Why I didn't get a 2007 HyCam

JackDodge · 11-24-2006, 03:31 PM

I've been interested in getting a Camry hybrid ever since it came out and the dealer finally got one in so I was able to test drive it. It's really nice and that it's a hybrid makes it a perfect choice for someone who wants to move up from a Prius. There are a great many little things that go in to buying a new car; some are good and some aren't. Things that you would miss about your old car might offset the pluses of the new one.

The negatives of moving from a Prius to a HyCam:
The iPod connection doesn't charge the iPod. Granted, that may seem trivial to some but not to me. A long trip would require my taking the charger along with me and having to plug it in to charge might mean a trade off between listening to music or charging. You might be able to plug the iPod charger in to the bottom of the iPod while it's plugged in the car's sound system on top but that seems rather awkward to me, not to mention less efficient.

Loss of the hatchback means that there would be certain things that I couldn't get in to the Camry that are a breeze with the Prius. And, the secret compartments that are part of the Prius experience are lacking in the HyCam.

The mileage is at least 10 mpg lower in the HyCam so my usually easy to attain 50 mpg would be gone and I'd have to get used to being content with 40 if I'm lucky.

The HyCam that I test drove didn't have stability control which was surprising.

The positives of moving from a Prius to a HyCam:
The HyCam has more airbags including, believe it or not, one for the driver's knees!

The big display screen on the center of the dashboard of a Prius is replaced by a much more discreet one in the instrument cluster of a HyCam. It also gives you more useful information.

The front seats are adjustable which I'm beginning to think aren't as much a luxury as I had previously thought.

Even though the hatchback means fitting much bigger things in to a Prius and loss of same limits what you can store in a Camry, the interior is bigger and can fit three average to tall adults in the back seat whereas they're rather cramped in a Prius.

The ride is quieter with less road noise.

*****

The personal issues were, of course, the kicker for me though. The dealership has a special on today only where they sell every car on the lot for a penny over invoice. Figuring the sticker price of almost $28,000 ends up being a little less than that after adding taxes and other fees on top of the invoice of just over $25,000 and the $1300 tax credit afterwards makes it pretty good but they were only willing to give me $18,000 for my Prius which was out of the question. A brand new Camry would have cost me a little more than $9,000 which is also out of the question. Even when you have that much money to write a check against, that's still a lot of money out of pocket and I didn't even call the insurance company to see if it would add to my insurance bill to move up to a Camry.

*****

Overall, I'd love to get this car if there wasn't such a discrepancy between trade-in and price of the new one.

kdailey356 · 11-24-2006, 09:19 PM

While the hybrid camry is a good, safe, economical yet practical car... Camry's are EVERYWHERE. I mean it is so generic to have a camry. They are like the kenmore washer and dryers of cars... Don't get me wrong, they are fabulous vehicles but i really do think that you would miss the quirkiness of the prius, and the sticking out factor and hybrid status is unacheived by any other car... besides the insight, but they cut the line on production.
Anyways, whatever decision you should make, good luck!

**Tideland Prius** · 11-25-2006, 01:54 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JackDodge @ Nov 24 2006, 12:31 PM) [snapback]353756[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

The HyCam that I test drove didn't have stability control which was surprising.

[/b]

Actually, the TCH has Toyota's most advanced stability control system. It's called VDIM or Vehicle Integrated Dynamics Management and it's the first Toyota to have it (the rest are Lexus vehicles). It combines ABS, TRAC, VSC and Brake Assist (and on some Lexus models, the steering wheel too) to bring the vehicle under control.

With VSC on the Prius, you can slide the car before the electronics take over. With VDIM, you can't let the tail of the car out no matter what.

ceric · 11-25-2006, 03:50 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Nov 25 2006, 01:54 AM) [snapback]353872[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Actually, the TCH has Toyota's most advanced stability control system. It's called VDIM or Vehicle Integrated Dynamics Management and it's the first Toyota to have it ...[/b]

Actually, TCH has the VSC with TRAC standard. There is no mentioning of VDIM on toyota's USA website. As far as I know, VDIM is exclusively for Lexus (at least in USA). It is basically more "proactive" than the passive VSC. Over time, it surely would propagate to Toyota vehicles.

