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| Ratings |
( Maximum score is 100 ) |
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| Overall: |
  ( 80 )
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| Comfort: |
( 80 )
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| Performance: |
( 80 )
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| Quality: |
( 80 )
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| Appearance: |
( 80 )
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| Comments |
Favorite feature: |
Hybrid Coolness Factor |
Least favorite feature: |
Manual Tranny - I wanted a CVT but this was all they had |
Advice to buyer: |
BUY IT BUY IT BUY IT !!! |
Detailed review: |
Driving Impressions - The car starts quietly and the shifts are smooth and easy. It has a handy-dandy 'shift UP now' light on the dash that lets you know it's time, if you do not already know it's time. It also has a 'shift DOWN now' light, but I've never seen it come on. In ECON mode, the gas engine will shut off at stop lights to save gas, which kills the air compressor and stops the flow of cold air from the A/C. Which is bad in the hot Phoenix afternoons when I'm driving home at 106 degrees. But I love the idea that I'm not sitting at a light wasting gas and polluting the air, so I can deal with the trade-off. The dash also has a real time 'how many MPG I am getting AT THIS VERY SECOND' display which uses an LED bar like a progress bar to feedback mpg info to the driver. It has two trip meters and the overall mileage meter for that trip with the MPG earned on that trip. Very 'Geek Chic.'
My Mileage Woes - On my first tank I got 37.8 MPG according to the computer, but 38.4 MPG figured 'the old fashioned way.' Even though that is a 271% improvement over the 2002 Avalanche I replaced, it is still almost 10 MPG less than the EPA city rating for this HCH. Now bear in mind, SOME of that is understandable, because ALL my driving has been city stop and go driving, never exceeding 45 MPH, and mostly driving in areas where the speed limit was 30 MPH. PLUS, being in HOT HOT Phoenix AZ, I have been required to run the A/C on full blast almost every second of driving. But even so, I am a smidge disappointed right now in the MPG. On my current tank, after about 125 miles, the computer is reading 44.6, so that is MUCH better. We'll see how it goes...
Anyway, more info to be posted later. I would DEFINITELY recommend this car to anyone wanting a hybrid or even just a high mileage sedan. |
Also considered: |
2004 Toyota Prius
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| About This Reviewer... |
Name: |
Larry Singleton |
Email address: |
lars@thornwood.com |
Location: |
Phoenix, Arizona |
Other vehicles owned: |
None
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Review submitted: |
July 27, 2004 |
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