Comment by ProllyInfamous
1 day ago
I purchased my first hybrid, last year: a Toyota Camry. It has helped to completely change both how I drive, and my driving temperament.
My brother has driven Honda hybrids for over a decade (he's owned four identical G1 Insight, designing major electric upgrades); he recently purchased a Toyota Prius, conceding "the drivetrain design of the Toyota is MUCH better".
Just as one example: while in electric mode, the Toyota engine stops, to 0RPM; the Honda engine must always be moving (when the wheels are) — resulting in increased mechanical friction / wear.
Toyota has used the same transmission style (allowing for the above cessation) since the Prius was first introduced, over two decades ago. The "CVT" [planetary gearsets] is rock-solid.
My only complaint with the two Toyotas I've owned has to do with the Emergency Brake: the Camry simply doesn't have one (it has a "parking pawl," which if you lift either of the front wheels up is entirely defeated; god help you if you need to stop moving after a brake failure [you can't]); the Tacoma has a physical parking lever (left of brake pedal), but its push-to-release mechanism isn't exactly re-assuring... if you need emergency braking while moving, the damn thing will lock up your back wheels with no recourse.
Been driving a Honda Civic Hybrid for 19 years. Rock solid. Love it. Agree that Hondas don't go to zero RPM when the wheels are moving. They don't really have a pure electric mode the way Toyota vehicles do.
> helped to completely change both how I drive
Can you expand on this? I find it surprising.
I traded in a turbocharged Subaru [several 100mph+ citations] that got ~18mpg [the way I drove]. The Camry is only a little bit slower, but the gamification of MPG taught me to "let off the gas pedal." This hybrid drives up 8%-grade mountains with better mileage than the Subaru averaged on flat roads.
Over 1.5 years in the Camry, I've gone from 44 to 50 mpg — a forever-quest to improve efficiency. I now live in the right [slow] lane, invisible to other drivers.
But when I need to accelerate, the electric system delivers.
Thanks so much for taking the time to reply. This is fascinating because when I switched to a hybrid, I started tracking my MPG really closely as well, and it turned me into an efficient driver rather than an aggressive driver. It's funny that the effect seems to hold with others as well. I didn't anticipate that response, but now that you've said it, I find it much less surprising.
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I had a 2021 Accord Hybrid, and it is not like what you describe. I think it has a different design than older Honda hybrids. It has two electric motor-generators. Below about 40 mph, propulsion is entirely electric. There is a single speed "transmission" and clutch that engages at higher speeds, where the gas motor provides direct drive.