Mine replaced a 02 Acura TL. The car was fine with no complaints except it got 21 mpg in the city requiring Premium. I kept my 01 Highlander because we have to haul the jetskis around.

 

I bought my TCH because the bills were nickel and diming me to death on my '92 Taurus. Besides my kids are older now and don't use the crayons on the back seat anymore.

 

Our TCH replaced an 05 Corolla S. My wife recently got a new job so now she's driving in rush hour traffic every day. I wanted to get her something with an automatic transmission that would get good gas mileage as well. I was originally looking to get a 4 cylinder Camry, but when I saw/drove the Hybrid we quickly changed our minds. This car looks great, is comfy and does good on gas. It's a nice upgrade from the Corolla, which was an awesome little car too.

Edit: Oh yeah, our vehicle is a 2002 Tacoma DoubleCab 4x4. And it SUCKS on gas, but I'm keeping it until it becomes a toy truck and I have a new DD.

 

I purchased my TCH because:

1) It was time to put my 1997 Subaru Outback out to pasture. It only had 89,000 miles on it. Great car, just hankering for something new.

2) Was looking for a car that would be "the best of both worlds", and "the hybrid of hybrids" - i.e., one that would be comfortable and roomy, and would have a bit of punch on the road, but would also get decent gas mileage. I also liked the idea of going a long way on a tank of gas. The Camry fit the bill.

We also have a 2005 Mini Cooper, and a 1999 (?) Chevy Silverado. The Mini will spoil ya.

 

The wife's 1990 Corolla was slowly going belly-up. She wanted to buy my 2003 Corolla CE from me and offered to go $3k over blue book if I bought the TCH instead of the 2006 Corolla CE. I wanted the Prius until I sat in it and decided that I didn't like the feel.

 

Just picked up my Camry tonight, and I have all but 5 miles on it.

Reason for getting a TCH...Just got a new job, and I had to give up my company car. Although I'm replacing my car, the TCH will be my wife's car. She's never had a brand new car in her life, so I thought it would be a treat to give the new car to her. I'll be inheriting her Saab 9-5 wagon.

Although she's environmentally friendly... I think she liked the technology behind these cars even more. We thought about getting a Prius, but with two small kids... we needed a bigger car.

Its funny... living in Los Angeles, I know the type of cars people drive have little baring on their income brackets. I know people making less than 40k a year driving leased lexus and mercedes... and I also know of people making over $1M driving a Tundra. One of the nice things about Hybrid drivers are that they can be your average joes... and they could also be millionaires next door. Its a great status equalizer... since it makes a different statement than just your financial well being.

 

My wife calls my TCH my "Anti Mid-Life Crisis". Traded in an '02 Corvette Convertible for it. I commute 75 miles round trip in rush hour stop and go. The 'Vette was killing me both on maintenance as well as driving a 6 speed in stop and go. Gas was not that bad at 20 mpg (premium fuel though).

Now it is like I am driving my couch to work. Set back, enjoy the tunes and a cup of coffee. Obsess over getting the MPG to tick up another .1 mpg.

Enjoying it to the max and have not looked back at getting rid of the sports car. I will have another some day to keep in the garage and play with but never as a daily driver!

 

My wife would divorce me if I was to make such a move.

 

Well I might have left out a few details - like the fact it was on a wrecker 3 time in 3 months for electronic problems. And then there were those 2 speeding tickets in 30 days......

Now I have people riding my butt for going too slow!

 

I am replacing my '02 F150 King Ranch supercab. It'll be for sale soon. I'm a truck guy. I always loved truck. My truck before the '02 KR was '01 F150 Harley Davidson. But trucks are easier to love when gas is around a buck a gallon. I had the biggest grin on my face when I was test driving that '01 Harley... I traded in my '00 Lexus RX300 for it and some of my friends thought I was nuts... But it's hard to argue with displacement, that V8 engine feel. Had the same V8 love affair with my '95 Mustang GT conv. too... But it's loving that was getting more and more expensive so I made the switch to TCH. Fortunately for me, my brother and sister in law are in automotive industry (Toyota and Ford, respectively) so buying new and off-lease cars are very cheap for me ("A" plan for Ford and some insane deals on employee lease returns and new cars for Toyota). So even with my frequent car switching, I don't take a bath. I think I'll hold on to the TCH for a long while and look for a RX400h lease return to replace my wife's '03 RX300.