On 1/29/2013 8:16 AM, Scott wrote:
> I love hybrids--both the concept and Toyota's execution of them.
The concept's okay if you don't mind the extra complexity and package
size. But...I've found late-model Toyota product to be pretty
unpleasant vehicles to drive.
There's something about the last couple generations of Camry - the
driving position, somehow - that's just a little off for me. All the
late-model Toyotas I've driven have flat, slabby seats that presumably
are compromised for the three-hundie buyer, but I'm not and I don't like
them. And the shape suffers somewhat (not as bad as a Merc CLS, but
enough that even my car-ignorant sister-in-law would notice) from
shrinking-window syndrome.
Mechanically, the Prius works better. Really well, in fact. The
engine's happier, without the groans and shakes that accompany the
Camry's bigger four. The chassis is surprisingly good (better than the
last generation, it doesn't hobby-horse and it knows where straight
ahead is.) It's a Toyota, so the cheap hard plastic interior at least
fits together pretty well, the caveat about flat unsupportive seats
still applies.
But...I could never own one. It's like driving a jail cell.
Those long, flat A-pillars narrow the forward field of vision to about
40 degrees. Beyond that you're bobbing and weaving around to look
through little holes and slices and notches in the glass in front and
behind you.
It just gets very tiring to drive the thing after a while.
I had a second-gen car as a loaner for a couple weeks back when my M5
was still under warranty and the dealer had to take the dash apart to
fix an AC whistle. I drove it like I would anything else I own, up and
down the SF peninsula, and got exactly 40mpg average.
John.
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