Fit is go!

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah

A FIT would get better MPG over any Hybrid on trips through the mountains IMO.

Take care, Bill

While this maybe be true for the 1st and 2nd Generation Prius and Civic Hybrid, I doubt that this applies to the Camry Hybrid.

Bill, the newest Prius (3rd Generation) is equipped with a 1.8L. Supposedly, the acceleration has improved significantly over the previous model. You should take it for a drive on this route and report back to us.

 

[ekpolk]

Originally Posted By: Bill in Utah
(ekpolk is going to kill me)

Hybrids are fine unless you live in areas with mountain passes and drive more than a few miles at a time.

I make a trip to St George too many times a year and have made the trip in many vehicles.

One of my co-workers has a Prius and it is NOT a good vehicle for around here on that trip. Underpowered and too heavy. The batteries can not help it @ 8,000 ft when you have been climbing grades.

My Corolla gets 10+ MPG better on the trip over his Prius.

Is this normal use? NO but it something for people who live in the higher elevations (the gas engines here loose a lot of power when your starting at 4,500 ft in the valley)

I've been trying to take one of our new Highlander Hybrids for the trip but so far no luck.

A FIT would get better MPG over any Hybrid on trips through the mountains IMO.

Take care, Bill


Bill, no, I won't kill you, but maybe a good spanking is in order!!!

If you drive a hybrid correctly in the hills, it will beat ANYTHING else out there on the roads.

Case in point: I-10 roughly between Pensacola and Tallahassee. It's about 200 miles of absolutely beautiful rolling little hills. And rarely is any of it ever, ever crowded. So I can play my hybrid games to the n-th degree, without imposing upon anyone else on the road. Having my V-1 to back me up, I will allow my speed to approach triple-digit speeds on the long down-hills. I have a casual friend who's an FHP Trooper who has told me that triple-digit is the automatic trip to jail -- so I never go there. So I drive the mpg display downhill. I tartet about 45-ish mpg, and that allows the speed to run up to somewhere between 90 and 95 mph. Then I gradually use up that kinetic energy on the up hill, allowing my speed to decay to as low as 65 mph. Then I set the CC to hold speed, so as not to slow down too much.

Following this "procedure" nets me a good 34-35 mph highway -- while averaging 85-ish on the flats.

 

[Mr Nice]

Quote:
I will admit that I have a Valentine One installed in the Camry. In fact, its display sits right next to my Scan Gauge II in the instrument cluster. Some folks perceive irony in this

Do the cops in your neck of the woods cut you slack if you show your military I.D. ?

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: ekpolk


Bill, no, I won't kill you, but maybe a good spanking is in order!!!

If you drive a hybrid correctly in the hills, it will beat ANYTHING else out there on the roads.

Case in point: I-10 roughly between Pensacola and Tallahassee. It's about 200 miles of absolutely beautiful rolling little hills. And rarely is any of it ever, ever crowded. So I can play my hybrid games to the n-th degree, without imposing upon anyone else on the road. Having my V-1 to back me up, I will allow my speed to approach triple-digit speeds on the long down-hills. I have a casual friend who's an FHP Trooper who has told me that triple-digit is the automatic trip to jail -- so I never go there. So I drive the mpg display downhill. I tartet about 45-ish mpg, and that allows the speed to run up to somewhere between 90 and 95 mph. Then I gradually use up that kinetic energy on the up hill, allowing my speed to decay to as low as 65 mph. Then I set the CC to hold speed, so as not to slow down too much.

Following this "procedure" nets me a good 34-35 mph highway -- while averaging 85-ish on the flats.


See here there are NO rolling hills. Its 5000+ft at the start of the grade with a consistent climb to over 8000ft (FOR MILES). Then it levels off and goes back down.

Then you are back between 4-6k going at the speed limit of 80mph or more then another grade.

A 76 hp 3000+lb car is going to have issues going up the grades. and the higher you go, the less HP you will have and batteries are gone.

