[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

How did you find the acceleration with the ECO mode OFF.

Your choices of the Camry and Volvo S80 are perfect. I don't think there's any car better than these 2 below the S class when it comes to rear seat comfort.

Dear Vid6639, first congratulations on your excellent detailed review of the Camry and the Camry Hybrid which I read at least thrice before my first test drive.

The acceleration in ECO Mode OFF was a lot better than with ECO mode on. How much better I cant say but it is comparable to my Superb which has an arrow like straight line acceleration. As this car, if bought, will be driven by our driver 90% of the time I will have it kept on ECO mode. In 'B' mode or Boost, on the highway, I found the speed getting into my discomfort zone i.e. well above 100 kmph so I cut out of it to normal 'D'.

Glad to see an expert like you has drawn similar conclusions on the S.80 as I have. Thank you for your suggestion on the Santa Fe. I will go look it up.

Best regards, Narayan

[Vid6639]

Thanks Narayan. It was fun reviewing this car as it's not like the others. This involved deep understanding of the technology underneath.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

In 'B' mode or Boost, on the highway, I found the speed getting into my discomfort zone i.e. well above 100 kmph so I cut out of it to normal 'D'.

Actually the B is not for boost. It is a "Braking" mode. The mode should only be used when going downhill on ghats. When you drive downhill, the only way to slow down is to use the brakes since there's no gears like a normal automatic. In the case of hybrids, the regenerative brakes will work only till the batteries are charged. Once the battery is full normal brakes will take over causing brakes to heat up and may fail.

To prevent brake wear, there is a B mode which forces the petrol motor to provide engine braking. It's a mode that purposely wastes energy to preserve the mechanicals.

In terms of performance B and ECO OFF will be similar.

[Lobogris]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

A guarantee for the lifetime of the vehicle is impossible, the disposal of the battery is a pain and the battery has a lifetime, certainly the vehicle will outlive the battery. Which country has hybrids in large numbers to certify that resale is top notch?

In the US, hybrid batteries for Toyota have 10 to 15 year warranties. From the time that Toyota Prius was launched in 2000, there have been very few batteries that have been replaced. I myself drove a Prius from 2004 to 2012 for 8 years and there were absolutely no issues with the battery. The hybrid battery does indeed last the life of a vehicle unless someone uses their vehicle for say 25 years. Even then, all that happens is that the battery life is reduced by say 20-30-%. This doesn't affect drive-ability at all. It simply means that the vehicle might run for 3 km on battery vs. 4 kms when new after say 15 years. So your mileage might go down a bit that is all. In my Prius, the mileage was always around 55 mpg (23 kmpl) even after 8 years.

Originally Posted by guptad42

Since the camry has a full EV mode, any reason why Toyota does not add a charger to the car for charging from mains 220V electric supply?

Seems like a relatively easy addition. Even slow charging with auto cutoff/ overcharge protection will be great for overnight charging and help drop petrol bills for the daily commute.

This has been done in plug in hybrids now available abroad. However, in the kind of hybrid here, one can only go around 2-4 kms on battery when starting off and only if you drive slowly below approx 40 kmph, no hard acceleration, no hills etc. Hence charging the battery via electricity supply would have limited benefit unless your commute is only 2-3 kms because then you could do it fully on electric.

[Lobogris]

Another interesting point to note is that brakes often last a lifetime in full hybrid vehicles. On my Prius, I drove for 170,000 kms over 8 years and the brakes still had over 70% life left. This is because unless one makes an emergency stop, the regenerative system is used for braking. If one drives in a steady manner and anticipates the stops, something which you need to do in a hybrid to get good mileage, then the brakes will last forever!

[s.prashanth]

After a lot of deliberations have decided to buy the hybrid. E class space and comfort, exceptiinal reliability at price of A german hatch. Not to forget Toyota service.

[arjunrudra]

Hi Guys,

What is the combined torque figures when the car is driven with the ECO mode off ? (petrol motor +battery )

There seems to be no mention of the combined torque figures anywhere.The BHp is 205, That's mentioned.

And any idea what the mileage figures would be out on the highway at about 120-14 kmph ? In this highway condition, how does the electric motor help in efficiency ? i know the battery gets charged, but ai really want to know how the electric motor helps when you are doing 120+kmph highway cruising !

What would be the the approx timing for the 0-100 dash when both the motors are running ?

Thanks in advance !

[s.prashanth]

Have booked a pearl white hybrid. Got a good offer on dealer stock. Will be taking delivery on December 1.

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by s.prashanth

Have booked a pearl white hybrid. Got a good offer on dealer stock. Will be taking delivery on December 1.

Congratulations Prashanth. Hope you don't mind sharing the good offer you got from the dealer. Looking forward for an ownership review as well.

