Perhaps, but Sean's head was still 2-3 inches above the roof-line so I can assure you that the picture is still pretty close to the truth. Even more dramatic would be a picture that shows him cramped under the roof liner. With regards to the "hybrid" mechanic thing: That gentleman is definitely NOT a hybrid mechanic. At most he's a regular mechanic without any hybrid service certification whatsoever (Without elaborating too much, that's an area I know a bit about). However regrettable, this thing about "frequent battery replacements" coming from the mouth of non certified technician is expected and predictable. Amazingly, you still find these folks at many Toyota and Honda dealers especially those in smaller centers or those who are managed on the cheap and forgo the training and certification of their technicians. In the end it is just ignorance and nonsense and not worth crediting. I would respectfully disagree at least on the Civic. MSirach and others who have experience in this area will agree with me on this one. While there are many reasons why the battery packs on Honda hybrids have been shorter lived compared to Toyota's, one of these is because Honda hybrids are so electric assist happy. The 2nd gen Civic Hybrid is the worst offender of them all. In fact, they are so assist happy that is becomes a monumental curse for many of us especially if you want the best FE possible. By the way, Honda reduced the pack replacement costs twice. They are now sitting in the $2000 range depending on model and updated control systems. Cheers; MSantos
I've heard about it.. it might've been from you. I didn't see the battery getting used when I test drove both the HAH and HCH. The Prius' battery is also down to US$2,100 so good to see them both making progress.
Very weird. I thought that after 12 years of prius sales and publicity, all these "smart mechanics" who have been critisizing prius, should have had an idea, about HSD function and how HSD babies the traction battery.
You were most likely operating the cars in one of their characteristic warm-up modes (S0-S3) which is typical of short test drives. A longer test drive preferably spanning hours or days will give you a better and more accurate picture. Cheers MSantos
Yep, that the one... It hurt by just watching it ...and even more by wondering how long he would last in a longer drive.