with keeping the engine warm enough to effectively run the heat.
I love my car, but am jealous of the mpg being reported here. During warm weather, my GS gets about 23-24mpg combined and tops out at about 29-30mpg on the highway. That's the sacrifice for the killer acceleration and torque delivered (I know, likely not a virtue in this forum! .
I'm hesitant to drop that much money on a car that I don't seem to be sold on.
Thx for your comments.
H.D.
Steve
But, of course, one shouldn't buy a car if you have doubts about it. Good luck.
That's a "mental" thing. It has a soft accelerator pedal but if you give it the gas it will go, just like in any other car. Learn to modulate the pressure on the throttle and you can duplicate any type of take off you want. However with a lot of cars taking off slow is difficult and not good for FE. Though just because I have to push the throttle two inches instead of 1 inch as in some cars doesn't mean I am pushing it "hard". I can start as slow as I want and I can chirp my tires. Don't know what else one would want.
I can't imagine anything smoother than the CVT type transmission (or in our case a power splitting device) but seriously I'd never consider spending money on a car I didn't like.
I don't particulary think of the TCH as all that great of a car, but I did want an economy car and it fits the bill better than anything I saw on the market. I wish it was quieter on the road and more comfortable and handled beter..... I wish a lot of things. However 38mpg overrides all those wishes and I'm happy.
It's also a little "jerky" while braking, as initially it uses regenerative braking before the actual disc brakes kick in. Once again, as you drive it you alter your driving style so things get smoother. Same with any car.
If you're expecting a Lexus or a BMW, yes it's not a very impressive car. But that's not what this car is about, is it? It is a large sedan that gets the mileage of an economy car with less emissions. And with that in mind, it fulfills that role quite well. Better than anything else in it's class I think. Perhaps the Altima Hybrid comes close.
Look at other 'similar' cars and compare apples to apples and that might help you decide.
As for buying the car purely for gas savings, it will take years and years to break even, so consider whether or not that's truly worth it. You might find you really are better of with a v6.
Good luck
tom
I am new to this forum.
I own two Prius's 2002 and 2005 total miles both cars 189000
I have read some concerns about a drop in mpg after oil changes.
This also happens in the Prius and is most often caused by a over
filling of oil in the crank case.
This is easy to check, just look at your dip stick . I bet that some
of you will find it over filled, I had this happen to me at a Toyota
dealership. I now change my own oil and stop adding when the
dip stick is about 1/8 " below this full mark.
I did make my dealer remove the excess oil after I had warned them
about doing the over fills.
Also check your tire pressure, Toyota like to make them 32 psi.
I run my tires at 40 psi
Hope this helps some of you.
Tom
and we both drove and rode in back---
we wanted something that had bigger backseat and good gas mileage--
and I feel like I am compesating for my husband's new Tahoe...
I know the feeling. Sneaking up silently in school zones and scaring little kids sure is fun!
Using 10% ethanol uses even less foreign oil. Of course it's helped raised the price of food so that people starving in the world can't get food while we feed corn to our cars.
it does not save any money in the long run
p.s. You really do need to learn to drive one. my last car was a civic hybrid. thats how i learned to drive my gas camry and get great mpg. My neighbor across the street has an 07 camry hybrid. He gets around 36-37 non stop. He hasnt got as good of mpg as i have with my normal 03 4cyl. Its HOW YOU DRIVE.
Id be happy to explain how i drive mine if you e-mail or im me.
Later Caaz
At steady state 65 mph I do get 40+ in my hybrid. However the interstate driving is not where the real world is nor is it the "sweet spot" for the TCH. I can easily get 40+ on rural roads and 37 to 40 on short trips and town driving. Most people don't check their milage except on trips and don't have a clue as to what their overall FE runs. My lifetime FE over 48,000 miles is 37.3 in the Camry TCH. Don't think you'll match that in a 4cy ICE only Camry. The only thing I have seen that hurts the TCH is cold weather and rain. If not for the winter miles I would easily be over 38.5 mpg
I've found that to partly work. I can get 18 mpg in my Expedition now on the interstate if I drive just below 70 mph. However as soon as I pull it off and hit town, starting and stopping 6000#'s just isn't effecient no matter what I do. Sure jack rabbit starts can be avoided but even then it's still low milage. Many people give up working at it on their big vehicles because it's "only" 2 mpg. They forget that's almost a 15% improvement in many cases and with todays' gas prices that's significant. I still get a chuckle out of the jacked up, large knobby tired F150's passing me at 80+ on the interstate filling up at the gas pump. They complain about the prices but do everything they can to make it as bad as possible on themselves.
I see a lot of people in minimum wage jobs, commuting 20 miles each way driving F150's because they want a truck. probably never haul anything or tow, but they gotta have a truck. When you spend 2 hours of your 8 hour working pay on gasoline it's time to wake up.
Would a hybrid do any good in these conditions? I currently drive a corolla and avg about 33mpg.
I have talked to the salesmen, but rather have advise from owners and real world experience.
Also, the dealer says they (Toyota) tested the batteries to 150k and never had a problem or needed to replace it... any truth to this?
Can a vehicle like this be rented for a week to test for myself?
Thanks..
The TCH would get you probably 35-38 mpg in that commute, my guess, after owning mine for 32,000 miles.
Good luck !!!
