{"id":12325,"date":"2017-07-27T13:14:28","date_gmt":"2017-07-27T20:14:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/?p=12325"},"modified":"2017-07-27T16:36:33","modified_gmt":"2017-07-27T23:36:33","slug":"rav-4-hybrid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/2017\/07\/rav-4-hybrid\/","title":{"rendered":"George from Tulsa on the RAV 4 Hybrid"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GeorgesAllison put out an emergency call for listener submissions, suggesting quick reviews of gadgets on the desk? Here\u2019s hoping she won\u2019t object to one that\u2019s in the garage, because this is George Fromtulsa with an overview of the \u201cAdvanced\u201d Safety Electronics in my new Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. <\/p>\n

Problems to be solved by new car. Obtain advanced electronic safety tech. In self defense, sit higher for a better sight line amidst the fleets of giant trucks and SUVs on Oklahoma\u2019s roads. <\/p>\n

Side note: I was driving a low mileage 2007 Camry Hybrid in near perfect condition. It was reliable, quiet, and composed on even the worst roads. Did I mention 35 to 38 MPG? The Camry just didn\u2019t have advanced tech, and from the driver\u2019s seat I was often looking up at trailer hitches. <\/p>\n

I drove quite a few cars as I shopped, all with advanced tech. I bought the RAV 4 because, of all the vehicles under $50,000 I drove, it came closest to the quiet and smooth ride of my Camry.<\/p>\n

Toyota Safety Sense\u2122 is standard on all RAV4s. The RAV version includes Pre-Collision System with Pedestrian Detection (PCS w\/PD), Lane Departure Alert with Steering Assist , Automatic High Beams, and Dynamic Radar Cruise Control. Mine came with a \u201cTech\u201d package that added a 360\u00b0 camera, Cross Traffic Alert with Blind Spot Monitor, and gear like a more powerful radio with XM Satellite. The RAV Hybrid is AWD, electric motor only driving the rear wheels.<\/p>\n

\"Rav4So how does all that safety gear work? Best I can tell without putting myself or the public at risk, as advertised. It brakes automatically for objects or rapidly slowing vehicles when the driver doesn\u2019t. When lane markers are visible, it will beep a warning if the car is drifting across them, and pull it back where it belongs if the driver doesn\u2019t. Automatic high beams really work, and with that feature on, I\u2019ve not been flashed by an exasperated oncoming driver. The optional blind spot monitor alerts with a an LED in the outside mirror if an approaching vehicle is located outside a driver\u2019s sight line. The rear cross traffic alert works the same, but when backing out of a parking space. There\u2019s a lot of YouTube videos showing Toyota\u2019s, and other company\u2019s similar gear put to the test.<\/p>\n

A friend in Dallas was also shopping for cars at the same time. When I told him I\u2019d decided on the RAV, he test drove one and decided to buy one, too. But after telling him I thought the \u201cTech Package\u201d was overpriced, and its 360\u00b0 camera more gimmick than benefit, he decided to find one without that option. Hen\u2019s teeth. Working the Internet together, we turned one up at a dealer in Maryland that is known for aggressive discounting. He called, cut his deal on the phone, and flew SW Airlines with a cashier\u2019s check, saving about $4,000 over the price quoted in Dallas, with the $1,500 tech option included in Dallas<\/p>\n

He treated his drive home as a vacation, stopping to see old friends, and scheduling a night at the Biltmore. I\u2019m not sure where it happened, but he admits being distracted, perhaps that phone?, but he didn\u2019t notice another vehicle cutting across lanes and slowing rapidly in front of him. But his new car did, applying brakes and avoiding a collision at freeway speeds. No damage done, thank goodness.<\/p>\n

Thinking of buying a car? The Internet\u2019s a deep source of information, though I can report that my Dallas friend tried a couple of those \u201ccar shopping\u201d services, and was disappointed. <\/p>\n

Start with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety\u2019s website. IIHS has long rated cars for crash protection and has recently started rating electronic driver assist and headlights. There\u2019s an increasing variety of top safety picks, and I\u2019d never buy a car that isn\u2019t. Made that mistake once, bought one before it was rated, it turned out to be a safety fail, as sadly verified by real world accident statistics: iihs.org\/…<\/a> and iihs.org\/…<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Check out sites like Car & Driver that do instrumented road tests. C&D tested one vehicle I had been considering, Top Safety Pick and all, it took 192 feet to stop from 70 MPH, 26 feet longer than the new CR-V. A really long 26 feet as your tires are screeching but your car isn\u2019t stopping. Consumer Reports offers insights into reliability. There\u2019s scores of YouTube auto channels, some offering really good reviews, others mostly concerned with how fast it goes. One I discovered, Alex on Autos, seems unusually thoughtful and thorough: youtube.com\/…<\/a><\/p>\n

As usual, there\u2019s links in Allison\u2019s excellent show notes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Allison put out an emergency call for listener submissions, suggesting quick reviews of gadgets on the desk? Here\u2019s hoping she won\u2019t object to one that\u2019s in the garage, because this is George Fromtulsa with an overview of the \u201cAdvanced\u201d Safety Electronics in my new Toyota RAV4 Hybrid. Problems to be solved by new car. Obtain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12327,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[147],"tags":[1298,1297,1787,1805],"class_list":["post-12325","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog-posts","tag-electric-car","tag-electric-vehicle","tag-hybrid","tag-safety"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/hybrid.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12325","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12325"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12325\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12349,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12325\/revisions\/12349"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12327"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podfeet.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}