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Camry Hybrid

Discussion in 'Toyota Hybrids and EVs' started by kgall, Aug 8, 2019.

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  1. kgall

    kgall Active Member

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    Well, you can say I'm an interloper now, since my Prius Gen 3 is gone, but at least I have a Toyota Hybrid. Just got a Camry Hybrid with all the safety bells and whistles us old guys want (which means that I also had to get a lot of stuff I didn't necessarily want).
    Wind Chill Pearl, which now that I think of it, is not a really attractive name for either an automobile color or an exotic dancer.

    It was a question of one of us crossing off a whole bunch of cars because they had one or two features that were really a problem for one of us, even though there was stuff one or both of us liked a lot about them:
    1. Tesla Model 3--The touch screen forcing you to look away from natural places to look for things (especially things in the blind spots) and the company's financial troubles, especially given its proprietary plug. (me)
    2. Kona EV--No functioning rear seat space when I sit in the driver's seat.
    3. Chevy Bolt--Ugly and cheap looking inside (spouse)
    4. Honda Insight, Accord, Clarity hybrids and plug ins--No blind spot detection on left side (me)
    5. Prius Plug-in--The completely and irremediably distracting line across the back window, plus lack of pick up. (spouse--and yes, I do get how badly someone can be thrown off by the rear window).
    6. Hyundai Ioniq Hybrid and Plug in--They actually copied the Prius rear window split (spouse)
    7. Nissan Leaf with new larger battery--Just a bit too small for me driving, plus the issue of losing power because it doesn't really have a cooling system (me)
     
  2. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Price?

    Keep us posted on the real-world efficiency and other thoughts, plz....
     
  3. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Congrats! It’s a good balance of power, features and mpg imo.
     
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  4. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

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    Why put this here ?
    There are sub-forums for other hybrids.
     
  5. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    just to make you crazy :ROFLMAO:
     
  6. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    congratulations. i'm sure you'll love it. we are on our second hycam, and beginning to shop for our third.

    very smooth, quiet and comfortable, with great mpg's. did you get the xle? i'm torn between that and the 50mpg le.
     
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  7. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    I'd like a Hybrid Camry - but it's too large for my cramped garage. It'll fit - but I can't get out easily. Maybe after the house changes - might be able to widen it?? Here, a downside of the Camry Hybrid is that it demands 95RON Fuel - which is 13% dearer than Unleaded.

    Your comment - "5" - The split back window, I noticed it when test-driving, and driving it home, but haven't noticed it since. At night, it's wonderful, as it's at the same height as the headlights of SUVs and Twin-Cab Trucks sitting hard on my tail - meaning they're not dazzling me. I notice when I drive other cars at night that it's actually a great feature.
     
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  8. CamryDriver

    CamryDriver Active Member

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    Are you sure about that? In the states the Camry Hybrid only needs 91 RON or 87 (R+M)/2 Octane as show in the picture. Not sure how to research down under... If you are correct, I wonder why the difference?


    Screenshot_20190809-004835_Hancom Office Editor.jpg
     
  9. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    I told TOYOTA Australia that - asking why the RAV4 and Camry which supposedly have the same engines use RAV4 - 91RON or E10 but CAMRY 95RON. Which made it cheaper to run a RAV4. Though - I felt the Camry was the better car to drive - though I needed to adjust my Garaging situation first. I'm not changing cars till early next year.

    They actually replied with something which didn't make sense:
    " upload_2019-8-9_16-57-22.png "

    I'd have thought that it would be the more recent EURO 6 standard which required 95, not the older EURO 5.

    The possibility is - USA cars comply to a USA standard, not EURO 6.
     
  10. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    Had the same experience with the gen2 rear window.

    The octane rating issue is odd. Any idea what the test fuel for emission and economy testing is? For the EPA, they use 93AKI no matter what the car calls for. If Australia uses different octanes depending on the tested car, Toyota might use the higher octane for a better result. Or it could just be an error no one wants to cop too. I remember seeing the first Tundras with 91 listed as the octane on the window sticker higher. It was probably someone entering the RON value instead of the AKI one.
     
