In response to a few questions I have gotten (and lost the response in the email reply system) I thought I would share this with everyone that is interested.

First I will say that I am an obsessive compulsive person. If this car did not have all the gages and screens for me to watch I would probably be getting 33 mpg. If someone had told me 38 was the limit and that was all I could get then I would not be trying so hard for 40. However I know the limit's higher, so....


Advice #1. Read your owners manual. I know no one likes to do this, but there are a lot of little things many of you are learning that could be discovered in the OM. (How the keys work for one).


This information is considered as basic for new drivers. These are my observations

The AC/Heating unit is electrical. I have not seen any significant disadvantages to the ECO mode so I run it. When the batteries discharge, for what ever reason (running AC, driving up hills, gliding through town), the computer will kick on the ICE to recharge. You may be sitting in the driveway you may be coasting down the interstate at 70 mph. Don't worry about running your battery down, the car won't let you do it. (there is a limit about not having the car in neutral while sitting - read your Owners manual if you feel you do this often)

1) Driving slow is not always the best. When I leave my house to drive into town, if I try to go as slow as practical (40 to 45 mph) I find that my ICE is on most all of the time and I am showing 20 to 25 mpg on my FE gage (dash). If however I get up fairly quickly to speed (50 to 55 mph) and let off the throttle to kill the ICE then I reapply the throttle lightly I can maintain a good speed 45 to 50 for quite a ways witha 40 to 60 mpg reading. I may have to do this several times and as long as there is no traffic I may slow down further.

2) City and short trip driving is easier for me to think about my FE. Around the home area I am always trying to get the "best" I can. However on a recent 1300 mile trip I found that driving effeciently was still not "second nature" to me yet. Some of the "feelings" I get when driving slow are not there at 70 mph and after two or three hours behind the wheel the sensitivity to the sound and feel of this are not there unless you're thinking about it.

For example, it is real easy to start out on a road, accelerate up to speed and forget to let off the throttle. This is natural in our other (non-hybrid) vehicles. However in the TCH if you don't lift your foot you'll find yourself always giving it just a little more lead than necessary. Many times I'll be driving along and see 25 on the reading and think wow, this is a steeper grade than I thought. But when I let off and reapply the throttle I may slow a mph or two but I'll be getting 35 or 40. This may not seem to last long but the little improvements really add up over time.

3) Cruise control. I seldom used to use it in the past. I have found that the cruise system works well with the "maximized FE" driving philosophy. While there are situations I may do a little bit better manually on a long drive it does a good job. If however you're striving for the "best" FE and there is little trffic you can make improvements if you're willing to allow your car to slow down on long grades.

4) Be aware your car rolls quite well on glide mode. Many times on the interstate in West Virginia, I have found my car free rolling at 85 mph (when my cruise was set on 70). I don't think a cop will care if you tell him your engine was not even on.

5) On my recent trip to the Outer Banks I was averaging 36 mpg through the mountains. I don't see how (if I am trying) I will ever get less than this. That was the most extreem (in my area- granted it's not the Rockies) driving I would probably do. I filled up about 100 miles from the shore and was averaging 40 mpg as I came onto the islands. While on the islands I drove an additional 300 miles and had my average up to 45 mpg. There is a lot of long, non stop 35 mph driving there and traffic was extreemly light. When I left the island for home I drove through heavy rain and my average had came down to 43.3 for the tank. I filled up in Richmond and drove home through the mountains, again with another 36+ tank. Overall trip average was over 39 mpg. Had I drove south I would have done better, going east through the mountains is quite a drive.

6) I have noticed when I visited in the Charleston - Huntington area (pretty flat connected by 4 lane) that I could, if I drove the limit, easily get in the 40 mpg range. Wne not on the interstate I drove carefully in town practicing my procedures for max FE.

7) Early mpg indications on fresh tanks; When you have few miles on a tank and a few bad takeoff's the average will suffer. Don't get upset if you're getting 29 mpg at first. Now if you've got 500 miles on your tank and you're getting 33 mpg then you're simply driving this like you would a camry SE and you should be satisfied that you're still getting 33 instead of 22 mpgg.

