The other day I had the opportunity to drive a Toyota Camry Hybrid. This wasn’t just a dealership test drive, but rather about 30 miles driving the car for someone. It involved a good mix of thruway plus city driving.
I thought Toyota, with its iconic “green” Prius, was the king of hybrid technology. But what a disappointment this car was. First, however, I’ll mention the good. Camry Hybrid has a very smooth, supple ride with well controlled body motions and good handling. It eats up corners nicely and soaks up Buffalo potholes without so much as a muted thud.
And now…the rest of the story…
I got in and sat down. The ergonomics of this car don’t accommodate my 6-foot-3 frame too well. The seat only goes down so far. The steering wheel doesn’t go up high enough. And my head was near the ceiling; add in a sunroof, and my head would probably be sticking out of it. The visibility was good overall, except for wide A-pillars that create large blind spots. Side-impact airbags are stuffed into these, which I assume contributes to their size to some extent.
Surrounding me were soft-grey dashboard accents, trimmed in light blue. It reminded me of a hospital for some reason. The climate control was so complicated I nearly froze to death before I figured out how to get some heat. What happened to the simplicity of knobs and buttons for A/C and heat? Digital is definitely not always better.
Starting the engine requires having the proximity key in range, squashing the brake pedal, and holding the “Start” button. It didn’t work the first time. Second try was a charm. A needle next to the speedometer revved up, and I assumed it was the tach. This car is not so equipped; that gauge turned out to be a miles-per-gallon indicator. It’s distracting as that swoopy needle bounces to-and-fro every time you hammer the throttle or let off to coast. My Subaru Legacy has something similar, but it’s digital and will give you other useful information such as average MPG. Knowing your real-time fuel economy is stupid, as it’ll read something like 80 MPG when you’re coasting down a hill. Too bad we can’t drive downhill all the time; CAFE standards probably wouldn’t prove such a challenge for automakers to meet.
The worst part about Camry Hybrid is what a dog it is. Step on the gas thinking you have just enough time to squirt through a break in traffic? Good luck. The split-second hesitation and subsequent lurch as the gasoline motor restarts cause just enough delay that you could get killed. I had a close call when I pulled out thinking there was enough time to get through a busy intersection. I would have timed it perfect if the engine didn’t lag on restarting, or if it just wouldn’t shut down for a brief intermission at a stop sign. Acceleration overall is awful in this car. It takes forever to get up to cruising speed.
They say hybrid technology is the stepping stone to an oil-free transportation infrastructure. I just hope American and/or Japanese ingenuity can make this technology better before it transitions from being a “green statement” to mainstream.
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