Collected car today - Woohoo.................

[Lawnmowerman]

True to their word car was ready today at 1pm.

Can't fault the dealer - the Dashcam was also fitted (abused the VOR system to get it here 😂). Shane was tasked with the handover and despite having a lot of customers to get through (last day of the quarter) he spent time with me getting phone paired and setting favourites. Ajusting radio to favourite stations and explaining a host of features. He admitted I could be here the whole afternoon and he would not repeat himself but he reckoned I was savvy enough to get going and then get back to him for clarification of any details.

Must admit it looks good! When I bought the 4.4 I just did not like the look of the 4.5 (and it had nothing to do with the price difference) - but have seen enough around now to like it.

First impressions...

Is the boot bigger? - looks it and the 4.4 was AWD too. Miss the hammock though.

Doors are much stiffer to open than the 3yr old with 25,000 miles on it - which did surprise me.

Auto folding mirrors - at last (although I did hit the switch unknowingly and cancelled it 🤣).

Steering feels much lighter - with less feedback - perhaps the tyre pressures are too high (or the old ones were low 😔).

I am surprised how quiet it is - noticeably quieter than the 4.4 was in EV mode.

Perhaps I am not sensitive enough but I didn't notice any difference in comfort in the tyre size increase from 18in to 19in.

Much brighter display image when reversing although some barrel distortion at the extremities - better though.

Pet hate of the RAV is its poor turning circle and it's (slightly) worse in the PHEV - the Yeti was like a taxi in comparison - (yes I know it was a smaller car).

Could I find how to zero the trip? Not a chance - are we back in the last century - a stalk you press in the instrument cluster - what? And it doubles as an illumination dimmer! They must take the prize for the worst user manual out there - OK to be fair there are hundreds I haven't read - but hey.

Complex? I reckon if Cape Canaveral was as complex we would never have made it to the Moon.

With 15 miles under my belt I really like it - anyone thinking it would be pretty much the same as the 4.4 would be wrong. Illuminated switches (all) would get them over the line into the 21st century though.

400 mile trip to a funeral tomorrow - not ideal (apart from the obvious) as I really only know the basics albeit with knowledge of the 4.4.

Lets see what tomorrow brings........... 

[Heidfirst]

enjoy the new car. 🙂

Have you downloaded the full manual yet?

[ernieb]

@Lawnmowerman, welcome to the PHEV club.  Your observations are interesting and I particularly like the comparison to the Yeti (I've owned 3 of them).  I particularly agree about the settings and setup systems which do seem somewhat complicated and don't get me started about the manual?  That said, after well over 3K miles its a brilliant car to drive, enjoy......

[Yugguy1970]

It's quite likely the pressures are too high.  On each of the new cars we've had in the last few years they've been set to the high max speed and max occupancy pressures.

[ernieb]

Agree about the tyre pressure mine on the RAV we’re high and varied quite a bit between tyres.  I think the problem is often they just check the tyre after a run or at any ambient temperature.  I guessed in my case the car had been in the sun on one side as that side was well out of sync with the other side.

[Yugguy1970]

Yep, I try and check mine first thing in the morning before the heat of the day or the sun gets on them.

[Lawnmowerman]

Wow - it's faster than I thought...........

 

Driving Analytics

Check your overview and performance

Week

Your Maximum speed this week is 80 mph

 

120

80

40

0

 

Sun

 

Mon

 

Tue

 

Wed

 

Thu

1 Oct

129 mph

 

Fri

 

Sat

[Lawnmowerman]

Well, one week and 600 miles later what have we learned.

Like........

Illuminated window switches

Blind Spot Monitor - Fantastic......(this should be compulsory - just my opinion)

Seats very comfortable - even more than the 4.4 Design which were Leather/Alcantara (different designs)

Running on petrol is more economical than the 4.4 AWD

Boot seems larger

Auto parking brake

Dislike..........

Roof panel switches do not illuminate

The screen doesn't remain at last configuration - always reverts to Maps on start-up

Despite the thread on the opening of the boot I still haven't mastered it - more time required

Although the reversing monitor is a better image there is distortion which conflicts with what I see in the door mirrors

Observation......

Why does the Plug-in flap need to be so big?

So much to understand  - KISS anyone?

Conclusion.............

Very pleased with it (and the colour - Sliver Blade). I don't normally like silver but this has a hint of something that is quite nice.