I realize many of you are in the crowded cities where road rage is a reality and fingers fly often. I live in an area where I now appreciate a farm tractor pulling out in front of me holding up traffic at 20 mph. My wife used to complain about my speeding and now she's looking at her watch to see if we;'re going to make it on time. I've even had blue hairs in Buicks pull up on my tail wondering why I'm going so slow.

Let me say though when I have traffic behind me I drive the limit. I just never realized (as I was one of them) how many people get UPSET when you are driving 55 on a 2 lane rural 55 mph limit road. I understand the anger if I was trying to coast, but you know what, I have the responsibility, not just the right to obey the law. (my wife laughs when she hears me say that)

Let me say that I am a LEAD FOOT by nature. I've always had a sports car or sport sedan and I always drove 10 to 15 mph over the limit. This is a lifestyle change for me. I recently got a survey on cars and on the "fun to drive" question I originally put a 6. I know this question for car buffs is dealing with performance and handling. But I went back and changed this to a 10 because for me (an engineer) this car is fun to drive. It's the ultimate entertainment package and I look forward to driving this as much as I did my 350Z.

I decided I wanted an economy car, and that I wanted to work on getting out of debt so I can retire some day in the future. I didn't need three vehicles so I made the tough decision that the Infiniti FX45 was no longer needed. I was having a tough time though pulling the trigger on a deal for a Corolla or Accord. Then I saw the TCH and wow, a "full" size car with FE economy. The best of both worlds. I was also having difficulty finding an economy car with leather and all the things I wanted in a car I spend a lot of time in (all pleasure, but still about 25 to 30K/year). I am estatic the TCH was available. Had the Lexus ES350 been avaialble with hybrid I probably would have went that route.

Any way, when I found that WV has a $3750 (maximum) tax credit and the Fed's had a $2600 tax credit I decided a loaded TCH for less than $24,000 sounds too good to be true. I was fortunate that from the day I decided I wanted one to the day I picked it up (may 5) I only had to wait about 2 weeks. It came early and I was the only one that had even asked the dealer about them. Note to City folks: Look at rural dealers in areas where they still drive pickup trucks and don't worry about using gas. You may be surprised to find one sitting on the lot.

I may eventually change over my NAV screen to the map and my dash display to the temperature and quit worrying about FE and just drive this thing. I'm not there yet.

For all of you like WillyBill who are getting 36 mpg and wondering how to get 38+, it's just alittle effort that is needed. BUT, unless you're obsessed with the ultimate number, you need to realize on the journey to take your 36mpg to a 38 mile per gallon average you would have to drive 700 miles to save 1 gallon of gas. Now for you truly green people every gallon counts. However for those of you simply wanting a more effecient daily driver, don't sweat it if your driving habits are only costing you 2 gallons per month.

I want to save where I can, but that doesn't stop me from driving my 215hp jet ski on the lake. It took 6 gallons this weekend for a high speed hour on the lake. That would have gotten me to mom's and back in my TCH. Just keep it all in perspective.

 

Good post WVGasGuy. I wanted to add one thing. If your car sits for a while the ICE will run to warm up the catalytic converter when you start it up. When I come home from work I have about a mile in a 25 mph zone. Going to work I have three miles getting to the navy base in 35 and 45 mph zones, followed by 1.5 miles between 15 and 35 on the base (and they're strict). Knowing that when I leave base the ICE will be on anyhow I don't care how much I run down the hybrid batteries and try to do the last 4 - 5 miles as much as possible on electric. That is enough to bring up my mileage about 2 mpg. Since the ICE will be running when I start off anyhow, thereby charging the batteries, those last few miles before arriving are free miles.

 

What I have learned so far:

• This car looks cool (as much as a 4 door family sedan can).
• This car sounds cool (in all modes). I love coming to a stop beside another car, the turbine like whine of the regenerative braking, followed by complete silence. Even accelerating with the ICE on you can still here the whine of the generator and/or electric motor (not sure which). Windy and hot days bug me as I can't leave the windows down to hear.
• This car has cool toys (I won't list them, you know what they are).
• It is a rebirth of the experience of driving. To steal a phrase from the Disney movie "Cars". It's not about making great time, it's about having a great time.