JackDodge · 11-25-2006, 07:32 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Tideland Prius @ Nov 25 2006, 01:54 AM) [snapback]353872[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Actually, the TCH has Toyota's most advanced stability control system. It's called VDIM or Vehicle Integrated Dynamics Management and it's the first Toyota to have it (the rest are Lexus vehicles). It combines ABS, TRAC, VSC and Brake Assist (and on some Lexus models, the steering wheel too) to bring the vehicle under control.

With VSC on the Prius, you can slide the car before the electronics take over. With VDIM, you can't let the tail of the car out no matter what.
[/b]

That means that the dealership doesn't know squat about the 2007 Camry. When I asked him what that vehicle integrated dynamics management item meant the salesman had some bullh*it answer but said that the car didn't have stability control

As an afterthought, I checked with my insurance company and it would have added hundreds of dollars to my premium. That was a real eye opener. There just wasn't a good reason to buy that thing. Oh well.

TJandGENESIS · 11-25-2006, 10:26 AM

All I know, is that money aside, the HyCam is a far better car for me. It rides better, is quieter, and frankly, the leather interior is more comfortable.

The sound system is far better in the HyCam. You can ride further on a full tank then the Prius. Of course, that is due to the larger gas tank.

You can turn on and off the DRL's. And, if you like sunroofs, you can get one with the HyCam.

To each his/her own. I know I am glad I have both.

Scott_R · 11-25-2006, 11:25 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JackDodge @ Nov 24 2006, 03:31 PM) [snapback]353756[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

The positives of moving from a Prius to a HyCam:
The big display screen on the center of the dashboard of a Prius is replaced by a much more discreet one in the instrument cluster of a HyCam. It also gives you more useful information.
[/b]

I have a Prius, but have driven the HyCam a lot. I don't like the latter's display; I find the instrument panel much too crowded, distracting, and inconvenient. Everyone I've taken for a drive in the Prius remarks on how clean the instrument panel is, and how they like how it's set back.

Quote:

The front seats are adjustable which I'm beginning to think aren't as much a luxury as I had previously thought.
[/b]

Absolutely. If I could pull the Camry seats and put them into my Prius, I'd be much happier.

Quote:

Even though the hatchback means fitting much bigger things in to a Prius and loss of same limits what you can store in a Camry, the interior is bigger and can fit three average to tall adults in the back seat whereas they're rather cramped in a Prius.
[/b]

Eh. Not so much.

Quote:

The ride is quieter with less road noise.
[/b]

Agreed.

JackDodge · 11-25-2006, 11:46 AM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TJandGENESIS @ Nov 25 2006, 10:26 AM) [snapback]353914[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

All I know, is that money aside, the HyCam is a far better car for me. It rides better, is quieter, and frankly, the leather interior is more comfortable.

The sound system is far better in the HyCam. You can ride further on a full tank then the Prius. Of course, that is due to the larger gas tank.

You can turn on and off the DRL's. And, if you like sunroofs, you can get one with the HyCam.

To each his/her own. I know I am glad I have both.
[/b]

I'm sure you are happy with it, it's a great car. I'm happy too because I still have my $9,000, I still have my Prius and I don't have any car loans. I'm planning on getting the kitchen remodeled so I'm also happy that I have the money for it.

**Tideland Prius** · 11-25-2006, 09:06 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ceric @ Nov 25 2006, 12:50 AM) [snapback]353884[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

Actually, TCH has the VSC with TRAC standard. There is no mentioning of VDIM on toyota's USA website. As far as I know, VDIM is exclusively for Lexus (at least in USA). It is basically more "proactive" than the passive VSC. Over time, it surely would propagate to Toyota vehicles.
[/b]

Check the Canadian website. It's listed there

www.toyota.ca

cwerdna · 12-02-2006, 09:26 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(JackDodge @ Nov 24 2006, 12:31 PM) [snapback]353756[/snapback]</div>

Quote:

The negatives of moving from a Prius to a HyCam:
The iPod connection doesn't charge the iPod. Granted, that may seem trivial to some but not to me. A long trip would require my taking the charger along with me and having to plug it in to charge might mean a trade off between listening to music or charging. You might be able to plug the iPod charger in to the bottom of the iPod while it's plugged in the car's sound system on top but that seems rather awkward to me, not to mention less efficient.
[/b]

Seems like a silly negative to me, the 06+ Prius' audio in jack doesn't charge the iPod or any MP3 player either. In fact, I can't think of a single car that has factory installed iPod or MP3 player support that without anything extra WILL charge an iPod or other MP3 player. I know of 0 cars that out of the factory ship w/an iPod dock connector.

