Gone green and won't be going back!

My 2008 Camry Hybrid is awesome! I sold my 1997 Lexus ES300 and have now had my TCH (Toyota Camry Hybrid) for a little over a month and am averaging around 37 mpg! (mostly City driving) I wanted a new car but wanted something with better gas mileage and something that produced less CO2. My niece has a Prius which she loves and gets over 47 mpg - but I wanted a bigger car and something not so "econobox". I was used to the luxury of my Lexus and did not want to go "down" in terms of luxury, comfort or ride. I think that I actually upgraded!

I went to a local Toyota dealership to test drive a TCH. The car has a 4 cylinder engine 16 valve engine with an output of 158 hp (the standard Camry engine I think) coupled with an electric engine boosts the horse power to 187 hp. When you start up the engine with the key less entry system - the only indication that you have that the car has started is the "Ready" light on the dashboard is illuminated. To start the car, have the key FOB on your person, step on the brake and press the "start" button. You are running purely on the electric engine. The gasoline engine will kick in and stay on for about a minute or so and then the silence kicks back in. At first I swore that the car had stalled out.

When you ease out on your trip and to about 22 mph, you are running on the electric engine unless you have a very heavy foot - then the gasoline engine is engaged too. You will not be able to tell when the gasoline engine kicks in, there is no thump or notable change in the car's handling. When you are running purely on the electric engine I feel as if I am driving a over sized golf cart (a good thing) since the car is so quiet. Pedestrians in a parking lot beware! You will not hear me drive up unless I run over something in the parking lot. Yes - it is that quiet in electric mode.

You can easily monitor your energy consumption on one of the possible screens you can access through the car's display. I am averaging about 37 mpg with most of my driving in the city. The TCH actually gets better gas mileage on the highway than in the city as it is not stop and go traffic. It is also nice to know when you are stuck in traffic that you can inch along just running on the electric motor.

The electric motor gets recharged whenever you brake and coast. The battery indicator is never 100% full - so don't worry when you start the car up and the battery gauge appears to be about 85-90% full. One time I spent about 30 minutes in the parking lot parked talking to a friend on mine and the battery level looked like it was almost 90% discharged. A quick 10 minute drive home recharged the hybrid battery.

Afraid that a hybrid does not have enough power to merge you on the highway? Nope! Don't forget you have the same size engine and output of the regular Camry 4 cylinder coupled with an electric motor. When you need extra power, both motors will kick up and accelerate you to the speed that you desire.

Driving has been a little like playing a video game. You can watch the dashboard and see which motor is engaged. Obviously the goal is to run on the electric motor as much as possible - just don't forget to keep your eyes on the road ahead too! On the dash you have two indicators monitoring your power consumption and on the center monitor - you can switch the display to power consumption and trip information. I have also read that some TCH owners suggest that you get up to your cruising speed as quickly as possible to maximize your fuel economy. I have noticed that I have a bad habit of easing up my foot off the gas pedal before I hit my target speed. The car's automatic transmission shifts so seamlessly that you have no idea that the car has shifted nor which gear you are in. The transmission is smoother than my V-6 Lexus ES300!

I didn't mind going green as long as I had some luxury conveniences too. Having been spoiled by the luxury and the inexpensiveness of maintaining my Lexus - I was not willing to "downgrade". My Lexus ES300 was nothing to maintain. I just changed the oil and a few minor things like LED light bulbs being changed out. I never had any major repairs on the car even at the big scheduled maintenance at 60K. The belts and hoses were under $1K to replace.

The cabin is plenty big with ample space in the backseat for passengers. I have a friend who is 6’ 4” and he sat comfortably in the driver’s seat but the front passenger’s seat was a little high for him and his head was fairly close to the ceiling of the car.

Some gadgets that I love about the TCH:

Key less entry system: No more fumbling for your keys when your hands are full to press the key FOB to open the car door. Simply pull on the door handle with the FOB on your person and the driver's side door will unlock. You can also program that all the doors unlock too or just go to the passenger door and pull the door handle and all the doors will unlock too. The key less entry system also translates into starting the car with the press of the "Start" button - also way too cool! Don't forget to give the valet or get the FOB back from the valet!

