6 Weeks and Roughly 1400 Miles In
A Subjective Analysis by One TCH Owner

I like:

1. The small coin/item drawer to the left of the steering wheel.
2. The ability to turn the DRLs off if needed (my Passat couldn't...)
3. The absence of space dedicated to an ashtray (my Passat's held quarters...)
4. The spacious center console storage under the armrest. Two tiers! Excellent access to the things within.
5. The fuel-efficiency feedback mechanisms (graphs, dash lights, etc...). These cues are doing a lot to teach me to drive efficiently, and I think that's contributing significantly to the FE I'm experiencing.
6. The plastic seatbacks (strangely enough). The color matches the leather perfectly, and my six year-old is (to date) finding it quite difficult to render the plastic uglified (unlike the seatbacks in my Passat)
7. The interior design as a whole. Its quite plasticky, and I don't particularly prefer that, but I like the futurismo aesthetic. I like the curving molding that descends to the center console. While the seams aren't as perfectly fitted as I might hope, its appealing overall.
8. The small storage pocket to the right of the driver's right knee (and left of the passenger's left knee). I have nothing to store there, but I like the sentiment.
9. The car when viewed from the front. Nice curves. Nice headlights.
10. The car when viewed from the rear, though not so much as from the front. The spoiler doesn't do too much for me, but the taillights are cool.
11. Going 500-600 miles between refuelings.
12. Using regular-grade gasoline.
13. Cold A/C while not burning gas (esp. in drive-thru lines & traffic).
14. Thick, plush floor mats with the camry embroidery.
15. The pattern created by the various swaths of leather used to upholster the seats. It pleases my eyes.
16. The trunk. Its turning out to be plenty big for my typical suburban needs, and I'd been quite concerned pre-purchase. Yesterday I hauled 17 gallons of paint (including 3 of the large 5-gallon buckets) with no problem. While I could cram 26" mountain bikes in my Passat (with one side of the backseat folder down), I'm happy enough. And mine came with the trunk cargo net. I like that. I don't use it, but I keep it strung up there simply for the way it looks.
17. Scrolling maps. While I haven't used the nav much, I love a map staring me in the face. I'm gizmo-oriented, and that one I like.
18. Never ever removing the key from my pocket, including when accessing the trunk.

I don't so much like:

1. The car as viewed from the side. Normally I like high waistlines, but this car doesn't seem to be long enough to support it. Some of the creases(?) look a bit awkward, and when approaching from the rear I often wonder if my car's been dented (particularly above and to the rear of the front wheel). The front end tapers down to vertical and looks rather avian.
2. The wheels seem small, and while I could go aftermarket, I'd prefer not to sacrifice the fuel economy with heavier wheels or the ride with lower-profile tires.
3. The furious seatbelt alarm. Listen - I'm working on it - a beep every couple seconds will suffice.
4. The inexplicable 0mpg, 0mph pegging of the ICE that occasionally occurs. Rarely, but occasionally.
5. The display information for an MP3 CD shows the folder and filename. I'd prefer it show the information from the IDv3 tags in the MP3 file (like other players do). Title, Artist, etc...
6. When using the split screen nav, I'd like to be able to adjust the resolution as I can in the left window.
7. I think I'd prefer the car autolock when the smartkey leaves the vicinity. I don't prefer to have to his the handle button (and I'm certainly not going to actually reach into my pocket to hit the button!)
8. Flat sideview mirrors. My Passat has aspherical sideview mirrors and I'd grown accustomed to the wider viewing angle.
9. The in-song track scan only moves in 10 second increments. For longer audiobook tracks I need to move 10-15 minutes into it, and that takes some time and distraction. I'd like it to incrementally accelerate.
10. The dome light setting. DOOR should be the middle option to maintain proper symmetry for the most-used scernario

 

5) I think it might be able to do that. I haven't played with the CD player that much but there's a button that toggles between what file info is displayed and it might display IDv3. I'm not sure though since I don't even know if my all MP3 files have IDv3 data.

10) I think the most popular options (door and on) should be on the outside positions so you can just slide it all the way to one side or the other w/o having to use slightly more finesses to find the middle position.

 

<8. Flat sideview mirrors. My Passat has aspherical sideview mirrors and I'd grown accustomed to the wider viewing angle.>

Thanks for pointing this out -- I've been missing this for months without realizing exactly what the reason was.

 

A couple things I don't like...

1. When on long drives, I usually lean my right leg to the right against the side panel in the middle of the car. Doing so causes a squeaky sound that really begins to irritate me.
2. The CD audiosystem is unable to read the track names off most of my store-bought CDs.

On the upside, I like everything you mentioned, and probably much more.

 

In the night I can never find the right garage door home link button out of the three up on the top. It is dark and there are cars parked on both sides of the street that my house is located, and trying to take my eyes off for any length of time would invite disaster. Why could they have not put small tiny numbered red LED lights saying 1, 2, and 3 for each of the buttons that stay lit if the power is on? Life would have been much simpler for me. Instead the Toyota designers put Braille sign language.. as if we drivers are blind and know to read those signs

 

I think the floor mats suck! They are thin. My heal is already wearing a place in the mats and they are not even 3 months old.

I agree with most of what you said.

 

The homelink just has dots on it.

One dot on one, two dots on the middle, and three dots on the next.

I can tell which is one, two and three, and am glad they did not put one more light to distract me while driving at night.

 

Now that you all mention it, I now recall having problems seeing the unlock all doors button the door at night. A combination of it being too dark outside and the button being quite small make it a small problem for me.