Why the tradeoff? I have a Monster iCarPlay FM transmitter and charger (won in a drawing way before I had an iPod) that I use to keep my iPod charged. I use the headphone out into the aux in to listen to my music.

I'm not sure what you mean by "less efficient".

11-24-2006, 03:31 PM	#1
JackDodge Independent voter Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Bloomfield Hills, MI Posts: 2,285 My Car: Other Hybrid Package: N/A Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	I've been interested in getting a Camry hybrid ever since it came out and the dealer finally got one in so I was able to test drive it. It's really nice and that it's a hybrid makes it a perfect choice for someone who wants to move up from a Prius. There are a great many little things that go in to buying a new car; some are good and some aren't. Things that you would miss about your old car might offset the pluses of the new one. The negatives of moving from a Prius to a HyCam: The iPod connection doesn't charge the iPod. Granted, that may seem trivial to some but not to me. A long trip would require my taking the charger along with me and having to plug it in to charge might mean a trade off between listening to music or charging. You might be able to plug the iPod charger in to the bottom of the iPod while it's plugged in the car's sound system on top but that seems rather awkward to me, not to mention less efficient. Loss of the hatchback means that there would be certain things that I couldn't get in to the Camry that are a breeze with the Prius. And, the secret compartments that are part of the Prius experience are lacking in the HyCam. The mileage is at least 10 mpg lower in the HyCam so my usually easy to attain 50 mpg would be gone and I'd have to get used to being content with 40 if I'm lucky. The HyCam that I test drove didn't have stability control which was surprising. The positives of moving from a Prius to a HyCam: The HyCam has more airbags including, believe it or not, one for the driver's knees! The big display screen on the center of the dashboard of a Prius is replaced by a much more discreet one in the instrument cluster of a HyCam. It also gives you more useful information. The front seats are adjustable which I'm beginning to think aren't as much a luxury as I had previously thought. Even though the hatchback means fitting much bigger things in to a Prius and loss of same limits what you can store in a Camry, the interior is bigger and can fit three average to tall adults in the back seat whereas they're rather cramped in a Prius. The ride is quieter with less road noise. *** The personal issues were, of course, the kicker for me though. The dealership has a special on today only where they sell every car on the lot for a penny over invoice. Figuring the sticker price of almost $28,000 ends up being a little less than that after adding taxes and other fees on top of the invoice of just over $25,000 and the $1300 tax credit afterwards makes it pretty good but they were only willing to give me $18,000 for my Prius which was out of the question. A brand new Camry would have cost me a little more than $9,000 which is also out of the question. Even when you have that much money to write a check against, that's still a lot of money out of pocket and I didn't even call the insurance company to see if it would add to my insurance bill to move up to a Camry. * Overall, I'd love to get this car if there wasn't such a discrepancy between trade-in and price of the new one. __________________ Susan: "A real woman could stop you from drinking." Arthur**: "It'd have to be a real BIG woman."

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11-24-2006, 09:19 PM	#2
kdailey356 Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 111 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	While the hybrid camry is a good, safe, economical yet practical car... Camry's are EVERYWHERE. I mean it is so generic to have a camry. They are like the kenmore washer and dryers of cars... Don't get me wrong, they are fabulous vehicles but i really do think that you would miss the quirkiness of the prius, and the sticking out factor and hybrid status is unacheived by any other car... besides the insight, but they cut the line on production. Anyways, whatever decision you should make, good luck!

11-25-2006, 10:26 AM	#6
TJandGENESIS Are We Having Fun Yet? Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: ★Lewisville, part of the Metroplex, Dallas, in the Republic of Texas★ Posts: 4,495 My Car: 2005 Prius Package: #6 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 15	All I know, is that money aside, the HyCam is a far better car for me. It rides better, is quieter, and frankly, the leather interior is more comfortable. The sound system is far better in the HyCam. You can ride further on a full tank then the Prius. Of course, that is due to the larger gas tank. You can turn on and off the DRL's. And, if you like sunroofs, you can get one with the HyCam. To each his/her own. I know I am glad I have both.