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  11. kgall

    kgall Active Member

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    I don't really like the split back window, but it doesn't drive me crazy like it does my wife. Certain "visual noise" just sets her perceptions off. We had our 2010 Prius until 2018, over 100K miles, and I doubt she drove it more than a dozen times. What bothered me more about the Prius was the huge blind spots (even with mirrors adjusted)--but that's cured by the blind spot detectors.
     
  12. kgall

    kgall Active Member

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    Got the XLE, because of the bonus safety features available in the Driver's Assistance Package (I think that's the name they use) that is not available on the LE. Otherwise I would have gone for the LE for the additional MPG. The way manufacturers do this is very peculiar. After all, anyone who buys a hybrid/plugin/electric is willing to pay more for greater efficiency, so you think they could make even more money by packaging the best efficiency with the bells and whistles, which I don't think add that much weight.
     
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  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    someone here thinks all the mpg's are in the wheels
     
  14. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    The hybrid LE was an exercise in weight cutting not just for the efficiency benefit, but also to get the best conditions for the testing. A little bit of weight may not make much difference, but it could put the car into the next higher weight bin, which would mean a higher resistance on the test equipment.

    The US version goes as far as putting on smaller steel wheels than the ICE LE's alloys.
    :whistle:
    @Tideland Prius posted the Canadian figures, which is now the same test as the US. Their LE hybrid, with the same wheels as the ICE model, doesn't break 50mpg.
     
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  15. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    Sorry - that's all the information they gave me. None of our Camrys are LE - 3 grades of Hybrid with varying degrees of equipment.
     
  16. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    I'm calling their explanation false. Euro 6 was in effect for 2015. Australia adopted it on 1 July 2017. The current Camry was released there in November 2017, according to Wikipedia. If the new generation somehow is defined as an existing model, it would have to meet Euro 6 in 2018. The Camry just returned to Europe, and it requires 91 RON there.
    Australian Design Rules - DPTI - Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure South Australia
    Toyota Camry Hybrid. Luxury sedan.
     
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  17. kgall

    kgall Active Member

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    Still haven't gone far enough to go through the first tank of gas.
    Price, according to my calculation: about (34,900 on a car with an MSRP of about $38,600). That includes the $1,500 rebate offered in my area in July. It was purchased just before the beginning of the year end sales. This is with destination charges but without tax, title, etc. I could have gotten a lower nominal price at a place about 3 hours away, (about $34,200) but that would have been eaten up by sales taxes (yes, in WA they vary by county and city) and other inconveniences.
     
  18. alanclarkeau

    alanclarkeau Senior Member

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    TOYOTA Australia are a bit odd. They gave us a radio without knobs or buttons - but in USA there was a proper one with knobs (no buttons I think). Before I bought mine, I emailed them (twice) to ask if it was available with AUTO PARK. They responded both times with "It's got a Reversing Camera". Duh - almost everything had a reversing camera by then.

    To me - I could have understood if the later Euro6 RAV4 demanded 95RON, as more and more Euro cars are. I suspect someone made an error in reading some specification. But I'm not buying a 95RON vehicle at the price premium for 95.
     
  19. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    I'd take a look at the owner's manual, or under the gas flap, for what it says. Very few cars now available are premium required. Those are mostly supercars in which available premium is the lowest octane they can handle.

    The majority of cars with premium on the window sticker are premium recommended, which means they can use lower octane. The smart fortwo here was a premium fueled car, and one of the executives stated it can take regular on its release. My parents have only put regular into their premium recommended Acuras without issue. One went over 120k miles before they got rid of it.

    For getting the best performance, efficiency, and emissions, every car is equipped with knock sensors to let the ECU know how much they can push the gas. So premium required is going to be rare these days as engines are shared between different brands and models.
     
  20. farmecologist

    farmecologist Senior Member

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    Darn..you didn't look at the hybrid Corolla ( no split window issues there ). (y)