This weekend I was out of town and forced to drive a rental car. My friend made the reservations and we got put in a Corolla. At first I was excited to be in the Camry's cousin. How bad could this be, I thought.

Boy, was I wrong. First I couldn't get accustomed to having to take my keys out of my pocket before I got in the car. Then there was the legroom issue. And the fact that I could never get the environmental controls quite right. Where's my bluetooth? And why, when I push the accelerator does the car change pitch for 1/2 a second, then spend another half a second before finally deciding to downshift and then pitifully accelerate? I'm so used to the smooth instant response from the drivetrain and the wonderful torque from the electric motor.

The next day I promptly traded the car in for a Chevy Equinox. It was somewhat better, but I still missed my heated leather seats, XM radio, and of course exceptional FE.

 

I rent a car nearly every week because I travel for work regularly. I am always glad to be home too. I like the way the TCH gas pedal (Throttle) is more sensitive by having more of a range of motion to the range of power on the pedal which seems to help in finding the right position for the best mileage. I try to keep the instant gauge above 20 mpg. I can get into or closer to the 40 MPGs by doing this.
This also makes for a little smoother ride for the passengers. You become accustom the TCH but you don't notice the different until you rent a car...

I can relate...
Bill

Bill

 

I was in atlanta in december, and wanting to save a few dollars, I rented the cheapest car i could find (I'm under 25 so there was a fee added, too) I ended up in a KIA RIO! I felt like I was driving a go-kart! But in 3 days down there I only used $11 worth of gas... Almost as good as a hybrid in that aspect, but everything else was awful. Manual lights??! Cars still have those?!

 

Geez, you kids are really spoiled by modern conveniences.
When I was younger a seatbelt was your old man's arm that swung out to hold you back when he put his foot on the brakes.
Most cars didn't have rear seat belts, front shoulder belts, passenger side mirror nor FM radios.
My '71 Super Beetle ... heat was an option...bring it to the gas station,l put it on the lift and have the mechanic turn the heat on in October and off in April.
My friend's '71 Dodge Dart's horn ring fell off. When he wanted to honk the horn, he had to take the exposed wire and touch it against a piece of metal.
And of course...for all of you old timers, remember when your dad would tell you to "roll up the windows and lock the doors"?

 

Hey, I had that too, except it was my mom!

On the topic of crappy cars, the 2nd car I had was a Hyundai accent. I got in an accident and found out the joys of getting a used car... yep, when the "airbags" deployed... well, it was more like air rags. sweeeet.

I do have to admit, I'm very spoiled by this car. In fact, I get irritated if I don't get to drive it

 

Ahhh the ole mom arm. Apparently old habits die hard because a few months ago I was riding with my cousin when she had to slam on the brakes and she mom armed me. I gave her some grief about her arm holding me in better than the seatbelt I was wearing.

And yeah, I get irritated when I don't get to drive my hybee either. In fact, this is one of the first cars that I've owned that I actually ENJOY driving. I dropped my car off for 5000 mile maintenance the other day and I felt so disconnected as I left it at the dealer. My face was all pushed up against the rear glass of my wife's car, trying to catch a last glimpse of it as we pulled out of the parking lot.

 

I can't begin to tell you how nice it is to not have to take my car keys out of my pocket. I don't like driving my wifes car because I always forget to take the car keys out of my pocket. I also love bluetooth...so much easier then fumbling with the phone.

While out in California last year I rented the hybrid Vue. All I'm going to say is I'm glad I have my car.

 

Have to say I keep thinking that next time I go out of town and rent I'm seriously considering renting a TCH. The brand new Altima I got last time seemed so rough and noisy in comparison! And yeah Corolla was way too cramped, I couldn't even fit when I test drove one. But rental hybrids are out there, just check for them from your rental agencies.

 

When my TCH was in for repair I had a 2007 non-hybrid camry for about a week. Even that pales in comparison to the TCH. I agree that I too am spoiled by the TCH, and that is a good thing.

 

My first car was a 1937 Dodge business coupe (2 seater with rumble seat). My second car was a 1933 Essex Terraplane. Enough said??? LOL.