2.5 VVTI Plug in Hybrid Design

Amazing efficiency

I have had my car since December last year and have put sixteen thousand miles on it. I had a Honda CRV diesel before this car (1.6 SE Navi 2wd). Now I am in the summer I am getting about 50 miles on pure electric and 52mpg easily when it is in pure hybrid (this is mainly motorway driving). On A roads the mpg goes up to about 58mpg. Interestingly driving in hilly areas it pulls like a diesel. Mechanically it is amazing. It charges overnight on a 3-pin and takes about two and a half hours to charge on a dedicated car charger. When I first had the car I was getting about 37 miles on charge when it was cold in the winter. This might be different this winter as I have learned how to drive more efficiently on pure electric. In the winter I was preheating the car before going to work when it was still plugged in. It is very quick - 0-60mph in six seconds!

I feel although it is incredible how economical it is the car is let down by the infotainment system. I find it slow and laggy. I always use Android Auto which connects via a cable. It has an annoying feature with the cruise control that when you set the speed you can easily turn off the cruise control with the same button. It misses some things from the CRV. The passenger side mirror does not dip when I go into reverse. I felt the infotainment system was better in the Honda. There are no handles in the boot to lower the rear seats. It has an electric boot which is ever so slow.

The heated seats in the front and rear are great. I went for the Desing spec because I wanted smaller 18-inch wheels. The ride seems fine and I feel it corners better than the Honda CRV.

One thing that I have learned is that the regeneration is better when the car is in Sport mode. Not sure why this is. It has three modes, Eco, Ordinary, and Sport. It would improve with better regenerating braking.

Overall I am very happy with this car. The efficiency of it is amazing and it equals my previous 57-plate diesel CRV for mpg and it tends to beat it. It tries to drive in electric when it is in hybrid mode and I understand it leaves a bit of the electric charge for this. Toyota has had years to develop this technology.

Overall I am very

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