[s.prashanth]

Thanks Jose, cannot reveal offer. It is on dealer stock plus TKML management discount.i

[arjunrudra]

Just when I was about to book the Hybrid.

Wonder when the launch is going to be !

I hope the hybrid gets some premium features which sets it apart from the regular Camry!

Will book mine as soon as the launch happens.

They also seem to have improved the fuel efficiency. Looking forward to the launch !

There finally seems to be some torque figures as well:
202 BHP / 483 Nm. Is this correct ?

Source: http://indianautosblog.com/2014/09/2...evealed-146036

Source: http://www.carblogindia.com/2015-toy...hotos-details/

[s.prashanth]

My journey to the Toyota Camry hybrid,

1997-2001:Maruti gypsy: 60000kms
2001-2002: Maruti esteem: 26000kms
2002-2005:Maruti Baleno: 81000kms
2005-2009:Maruti Baleno facelift: 86000kms
2009-2013:Used Honda Civic: 68000kms
2013-2014:Hyindai Elantra Diesel Auto: 24000kms
2014-current Toyota Camry Hybrid: 10100Kms

Cars in our garage as on today

1. Toyota Corolla Altis Diesel 2013: 40000 kms, Family car driver driven for school duties, errands

2. Maruti Suzuki A star automatic 2012: My wifes car , done about 17000kms. Love this car for its nimble steering and proficiency in traffic.

After selling the Elantra during the construction of my home was without a car for 4 months. Wanted a car in 30,00,000/- budget, during this time evaluated a lot of brands. The requirement was simple ,

1. Automatic

2. Cost of Maintenance

3. Dealer Network

4. Diesel/petrol

The Cars I test drove and reasons for rejection.

1. Mini Countryman Diesel: Too noisy, Hard ride,

2. Mercedes A class: Felt claustrophobic driving it.

3. Hyundai Santa Fe: Was very nice but was not special enough for me.

4. Toyota Fortuner Automatic:I wanted this but after the test drive, my wife flatly refused saying too bumpy, industrial noise from the engine and lack of features

5: Skoda Octavia diesel: loved it, booked it and cancelled. the dealer took 2 weeks to issue the receipt of booking citing various reasons. had to finally storm the dealer and wait 2 hours to get receipt of booking. Then began the wait.

In the meantime was reading up on Skoda horror stories with service and the constant niggles the Octavia had in rattling sun roof, noisy ORVM and delivery issues. Decided to cancel and postpone purchase.This was in September 2014.

I visited The Toyota Dealership for service of My Toyota Corolla Altis diesel in October 2014, bought in 2013. After dropping it off went into the showroom area and was face to face with the Toyota Camry Hybrid and fell in love with it.

Was informed that a new facelift would be available by March 2015 and was shown the photographs of the facelift, decided immediately to buy the pre facelift as I loved the squarish looks than the facelift.

Enquired about service costs and the dealer furnished service invoices of couple of Hybrids they had delivered which had done 2 services. The costs were not more than Rs 5000 per visit with synthetic oil. Was pleasently surprised.

The test drive was blissfull, the seats are amazingly comfortable, the car is super quiet and hardly hear outside noises, rear seats recline electrically, my daughters and wife fell in love with this feature and wamted to drive home the new car immediately. decision was done, The camry was the car we will own.

The dealer had a white Hybrid in stock. Made the payments immediately for the basic price excluding the insurance and asked for it to be delivered on December 1st 2014, this being the Gruhapravesham date of our new home.

I have driven the car for about 10000 kms till date. Have been getting efficiency of city 15kmpl and highway 12kmpl. City mileage is high because it runs on the battery for most of the time in stop and go traffic, highway I cruise at high speeds and at this time both the battery and engines run.

I have completed the 10000 kms service recently and it costed me Rs 4699/- with synthetic oil.

This is the first time I am writing a ownership review, please excuse the briefness in it. Will be happy to answer any queries that maybe posted.

Attaching a photo now but will update with more tomorrow.

[Axe77]

What is the exact boot space of the Hybrid? Thanks

Originally Posted by Vid6639

The otherwise cavernous boot space is somewhat compromised by the Hybrid's battery pack:

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Axe77

What is the exact boot space of the Hybrid? Thanks

Toyota did not have the numbers so we can't really know for sure.

[Sridutt]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

160 mm

A bit silly, if you ask me. They are still catering to India - any road can have a speed (car) breaker when you are returning home, which grew up between your going to office and returning.

Any idea if like the 'India' specific engines we get, we'll get any India specific suspension? especially on this version? its a very interesting proposition..

[sourabhzen]

Delhi government slashed VAT from 12.5% to 5% on hybrid vehicles. Does that mean a reduction of 3 lacs on road price of this car?