Trust me, I've been it his car making the trip a "few" times and its NOT pleasant. The engine just screams (could be the CVT) but I could not live with it.

Then you add the worst MPG over a 130hp Corolla and the cost and again, nice car but it DOES have its limits around here. (IMO)

A doubt a 1.8l is going to help it much. And I do think the Camry Hybrid would do a lot better but I don't know about the CVT.

My corolla when climbing the hills requires a downshift and I've got to rev it up to climb the hills, max RPM is around 4k and 65mph at the top.

I'm not trying to "dis" a Prius, just report on what I've seen and heard from its owners. Personally I would NOT own one at my driving the Hybrid part of the vehicle would not get used and other vehicles would get better MPG with less investment and possible maintenance issues down the road (IE as simple as possible)

BUT, I'd rather have your new car over your old one... (maybe in a different color)

I just wish Toyota could bring a non EPA'd diesel station wagon over here. 50mpg with a turbo'd one could be nice....

I'll stop dreaming now...

Take care, bill

 

[ekpolk]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Quote:
I will admit that I have a Valentine One installed in the Camry. In fact, its display sits right next to my Scan Gauge II in the instrument cluster. Some folks perceive irony in this

Do the cops in your neck of the woods cut you slack if you show your military I.D. ?


Not sure. I've got that covered from another angle -- my plate:

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: ekpolk
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Quote:
I will admit that I have a Valentine One installed in the Camry. In fact, its display sits right next to my Scan Gauge II in the instrument cluster. Some folks perceive irony in this

Do the cops in your neck of the woods cut you slack if you show your military I.D. ?


Not sure. I've got that covered from another angle -- my plate:

THAT IS A PLATE!

 

[BrianWC]

Okay, so I had my first feeling that was CLOSE to regret but not really. As stated before, I like the Fit's combination of features, utility, passenger space, and good mpg.

But...I saw a commercial for a local Toyota dealer that I wasglad the wifey didn't see...$4000 off MSRP for Corolla XLEs at one of the two local dealers. Again, not the biggest Corolla fan, but...whoa! That's pretty cheap! So at least a heads up for anyone else out there shopping the econo models.

 

[smokey1]

buy today , peed off the next . Never fails . :- )

 

[BrianWC]

Lol, there's always something better. Nah, I am still glad I got the Fit. The whole time I drove my 9-5, I was wanting a hatch versatility. Going to a smaller sedan would probably not have made me too happy.

 

[mstrjon32]

Do yourself a favor and don't hit anything with it...

http://jalopnik.com/5287016/iihs-small-cars-are-big-on-damage-in-low+speed-collisions

 

[BrianWC]

I know, I know. If I hit anything with it, damage to the vehicle is the least of my concerns.

 

[BrianWC]

Little update for everyone. To show I am not some Honda zombie, I have to admit I had a spot of trouble with my Fit. Easily and painlessly taken care of, but still quite unexpected.

Since I listen to a lot of radio and use my mp3 player a lot, I'd never tried to use the CD player. Well, about a month ago, I decided I'd give it a whirl. I put in a disc and it was ejected saying "Bad Disc" Okay...put in another...same thing. Granted, my CD buying has severely dropped off since about 1998 or so, so most of my discs DO have some blemishes. but my SAAB's player read them effortlessly, as does my computer-which allowed me to make mp3s out of my faves.

I checked the owner's manual and it just said to see the dealer about this error. I blew it off since I don't use the thing. But I finally figured I'd better get it taken care of. I called the dealer and they said to bring it in. Brought it in last Monday and the service advisor had a tech come out. I showed him the problem. He just turned to the advisor and said, "Order him a new radio." Okay...so much for diagnosis. Radio came in this week and went to dealer yesterday. It was replaced and I was driving out in under an hour. The advisor was very apologetic b/c I went on a rant about having to take an hour off of work to deal with a problem on a new car. I'll also make sure I note it on my ownership survey.

