my random impressions after driving a HyCam for ~62 miles

[cwerdna]

For those who care, I got a HyCam as a loaner for a day while my Prius was in for an oil change, TSB and some warranty work. The dealer couldn't get the work done by the end of the day, hence the loaner.

Here are some random impressions vs. my Prius and a bit vs. the 07 NAH (which my mom has).

- Much smoother ride and quieter than the Prius.
- Definitely feels more powerful than the Prius, but to me the NAH feels more powerful (not surprising, it has a bit more power).
- I liked leather interior vs. my cloth Prius.
- Liked the power seat, heated seats and compass.
- I didn't get quite used to the differences in button and control placement along w/the left and right halves of buttons having different functions around the MFD.
- I was surprised to see that the quality of the MFD LCD was MUCH worse than that of my 06 Prius. It's as if they used the high res graphics on a much lower res LCD.
- The car felt a lot bigger than my Prius (not used to driving larger cars anymore).
- Turning circle of the HyCam is clearly a lot worse than the Prius.
- Handling didn't feel as nimble as the PRius.
- The power transitions between electric and ICE are a LOT smoother than the NAH. The NAH is pretty abrupt and also jerks a bit when you reach ~40 mph.
- I like the little trip computer in the speedo area esp. cruising range (distance to empty). I never did understand the Eco Drive screen. I also noticed a few times, after power down, it would say "Excellent!"
- I like the fact that the MFD's gas mileage history is in 1 minute increments and doesn't get cleared on power down.
- It was interesting to see that the emergency key has its pattern on the inside. Presumably, the type of lock they used is harder to pick or force open w/a screwdriver.
- It's a shame that the MPG gauge drops straight into the E mode band but doesn't give you any sense of how much regen you're getting. The NAH's killowatt gauge is neat because you can see the amount of regen and how close you are to max regen.
- The JBL stereo in the HyCam BLOWS away the JBL "premium" stereo in the Prius. Wow. If I only could swap it.
- I was wondering where the CD player load slot was and thought my car had no CD player at all until I realized the screen flips down to reveal the load slots.
- Consumer Reports is right about the lighting around the HVAC area being too bright. It is too bright along w/the lights surrounding the MFD.

Overall, I liked the HyCam a lot. If my Prius got totaled in an accident and I didn't want to buy a used one w/carpool lane stickers, I'd probably consider the HyCam or NAH. However, I'd probably buy the NAH due to the tax credit and power.

[patsparks]

NAH is a Nissan is it? Oh I don't think I would do that.

[cwerdna]

Originally Posted by patsparks

NAH is a Nissan is it? Oh I don't think I would do that.

NAH is the Nissan Altima Hybrid. My mom's had one since Feb 08.

So far, it's been trouble free except for intermittent audio input jack problem. It also happened to recently make it in Consumer Reports' most reliable list.

Part of the the reason why I'd pick up the NAH over the HyCam is because of the $2350 tax credit (New Energy Tax Credit for Hybrids) making it cheaper since Toyota/Lexus hybrids are down to $0 tax credit.

I'm under no illusions that Nissan reliablity is up to Toyota levels. It's not, speaking from owning my Z and former 02 Maxima along w/seeing Consumer Reports reliability ratings.

[Tideland Prius]

Originally Posted by cwerdna

- I like the little trip computer in the speedo area esp. cruising range (distance to empty). I never did understand the Eco Drive screen. I also noticed a few times, after power down, it would say "Excellent!"
- I like the fact that the MFD's gas mileage history is in 1 minute increments and doesn't get cleared on power down.
- It was interesting to see that the emergency key has its pattern on the inside. Presumably, the type of lock they used is harder to pick or force open w/a screwdriver.
- It's a shame that the MPG gauge drops straight into the E mode band but doesn't give you any sense of how much regen you're getting. The NAH's killowatt gauge is neat because you can see the amount of regen and how close you are to max regen.
- The JBL stereo in the HyCam BLOWS away the JBL "premium" stereo in the Prius. Wow. If I only could swap it.
- I was wondering where the CD player load slot was and thought my car had no CD player at all until I realized the screen flips down to reveal the load slots.
- Consumer Reports is right about the lighting around the HVAC area being too bright. It is too bright along w/the lights surrounding the MFD.

Overall, I liked the HyCam a lot. If my Prius got totaled in an accident and I didn't want to buy a used one w/carpool lane stickers, I'd probably consider the HyCam or NAH. However, I'd probably buy the NAH due to the tax credit and power.

The 1 min increment is on all other HSD vehicles except the 1G HiHy, 1G RX400h and the Prius.

The Eco Drive Mode is like a poor man's simplified Consumption Screen. It's an average mpg meter. It took me a while to figure that out. It says Excellent as long as your average was below 6.5L/100km (above 36mpg) so it's pretty easy to get

Yes the JBL Audio is awesome

The light can be dimmed.... that was the first thing I tried on my rental TCH after hearing many complaints about it and how it's not dimmable. It's tied to the instrument panel dimmer.

[justlurkin]

Originally Posted by cwerdna

I'm under no illusions that Nissan reliablity is up to Toyota levels. It's not (speaking from owning my Z and former 02 Maxima).

Wasn't the Altima Hybrid using the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive under license? If that's the case I think you can take some comfort in reliability.

[cwerdna]

Originally Posted by Tideland Prius

The light can be dimmed.... that was the first thing I tried on my rental TCH after hearing many complaints about it and how it's not dimmable. It's tied to the instrument panel dimmer.

Yeah, I did adjust the instrument panel dimmer. The problem was that it's just too bright compared to the gauges. Even with the gauges dimmer than I'd like, the HVAC area lighting was too bright.

[Tideland Prius]

Originally Posted by cwerdna

Yeah, I did adjust the instrument panel dimmer. The problem was that it's just too bright compared to the gauges. Even with the gauges dimmer than I'd like, the HVAC area lighting was too bright.

ahh ok. I guess I'm the oddball lol. I had the non-nav version (cause it was an 08 and we didn't get factory nav until 09).

[patsparks]

Originally Posted by justlurkin

Wasn't the Altima Hybrid using the Toyota Hybrid Synergy Drive under license? If that's the case I think you can take some comfort in reliability.

Well that might be the transmission covered provided Toyota are supplying the HSD and not just licencing. There is a whole car around that HSD that can let you down. It's just a Datsun.

I'm a mechanic so I wont let someone else fix my car, but I got out of the trade because I hate working on cars.
That's why I only own Toyota.

[DaveinOlyWA]

thanks for the review... although tempting, i doubt that the TCH would be an option for us. in fact if not electric, i would probably go for maybe a crossover hybrid or an FEH because we have had some issues with the Pri being crowded on longer car trips.

if staying in hotels, we are ok, but on camping trips we had to rely on people we were going with to haul some of our stuff. its not a major issue since we dont really camp alone. its always a group thing, but as always, that can change.

but then again, we get into the discussion of what would i spend for a larger vehicle that really only benefit me a dozen times a year?

[Tideland Prius]

Originally Posted by patsparks

Well that might be the transmission covered provided Toyota are supplying the HSD and not just licencing. There is a whole car around that HSD that can let you down. It's just a Datsun.

I'm a mechanic so I wont let someone else fix my car, but I got out of the trade because I hate working on cars.
That's why I only own Toyota.

ouch! . Although the modern day version is... it's just a Renault.