1. Take your laptop, put it on your dash, que up some cool Star Trek dashboard flashy whizbang stuff
2. Get into your car, put on your seatbelt, leave the engine OFF
3. Have a friend park behind your car, rev the engine and honk as if trying to get past
4. Look around totally oblivious, occasionally glancing at your laptop screen with delight
5. Sniff your own farts

That should probably get you pretty close to the Hybrid Experience. This should be a ride at amusement parks... "Hybrid owners ride free."

 

LMFAO!!!!

-Brian

 

Thanks! I forgot the all-important flashing bluetooth headset in both ears for the complete douche effect from either side!!

I asked some dude with a HUGE flashing chrome bluetooth COMMAND CENTER on the side of his head if he was a BORG. He just sort of looked at me weird(er).

 

Awesome.

 

On a seperate note, why the hell do these people wear their headsets EVERYWHERE????? Can they not just pick up their damn phones and talk to the caller at the top of their effing lungs when they're walking around Safeway? But I digress....

-Brian

 

You leave my ppl outta this

 

Because they need one hand on the shopping cart and one hand to grab the $7 bottle of wine?

 

It was a 2009 I think - had 25-30K miles on it, and it was a rental so i really don't recall the model.

I may have exaggerated the acceleration, but it was much worse than my SUV or my old minivan.

Do some models get bigger engines? Because that was my worry, I was staying downtown and when I had to jump on the freeway during very heavy traffic, I just couldn't go very fast up the on ramp and I had to do this about 4 times a day and it was scary because it took forever for the car to go up the hill and get up to speed...I really did think it was 10 seconds, but again, I was fearing for my life every time.

 

The new one is a more powerful 1.8L. Previous cars have been 1.5L

 

Do the lexus or the nissan even get that great of mileage? I want to punch whoever thought a hybrid is good when it achieves mediocre mileage. That **** better be **** pierre mileage otherwise

 

cant even spell out people. you disgust me......

 

i like the smell of gasoline.

 

I have experience with the same commute using a RX330 vs RX400h. Ave mph was 19mpg vs 24.5 mpg. Plus the gas used went from 91 oct to 87 oct. Supposedly the hybrid also reduces brake pad/rotor wear. So overall, it does conserve cost... but it'll take awhile before the savings recovers the premium in the purchase price. (BTW, hybrids lose their value quicker than regular cars... so if you're inclined to buy, you might consider buying used.) Supposedly the cost to replace batteries is coming down with popularity of the hybrid. Estimated at $1500-2000 to replace for the Prius and $2500 for the RX.

Downsides of the RX hybrid: a car even heavier than before, and a noisy CVT.

As for the high riding height, that's the nature of the entire RX line, not just the hybrid. It's a CUV; and high ride height is something all SUV-er's like. Personally I hate the high cg, the boat like body roll, and the heaviness, but that's a complaint about all SUVs.

As for the engine shutting off? Get used to it. Anyone who can't has trouble with change.

Is hybrid technology "there yet"? No. The battery storage systems have to low a power/weight ratio and still cost too much. However, I'm glad the market has found a hybrid that the public will buy so that one day this technology CAN mature to something that is good.

And BTW, "boring" hybrid cars have nothing to do with hybrid itself, but the target market for the hybrid. The Tesla demonstrates (although everyone should already realize this) that it's the design that matters... you CAN make a sports car with electric.

It sure would be nice just to have the electrical motor starter so that our Subaru's can shut the engine off when slowing/stopping during commuting.

IMHO, at the current state of the hybrid market, if you care about driving dynamics, then you'll be disappointed with what's out there. But I'm guessing the market will just get better.

FWIW, my buddy, who does instruction at HPDE's, owns a Lotus Exige-S (and has a whole history of fun cars) also has a Civic hybrid... for his daily long commutes.

So... it's more about what's appropriate for your application.

 

call me a bit of a purist, but I'm not impressed with the Tesla. Points for innovation are warranted, but that's about it. Impractical, as all hell. Useless in terms of performance. Frankly you're tethered to an electrical cord. No thanks...

 

I completely concur. Plus, the sound of an engine really makes a difference for me. Just putting an exhaust on my POS Impreza has made it soooo much more fun (and it might be able to keep up with my Justy now, maybe).