Problems with Camry Hybrid 2016

Dear friends

To buy pr not to buy a Camry hybrid 2016

There are a number of members in the group who are not owners yet. They are really testing the water and wanting to know more about the car. They are gathering more info so that they can make a better decisions when the time comes.

Lately, the sale of hybrid cars is heading south in Malaysia and in developed countries because of the low price of petrol. ( I suspect the price of petrol next month should go down by 10 sen or at least the same price in order to support the petrol dealers of the crunch time. They have lost a lot lately.)

Hence, Its a bit difficult to convince buyers to go hybrid when the Brent crude is hovering at US 45 per barrel. The low price of petrol is one reason why people don't buy hybrids. What other reasons that they use not to get one?

1. Poor handling

One reason why the hybrid is not embraced is because people have the perception that hybrid cars have poor handling. This may be partly true because a hybrid has two types of engines namely the combustion engine and the electric motors. The weight of these two power sources put the strain on the front portion of the car and this invariably affect the handling department. But the handling of the Camry is not bad at all because of the slightly aggressive tread of the OEM tyres. Although not as sharp as the Non hybrid Honda Accord the hybrid handles quite reasonably well.

2. High maintenance cost.

Toyota claims that the maintenance cost of the hybrid does not differ much from the non hybrid
version nonetheless on average the cost of maintenance is very much higher . This is due to the higher road tax the owner has to pay due to bigger engine displacements. Secondly the wider tyres used in the hybrid would cost 100 ringgit extra per tyre for every two years . Thirdly is the cost of the AGM battery which costs up to 5 times higher. All these cost money.

3.Higher price.

The price of the hybrid is the main reason why people are very shy towards the hybrid. Without the government incentives the hybrids in the show room would just collect dust. I hope the special tax break for hybrids assembled in Malaysia would continue . Otherwise, potential buyers would just not even look at them.

4. Too sophisticated engine

For some , the name hybrid denotes something complex and sophisticated. Although not entirely true this has been a factor that discourages people from adopting the system. They dare not take risks of their so called investment.

5. Ignorance and averse to risk taking

A lot of Malaysians are just typical buyers who are not well read in terms of new technology in auto industries. They prefer to play safe and let the risk takers like us to suffer first. Once every risk factors have settled down only then they start their predatory moves.

So guys , these are the reasons for not buying the Camry hybrid. I believe they are other reasons that potential users have used to rationalize for not getting the car.