I guess I've developed a new baseline for what is normal when driving a car. I had to drive our 2005 Toyota 4Runner yesterday. A year ago I considered the 4Runner to be my luxury vehicle, I loved driving it instead of the 2015 Prius even though it only gets 13 mpg in the city. It is the top of the line Touring model with leather seats, prime stereo, and I've added Bluetooth and a backup camera. But now... While driving the 4Runner yesterday I stopped at a traffic signal. What! I have to hold my foot on the brake to keep it from moving! Where's my Break Hold feature - oh yea that's the Clarity. Break Hold is one of my favorite features. I use cruise control a lot even around town. So I'm behind some cars going 55 and my 4Runner is closing the gap with the car in front going just a little slower. Wait! My car isn't going to automatically slow to match the speed of the car in front of me. Darn where's my ACC. The 4Runner drifts a little to the right and I had to correct. Missing the LKAS. I could feel every bump in the road, couldn't take corners at the speed the Clarity is comfortable. Stopping at stop signs and traffic signals it is such a huge waste for the V8 engine to just sit there and run. Guess I'm spoiled. Maybe one downside to owning the Clarity is now I don't want to drive the 4Runner anymore. The Clarity is now my luxury car and it has set a new standard.
There is one thing I like about my 2001 CR-V compared to the Clarity. I can do a U-turn inside two lanes in the CR-V. Other than that, Clarity wins everything.
Yup, getting spoiled here too. Our other vehicle is a heavy duty truck for towing and hauling. When we drive it now, we keep wanting to hit regen paddles.......maybe someday? It seems so archaic to idle at stops.
My summer car, a 1990 Miata, has sat idle since I took delivery of my Clarity at the end of July. I garage it in a few weeks and maybe Ill be more excited to drive it when I get it out in April.
I keep reaching for the regen paddles when I drive our minivan. Lol Plus I hate gas stations even more now.
Yeah one think thats taking getting used to is swapping from drive -> reverse -> drive quickly. After having a stick for a long time and all other cars having normal shifters I haven't gotten used to the buttons yet to do it smoothly quickly without having to look. So any kind of 3 point turn or reversing out of a drive way or similar takes me a lot longer now. Everything else has been great with it though!
