I don’t know why, but every time I try out a Camry, I become a slow driver. Life passes by very, very slowly specifically when I’m behind the wheel of the Hybrid. I’m so bent on obtaining the lowest fuel economy average I can get, that I become an irritation for both surrounding traffic and my girlfriend.
Ah, but the last time I reviewed a Camry Hybrid, I got flamed by a reader who said that I didn’t use the ‘Pulse and Glide’ technique, which would’ve netted me lower fuel consumption. On a road where you would normally drive a steady 50 km/h, ‘Pulse and Glide’ means you speed up to 60 and coast down to 40, and then speed back up to 60, and so forth. While you’re coasting, the hybrid car will shut off its engine and save fuel.
After two days of pulsing and gliding, I’d had it. Unless you’re really on a quest to save fuel, I don’t think people will like this technique on an everyday basis. My kids found it rather amusing, but any adult on board was looking at me with a face that could be easily read as: “You’d look good in straight jacket.”
Under battery power alone, you can accelerate the car from a standstill up to about 45 km/h before the gas engine gets summoned for duty, and you can drive about 1.5 kilometres before the system judges that enough juice has been depleted from the battery. The Camry Hybrid is obviously very effective in traffic jams.
My fuel consumption average over the course of the week is 6.4 L/100 km, which is very good for a mid-size sedan driven by a mildly-intelligent guy. But you know what? The new Ford Fusion Hybrid can do better by about 1 litre for every 100 km, and can creep up to about 75 km/h on battery power alone.
For 2010, all Camry variations get minor styling tweaks, and the Hybrid receives a little more distinction. “You gain respect with a ‘stache,” said one of my colleagues two weeks ago; that means we’ll have to respect the Camry Hybrid more than ever, because the chrome trim on its grille and the sportier bumper design makes the car look like it’s wearing a handlebar moustache. Sing along now! “Everybody was kung-fu fightii-ing…”
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| At $30,900, the Camry Hybrid is less expensive than its competition. |
Ah, but the last time I reviewed a Camry Hybrid, I got flamed by a reader who said that I didn’t use the ‘Pulse and Glide’ technique, which would’ve netted me lower fuel consumption. On a road where you would normally drive a steady 50 km/h, ‘Pulse and Glide’ means you speed up to 60 and coast down to 40, and then speed back up to 60, and so forth. While you’re coasting, the hybrid car will shut off its engine and save fuel.
After two days of pulsing and gliding, I’d had it. Unless you’re really on a quest to save fuel, I don’t think people will like this technique on an everyday basis. My kids found it rather amusing, but any adult on board was looking at me with a face that could be easily read as: “You’d look good in straight jacket.”
Under battery power alone, you can accelerate the car from a standstill up to about 45 km/h before the gas engine gets summoned for duty, and you can drive about 1.5 kilometres before the system judges that enough juice has been depleted from the battery. The Camry Hybrid is obviously very effective in traffic jams.
My fuel consumption average over the course of the week is 6.4 L/100 km, which is very good for a mid-size sedan driven by a mildly-intelligent guy. But you know what? The new Ford Fusion Hybrid can do better by about 1 litre for every 100 km, and can creep up to about 75 km/h on battery power alone.
For 2010, all Camry variations get minor styling tweaks, and the Hybrid receives a little more distinction. “You gain respect with a ‘stache,” said one of my colleagues two weeks ago; that means we’ll have to respect the Camry Hybrid more than ever, because the chrome trim on its grille and the sportier bumper design makes the car look like it’s wearing a handlebar moustache. Sing along now! “Everybody was kung-fu fightii-ing…”
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| Under battery power alone, you can accelerate the car from a standstill up to about 45 km/h. |