I have been enjoying my new car since March 2007. It was a leap for me. I had been in the car of my dreams before...a Mitsubishi Montero Sport. It was my baby. Leather seats, seat warmers, XM satellite radio, sunroof....I loved it. I loved the feeling of power of being above everyone in traffic. It was a great car. The problem was that, like in every town in the United States, the price of gas was really starting to hurt.
So I did my research and decided to test drive (against my will, mind you) the Toyota Camry Hybrid.
My husband is a devoted techie and loves to do online research. He found it based on what I loved about my Mitsubishi, and what I wanted for work (GPS, luxury feeling car w/ great gas mileage...did I mention under $30K).
The minute I drove it ten feet I was hooked. I love this car.
In the Mitsubishi I had a larger gas tank (by 2 gallons I believe) and got 270 miles to a tank of gas if I drove like a granny. 250 was really more standard. In the Camry I get 500 miles to every tank of gas...in a smaller tank. (Average MPG shows in speedometer as you drive if you wish. I found it to be about 1.5 mpg generous in its reporting. Here it shows over 40 mpg average for the tank after driving about 150 miles....never mind the cat hair above the G in MPG.)
If I don't get 500 miles to the tank of gas, it's been a lot of speeding and quick braking to blame.
The car is great. Its got an all leather interior, in-dash GPS, calendar, and a screen that shows people who want to see (clients who may be interested) when the car is running on battery, gas, or both. Its even got a screen to show your average MPG for every minute of your trip. That really impresses clients.
Its got the seat warmer I loved in the Mitsu, the sunroof, and is XM or Sirius satellite ready. Its got in-dash bluetooth which I use constantly. It has an IPOD doc, in-dash 5 CD changer and a great sound system. It has plenty of leg room in the rear, and a great center console for my "tools of the trade" (flashlight, outlet tester, laser tape measure, regular tape measure, sign clips, etc).
My only complaint with this car is the trunk space is cut into by the hybrid battery.
I kep the Mitsu to have for when I show rural properties, or when there is snow. But if you don't need an SUV for weather purposes, I'd encourage you to take a look at the Camry Hybrid. It will help you save a bundle on gas.
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Thanks for the recommendation Chris. I am in the market for a new car and I have been pondering getting a hybrid. 40 mpg is great.