Minor glitch but still quite surprising. In fairness it is the first year of this model. I still love driving this car, though. It's just an incredible little go-kart of a car with a ton of room for its dimensions. The wife was quite amazed at it this weekend when we all loaded up (me, wife, 3 kids) and were able to fit the results of our weekly Wal-Mart run in the back.

But perhaps we know the reason the JD Power nod went to smokey1's Yaris now???

 

[addyguy]

Hate to say it, Brain, but you were being a bit harsh, don't you think?

Most people, when they have a problem with a new car, have the fight of their life trying to get the dealer to a) see that there is something wrong, and then b) do anything about it.

You completely skipped part a, dealer knew there was a problem, and saved you waiting for them to find it by just ordering the solution. Then, the problem got fixed in an hour - no 'oh we don't have the parts', oh, it won't be ready today'...it just got fixed.

Man, I'd be ecstatic with that level of service!

If this is what you have to 'rant about' in life, I'd LOVE to have your life!!!

 

[smokey1]

cd player working fine so far

. Just got 42.83 m.p.g. with using the ECO-METER which stated 43.02 m.p.g. for an overall average

. Yeh shoulda / coulda got a YARIS

.

 

[BrianWC]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
Hate to say it, Brain, but you were being a bit harsh, don't you think?

Most people, when they have a problem with a new car, have the fight of their life trying to get the dealer to a) see that there is something wrong, and then b) do anything about it.

You completely skipped part a, dealer knew there was a problem, and saved you waiting for them to find it by just ordering the solution. Then, the problem got fixed in an hour - no 'oh we don't have the parts', oh, it won't be ready today'...it just got fixed.

Man, I'd be ecstatic with that level of service!

If this is what you have to 'rant about' in life, I'd LOVE to have your life!!!




Well, now you know why I've bought 3 cars from this dealer!

Nah, they had some retribution coming for the CR-V. Blew the a/c compressor in that one and they neglected to tell me there was an extended warranty on them. Then a year later, when a/c went out again, they realized they'd only replaced the compressor and not everything else. Got that repair free, kinda.

Honestly, though. Why shouldn't I be upset that I had to use an hour and 15 mins of my annual leave to leave work early in time to have a repair done on a 2 month old car? I know little things like this happen ocassionally, but really.

Oh, and I do kinda have a good life.

 

[BrianWC]

Originally Posted By: smokey1
cd player working fine so far

. Just got 42.83 m.p.g. with using the ECO-METER which stated 43.02 m.p.g. for an overall average

. Yeh shoulda / coulda got a YARIS

.

Hey, be glad that I admitted it. For a while, I'd convinced myself i just didn't understand this marvelous Honda radio.

Eco-meter? You mean your Yaris didn't COME with instant and trip mpg gauges mounted in the center of the speedometer?

 

[addyguy]

Stuff happens, Brain.

I'd rather it was the radio than the engine, tranny...etc....

You live in LA...how hard can life be? Don't you folks just sit around and sun-tan all the time?

 

[BrianWC]

Lol, that's not L.A. That's LA, as in Louisiana.

Less smog, more alligators. Ever watch True Blood on HBO? It was filmed in my city.

 

[sciphi]

I'll tell my fiancee to watch out when she starts using her CD's.

Also, have we hashed out just how to fix the terrible headlights yet? I don't want my girl driving around blind as a bat. So far I've raised the aim, which helped a lot. And some Philips X-Treme Power bulbs are winging their way from England. I figure they'll fill in what the re-aiming missed.

 

[pzev]

By raising the aim you have assured that all other drivers will now be blind as a bat. So while your daughter may see, the car coming the other way can't.

I suggest you lower the aim when installing the new bulbs, as they will develop significantly more glare than the factory items. When I installed my imported euro bulbs, I got flashed all the time as people thought my brights were on. Aim on my headlights was factory spec, so that should give you an idea of how bright the new bulbs can and will be.