I happened a cross this board a few days ago while looking for info on the HAH. I have a few questions for owners of the HAH. Currently, my wife has a 05 Nissan Pathfinder and we get about 17-18 mpg. But with the cost of gas on the rise, @ 3.15 here in South Dakota, I've begun to look at other cars. I have test drove a '06 HAH and it is a very nice car.
The only complaint I would have so far is the weak sounding stereo...usually I don't mess with the stereo during test drives, but someone here mentioned its shortcomings.
The dealer has quoted me a price of 27,500 before tax, tittle, and tags for a HAH w/out navi. My wife commute to work is about 10 miles with 3 lights, and speed limit ranging from 55-65. So, would we truly benifit with the HAH or would the 6cyl be just as effective. If not mistaken the difference is about 5 mpg. But, I calculate a savings of about 75-$100 per month. Also, has anyone moved from a SUV to the HAH and have you had any regrets? Do you think 27,500 is a good price, or should there be more room being that it is the end of the year. I'm sorry to bomb you guys with so many questions, but with gas prices on the rise I think it's time for change. Thanks

 

Did the dealer give you a quote for a V-6? Don't forget to factor the Federal Tax Credit of $1300 on the hybrid into your cost-benefit calculations.

I got my '06 HAH in April for $27,733 + tax, title and tags and I haven't regretted it for a minute.

 

No, I only test drive and got a quote on the HAH.

 

One thought your situation brings to me: The FE (fuel economy) your wife will get on her 10 mile, 3 light commute will depend a LOT on how willing she is to nurse the best mileage from the HAH. She won't get much benefit for the first few miles as the car warms up. The 3 decel/accel experiences will occur without much help from the battery (the HAH does not rely on the battery as much as it might oughta) and will be opportunities to kill the FE. In the miles inbetween she can benefit from running in 3-cyl mode, which is great (I can get 44 mpg on a flat straightaway). If she keeps the tach under 2000 on the accel, she will benefit. But if she hurries from the stops, I predict her FE won't be much better than a non-hybrid. Still, it probably will be somewhat better, and it's an awful nice car. I love mine.

 

The stereo does just fine. I don't have any issues with it whatsoever. I feel it sounds pretty good for a 120W system.

$27K sounds good for this car. But, see if you can get a deal on one with Navi. Although not a necessity, the Navi is quite a nicety. I love it and if I had to do it all again, I would opt for the Navi again.

I can't remember my commute. Something like 10 stop signs and stoplights over a 7 mile commute with speed limits around 45-55 mph. I usually get about 27-29 mpg just by smoothly accelerating and going light on the brakes. I definitely don't take forever to get up to speed and I don't coast to a stop. If I'm driving it like a regular car, I get about 23-25 mpg during the same commute. But that's will quick acceleration and flooring it to pass slower moving cars on the dotted yellows. I can imagine your wife's commute will be less burdensom and should receive better FE than I get.

The true FE savings will be realized when you take a road trip in the car. Not long ago, I did 4K miles in something like 5 days and used less than 100 gallons. And this was with an average speed around 70 mph.

And as far as the SUV question goes, we have a small SUV. But, we never miss it. We always take the HAH on errands and road trips. Very rarely do we ever find that we need to take the SUV. I think the last time was when we had to bring home some rather large piece of baby equipment. I don't believe the box would have fit into the doorway of the HAH, nor fit into the trunk and close the lid. But then again, I didn't try, so maybe it would have.

 

I owned a HAH. I switched from an Nissan Armada (10 MPG) to the HAH. I had no regrets all the way to the bank.

Now there are a few things that you should know about the car you are looking at.

1. The HAH is a great car. The car rides and handles well. The seats are a little hard, so remember that if you are going on a long trip.

2. While the HAH is a hybrid because of the ICE and battery, don't let the word hybrid equal good gas milage. Most of the fuel savings come from the Variable Cylinder Management (VCM) enginewhen driving on the highway or high speeds, as it appreas you do.

The Accord's Integrated Motor Assist System (IMA)(60%) accounts for over half the gains in city fuel efficiency, while Variable Cylinder Management (15%) and idle stop (25%) is responsible for the rest.

During highway cruising, the VCM system (57%) provides the majority of the increase, while IMA (38%) and a lower drag coefficient and greater aerodynamics (5%) also contribute.