It's with some sadness that I realize that all this will become ordinary with the passage of time.

 

It's with some sadness that I realize that all this will become ordinary with the passage of time.

Droid dude, don't fret. I can remember in the mid 70's and again in the 80's thinking that interesting cars would become extinct. There is a whole new exciting market opening up. Technology will double again in the next couple of years.

I still can see me wanting a Vette when I retire. Perhaps they will have one with a hybrid system, or a hydrogen model. Who knows, but I believe soon there will be more than econo boxes and the new TCH and Accord with advanced FE systems as well as power and interesting gadgets!

 

Thanks WVGasGuy for the EXCELLENT observations!.. I'm sure we all appreciate your sharing of your TCH experiences. I have found myself also somewhat obsessed with the FE. Probably to the OVER side!.. I JUST CAN'T HELP IT!.. I now have passed the 1,000 mile mark and have noticed that on my short trips to work, with the temperatures outside being close to 90, that the AC runs on high a lot, even in ECO mode and it seems to bring down the fuel economy a little. I'm not complaining, mind you. The last car was 17mpg in the city so 34-36 is nothing to complain about.

I have coined the phrase 'stealth mode' when starting the car with friends for a demo ride. I love to start out with the AC off and just hit the start button and slowly and quietly drift away from my parking spot. The fans love it!.

When the TCH has been in the garage all night, it does tend to fire up the ICE after about 10 seconds after starting to warm up the catalytic converter. That is apparently why the FE guage goes to zero when you are still sitting still. I have found that there are many times when you can sort of find that 'sweet spot' and get the FE up into the 40 range even while not slowing down. It does take some re-learning in order to raise your foot a little more often than many of us are used to.

Regarding the NAV system, I have determined that the NAV is made by DENSO corporation, and most of us have version 5.1 and a representative stated in an email to me that all updates would have to be obtained from Toyota. I have found the NAV system to be very helpful with the exception that it couldn't seem to find a church when we had a anniversary service to attend. Apparently churches didn't make the list of POI's in the software.

My wife, of course, quickly analyzed that she could use it to her advantage when she searched for a clothing store and said, look there is one that is only 1.2 miles from here.

I haven't figured out all the voice commands yet, but they are helpful such as ZOOM in and out.
Do any of you know where a PDF file may be available for the NAV system?

I have noticed that the FM reception is very good. Even where signals have been weak or non-existent in the past, they seem to tune in a lot better.

So finally, my first 1,000 miles in my Magnetic Grey/Ash Leather-NAV TCH has been terrific!. I have yet to see another one on the road around our area.

Thanks to all of you who have posted here and on Edmunds.

WillyBill

 

I've always joked about never having been lost, and as such I never wanted a NAV system. However I've found that it has many practical uses. Worth the price ? I dunno. However for a gadget guy it's pretty neat. I just have not learned to use it yet.

On my trip to Nags Head, I was in no particular hurry since we left a day early. I didn't even bother studying the maps because, hey I have a NAV system. Well the nice voice in my dash wanted me to go a different way. I never won the argument with her until I guess I went past the point of no return and she rerouted my map.

What I did find interesting though was when I was in a city (like Roanoke VA) I could touch the screen and scroll around just like looking at a map to look in advance of where I was going in detail.

Another time when I cut through a town, which I often do to take pictures or site see, the NAV system easily took me back to the interstate to get me back on route. probably saved me 20 minutes in one case.

Now I realize (self awareness happening here) when I told people I've never been lost, that's because I always knew what town I was in or what road I was on, and I was not technically lost. I didn't however, always know the easiest or quickest way back to where I wanted to go. This thing is really neat and I'm glad I was "forced" to take it with my loaded TCH. Now if I can just learn how to use it.

 

I just use a portable GPS, but I routinely take it even on trips where I know exactly where I'm going for 1 major reason. Instead of listening to the kids say "how much longer" 100 times, I just point to the screen and show them the time to destination. They can watch for themselves. Helps them to see the minutes count down, keeps the little devils a little less annoying