Still, I'd expect mpg in the high 30s on the freeway, about the same in city driving (a little less if your winters are cold). People claiming 40+ are probably driving very conservatively.
As to battery life, the Prius has been on the road for 10 years now. If premature battery failure was a problem, we'd know about it. Some hybrid Prius are being used as cabs and have gone well past 200K miles with no failures. At some distant point, the battery will become less efficient and powerful. But that happens to all engines if driven long enough.
Depending on your state, all the hybrid components are guaranteed well past the standard guarantee. Yes, I've heard of people renting the TCH from car rental agencies. Good idea.
Maybe Toyota will come out with a hybrid Corolla....
z
In the early days I had a list like that compliled as this was all new to us. However those tips are in the early postings of this thread and the other threads on Edmunds about the TCH. The tips I gave were in "addition" to other tips so reading everyones suggestions would be more beneficial.
I will say that for people that are only getting 32 mpg, they either are not trying or they just "don't get it". There are things in life that I have tried and tried and then when it finally happened I said "ah ha!" This is one of those experiences. If you are willing to go slower than those in the fast lane and to take time to get the feel, it will eventually become second nature. At first it may seem like hard work and too much effort, but it's like learning any piece of new equipment there is a learning curve.
I'm guessing a lot of folks that bought the TCH are not really "into it" and will never maximize the potential. But for those that are willing it provided the opportunity to achieve high 30's in a family sized car.
Look in the thread called TOYOTA CMARY HYBRID DRIVING TIPS & TRICKS. That is probably the area that has the least entries but the most info for specific help on obtaining the high FE results.
Harold!!!
Camry Hybrid Tips and Driving Tricks - CLICK HERE
Read those posts starting at Post #1 for all the tips you need.
Not likely, it would steal sales from the Prius.
Plus, one of the limiting factors right now is the availability of batteries.
New Battery Plants on the way
A week after announcing it will build its second battery plant for 'green cars,' Toyota Motor Corp. disclosed it will rev up production of its hybrid cars and is planning a third battery plant in Japan.
This is according to an Associated Press report, which stated that the planned $291-million factory in Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan, will be operated by Panasonic EV Energy Co., Toyota's joint venture with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.
Slated for operation by 2010, the plant will make nickel-metal hydride batteries, with production capacity at 200,000 a year, with start-up production at about half of that.
The move follows a Toyota's announcement to build a $194 million plant in Shizuoka, in central Japan, that would also produce NiHM batteries for gas-electric hybrid vehicles.
Toyota is planning to address the increasing demand for hybrid vehicles with three new hybrid battery factories, including one dedicated for next-generation lithium ion packs, Automotive News has reported, citing the Japanese newspaper Nikkei as its original source.
It is reported that the company is likely to spend around $673.1 million on the planned plants, to facilitate an annual battery output of one million units by 2011.
Nickel-metal hydride batteries are likely to be produced at a plant in northern Japan, whereas the lithium ion battery plant will be based in Shizuoka, southwest of Tokyo. The new nickel-metal hydride plant is scheduled to start production in 2011 with an estimated output of around 300,000 batteries a year, while the lithium ion plant is likely to start production in 2010.
The move reportedly follows the announcement made by Nissan Motor about the advanced mass-production of lithium ion batteries and Honda Motor's plan to introduce four new hybrid vehicles by 2015.
It is claimed that Toyota's batteries are being built by Panasonic EV Energy, a joint venture between Toyota and Japanese electronics company Matsushita Electric.
They are not completely unavailable, but in certain areas they are scarce, true dat.
I just try and drive somewhat 'conservatively'; gentle starts, using c/control whenever possible on hwy; etc. I'm hoping that the car being as new as it is isn't a factor [that will disappear]
Most of it is in town on city streets--not freeway driving--and some of it is for short distances but I really try to get the coast effect and to stay on battery--my husband has also when he drives become much more conscious of the higher mpg effect--
on some trips we get the 40+ kudo of excellent when we turn the car off
but sometimes it is avg below 30 because of the distance
I have only put one tank of gas in the car--still have about 1/4 tank to go before the second fill up so I am not sure how the car's total mpg will work out to the actual math of fillup gallons vs miles traveled
I did notice yesterday when I was driving that my needle on the mph gauge/dial was stuck close to the 0 mpg efficiency rating when I was costing and building the battery--there was NO gas being used at that time--so it should have gone down to the bottom of the dial---it did not react correctly until after I had used the gas pedal and engaged the conventional engine--then when I went to the coast mode again the needle dropped to the bottom like it should...
has anyone else had a problem with that--it seems like the needle has sort of a halo effect on it --I am wondering if there is some extra plastic or transparent material stuck to it that might make it hang up instead of just drop when it should...
would be interested in hearing if anyone has noticed the same hesitation in the MPG needle in your TCH....
I took my '06 Civic (with AT) on the same trip, driving the speed limit, and bumped the tire pressure to 37psi. I got 41.5 mpg average on the highway. This is my best ever with the Civic.
Temperatures were in the 70s and 80s.
Remember too that when looking at the bars it is over a minute, not a mile. If you're driving 60 mph instead of 30 mph that's a significant difference. I use the bars as a reminder to see how I'm doing on a trip (am I paying attention or not). The instaneous gage is used to get immediate impact. If I'm crusing along with a 35 rating and I notice my foot on the gas I will lift off and see it drop and then reapply the gas gently to maintain speed and get a better FE reading.