Voice navigated GPS: You can use the touch screen to input your destination (however, the system locks you out if you are driving) or just follow the voice prompts. You will have to learn the commands. I just keep the summary book in the storage compartment of ease of access. You can request for the nearest (insert cuisine of choice) restaurant and magically the map will display your choices as icons. Tap on the icon and tap on info and you get the address and if a telephone number is listed, tap on the telephone number and dial the restaurant using your Bluetooth connected cell phone. How cool is that? I don't know if there is a way to insert an additional destination when you have already set a destination or not.

Bluetooth: Hands free dialing is the best. You can enter in telephone numbers from your cell phone but I have too many contacts in my Treo 700 for the system to handle. I just use the voice dialing feature on the cell phone. You can also have speed dial numbers too.

Heated seats and exterior side mirrors: The bun warmers have been great - but could we have settings? Even your buns are on fire or the heating controls are off. Can we also have bun coolers?

JBL Stereo: You can load up to 4 CD's into the car. Push a few buttons and the center screen opens and you can feed your CD's in. There is an auxiliary jack for your MP3 player too. I purchased the cable and just left it in the car since it is hidden way back in the cubby hole. Don't know the name of the new song that you just heard on the radio? No problem, the radio screen shows you the name of the song if the radio station has the capability.

Steering wheel controls: I know that all new cars come with controls on the steering wheel - but how great not to fumble for controls for your radio, temperature and navigation?

Dual climate controls: No more fighting over what temperature the front cabin has to be. Play with your own temperature setting on your side - leave mine alone!

Gas mileage and going green: I get over 500 miles per tank of fuel. Yes - over 500. I went to top off my tank the other day because there has been so much talk about the price of crude oil going up and up. I pumped 5 gallons of gas of regular (no it does not use premium gas - that would defeat the purpose of having a hybrid) and I reset the trip odometer. The trip odometer showed that I had traveled 200 miles. It took me a while to make the calculation in my head despite the trip computer already displaying the information. I was so used to getting only a little over 250 miles per tank on my Lexus that I could not fathom that I was getting 50% better gas mileage!

Safety: The Camry did not become a big seller for Toyota for nothing. There are side curtain air bags for all passengers along with front passenger air bags and a knee bag for the driver.

What was Toyota thinking? This is the section that I hope that someone from Toyota reads so they can improve the car even more:

The trunk is a little small. I would like some extra junk in the trunk for the TCH. I know that that the hybrid battery takes up room in the trunk.

No memory seat controls.

Settings for the bun warmers please. I don't need them fully toasted all the time.

My niece who has the Toyota Prius has two things on her car that I don't have on mine and mine is more expensive:

Folding side mirrors: Hello? My TCH is a 2008 and the mirrors don't fold in?

Back-up camera: My niece does not have the nav system and she has a back up camera.

Wood grain package: I love the wood grain that the XLE model has and I ordered it for the TCH too. I went back to the dealership to have it installed, received a crappy rental car that reeked of cigarette smoke and drove home and awaited for the phone call to pick up my car donned with the wood grain - NOT! The idiots at the dealership ordered the part, discovered it could not be installed on a TCH and now have only refunded me $400 of the $695 that I paid. Don't worry - I am getting a full refund. It's not like I didn't want what I ordered. The idiots from the dealership have not responded yet. I will give them the benefit of doubt since it is Thanksgiving week and maybe my contact person is out on vacation - but can someone pick up the fax or the request from Toyota USA?

In summary, I love the car. I can't believe that I waited or even hesitated in purchasing a TCH. The Federal Government has stopped the tax breaks on hybrids (idiots!) It was prorated and I wouldn't have receiving much anyway. The Feds would rather give tax breaks to the Big Three Automakers that fight them on new fuel economy ratings rather than give a tax break for US Citizens that are doing the right thing in terms of conserving fuel and releasing less green house emissions. Want to go green without missing your older luxury car? Get a Hybrid Camry with all the bells and whistles and you won't regret it.