3. The HAH in my opinion in faster than the Mustang GT in 0 to 60 performance. So, the focus of the HAH was not just using less fuel but performance.

And the driving range on one tank of fuel is over 600 miles. But due to hard seats, your butt will give out first.

4. The radio system leaves alot to be desired.

I had a 2005 HAH with Navi. The navi is really fun amd cool and worth the extra price.

Some things I wished the HAH had was a blue tooth for the telephone, and the ability to play MP3 and WMA CDs like my Prius, and some sort of subwoofer.

Oh, if I was that impressed with he HAH, I would not of purchased the Prius.

I paid 32,000 for my HAH, kept it for 9 months and traded it in and got $30,000 for it. Not to bad for trade in value.

I hope this gives you some food for thought.

As far as price:

The 2006 HAH w/o navi here in phoenix is $30,990.

I find that if I walk out of the dealership after serious discussion about the price of a vechicle, the price will go down when they chase you to you car. Heck I even walk out of financing to save an extra few hundred dollars. The Supply and demand for the HAH is in the buyers favor here in phoenix Arizona so, a good price would be required in order for me to purchase the car.

It is hot here in Phoenix Arizona and during the work week in the middle of the day is the best time for the best price. Why??? because I am the only person on the lot purchasing a car. Supply and demand clearly states that the supply is higher than demand so the princes must go down.

 

If it's just gas mileage that you are looking for on a 10 mile commute, the Prius is the obvious winner. But if you want a performance car that is environmentally friendly at a higher level of comfort the HAH is great. We've gotten as little as 24 mpg in the winter when my wife was commuting ~3 miles in cold weather (the car didn't get warm enough for autostop to work), and as high as 40 mpg on the highway. Our composite average including some road trips to Santa Fe and Phoenix is ~33.5 mpg.

I like the seats and do not find them too hard. And even in spirited driving and heavy footed passing you can get at least 500 miles out of a tank of gas. And the stereo, while not as good as the Infinity system in our now gone Chrysler Town and Country minivan (best stereo I've ever had in a vehicle), is almost as good as the Bose system in our QX4 Infiniti IMHO. I love the XM satellite radio, and my wife really likes the heated leather seats. We paid almost 29K for our HAH w/o navigation, which is something that I didn't really want, so I think that you're getting a really good price considering the trim level of these cars.

And it's nice to know that when you are stopped at the traffic lights you are not contributing to pollution, although in Phoenix we found that when the temperature was >107 F the autostop stopped working (engine kept idling at traffic lights). I suspect that this is because the AC would not be able to keep up if the engine stopped when it's that hot out.

 

The Prius is too slow for my tastes and the driver's seat and steering wheel make it ultra uncomfortable to drive. The inside of the HAH is pretty plush. Not top of the line, but enough that everyone that's stepped inside mine has commented on how nice it is.

I have a 25 mile commute with 8 or 9 miles of city/slow highway (10-30mph) driving and 16 miles of steady highway (55-70mph) over a big hill.

I can get 30mpg, if I drive like an old lady and don't make any short trips (work to home only). But my average is around 27 or 28. That is without stomping on the gas pedal and it's extremely easy to get less than 500 miles to a tank.

 

This is certainly true driving around town. I should clarify that our 500 mile tanks of gas are out on the open highway driving somewhat over the speed limit when it's safely possible to do so.

 

I like the seats as well. They're not too hard. They're firm enough so that you're not sloshing around in your seat when making directional changes. Although, I wish it had more lumbar support for when pulling G's through twisty roads.

With city driving, I usually see about 400 miles to the tank. With city/highway, I can get 500. And with smooth steady highway speeds, I've gotten over 600.

The autostop still works at up to (and possibly higher) 117 degrees. I've been there on numerous occasions this past summer! But you're kinda right about the A/C. When the car is first started, it takes the A/C a while to cool off the interior. So, the A/C runs at high fan speed. After the interior cools down, and the fan speed slows, autostop works just like any other time. Even when it's 100+ outside. Something else I found interesting is some people say their autostop doesn't engage when until the car is fully warmed up (in the winter). By the time I've gone about 100 yards, and hit two stop signs, my autostop engages at the third stopsign. But then again, the winter temps around here hardly get below 50 degrees!