Kelly,

I responded to your thread about stop and go driving. Thought I'd add my 2 cents here.

People have been mentioning the HCH and Prius. I think that in many respects the TCH is most directly comparable with the HAH, at least in terms of size, both being mid-sized family sedans. The HCH is a bit smaller and the Prius is a hatchback.

Performance wise they're two different beasts with the HAH built for performance and the TCH built for efficiency. I love my TCH. I got a 'stripped down' one for MSRP, which was about $26,000. Still it has more creature comforts than any other car I've owned. And although FE is given priority over performance it is no slouch by any means.

Didn't consider the HAH because I couldn't see buying a hybrid for a mild increase in FE, but that's just me. If you can you should try to test drive one to see how you like it. You may find out that it's sufficient for you and most owners (myself included) have no trouble meeting the EPA estimates. Referring to your other thread, it sounds like the stop and go traffic you encounter will keep you from enjoying the performance of the HAH. Also, if you're worried, the TCH will allow you to drive with the ICE off in stop and go conditions

 

Thanks for the post Marc. My understanding is that the Prius will run on all electric until it reaches about 15 mph, then switch to the gasoline engine. Does your TCH do the same? If needed (say you run out of gas), can the TCH run entirely on electric power? Just curious.

Thanks,
Kelly

 

Although I've read that people have tried it and nothing bad happened Toyota very strongly advices against running the car without fuel. Not something I want to try.

I'm thinking that the Prius will go a lot faster on electric alone. My TCH can run on electric alone up to about 40 mph. At that speed the ICE wants to kick in, so you need a gentle foot to maintain your speed but not start up the ICE. However, below 35 it's easy to keep it in electric mode, assuming the engine is warm and your charge is sufficient.

I generally don't see stop and go traffic. Most of the time I'll accelerate to speed and then maintain it. If the speed is in the high 30s or below I'll ease off the gas after reaching speed, the ICE will shut off and then I'll give it gas and drive in stealth mode. The car will want to turn on the ICE on anything but a slow acceleration. Aside from which accelerating can really wear down your charge quickly. That's why I'll accelerate using the ICE and then go stealth.

I work on a navy base where the speed limit goes, 15, 25, 35, 25 15. In this case I'll just accelerate slowly and keep it in stealth mode.

 

Please excuse my ignorance. Stealth mode means all electric?

 

Yes. Called that because the car is so quiet people often don't hear it coming. In the owner's manual they caution you to look out extra carefully for pedestrians because they may not hear the car and step out in front of you.

 

Yes, I would by another HAH. I have a 2005 and am very happy. You are correct that a HCH or a Prius (gasp...) do get much better mileage, especially around town but the Accord is bigger and really goes on those occasions when you want step on it. Pity we don't have a switch on the dash to tune the system for power vs. fuel economy.

Lastly..it is an Accord with some luxury features thrown in.

 

I don't own a HAH so I won't comment on it either way, but it seems to me you should be able to answer this question for yourself. Would you under normal circumstances buy the 6 cylinder version of a car for better performance, or would you just get the standard 4 cylinder version? It's not exactly true that the HAH doesn't get better fuel economy-- it's just it's only slightly better or equal to a car with a 4 cylinder engine, but still noticably higher than one with a 6 cylinder.

If you can answer this question then you can easily decide whether a HAH is for you or not. If you normally would just go with the 4 cylinder version, then you probably should look elsewhere. If you normally would get the 6 cylinder, then there really is nowhere else to look but at the HAH.

 

A very good summary of the 4cyl vs 6cyl decision. One point is that HAH does get 38-41 on pure highway trips quite easily. If you do lots of highway miles, without traffic of course, a HAH will best a 4cyl.


I would not have complained if they had found a way, space under the hood is what has been mentioned here before, to deliver a 4cyl HAH.

 

If I was in the market for a mid sized car the TCH would win over the HAH by a large margin mostly due to MPG. My Vette gets nearly the same MPG as the HAH using only tall gearing and aerodynamics and it has 345 horsepower!

I'm sure the HAH is a fine car and 11% under sticker is an incentive, plus I'm not the one buying you are. How important is MPG to you? How important is that extra power? Would a 4cyl Accord have enough power? If so the 4 cyl Accord is nearly tied with the HAH for MPG and it costs quite a bit less....

All you are really getting with the HAH is more power not more mpg over the 4 cyl Accord. I'm sure the HAH is also fancier, is that important to you?

I love my HCH but it is not really in the same class as the HAH or TCH.

 

We're very happy with our '05 HAH. My wife wanted a Prius, and I wanted a BMW. We really got the best of both worlds, and even my wife agrees now that we made a great choice. (Compromise is good for your marriage ). At 6'3" I fit better in the HAH, and we love the amount of room for passengers in the back seat too. We both enjoy the power when passing on two lane highways, and I like the startled looks on other drivers faces when you blow them away at the stop light drag races (sorry, it's just the way that I am ).