Well, I just picked up and S hybrid last night and after an hour drive back home in some traffic on the freeway there are a few things I notices.
Engine:
I drove both the 3.7 S when I was making a decision so here are my thoughts now. I think the 3.7 is a much smoother and quieter engine than the 3.5 in the hybrid. The 3.7 is just quiet and smooth transitions between shifts and I think sounds more powerful but the hybrid is quicker.
The 3.5 is a little noisy when it kicks in from battery to gas engine and it kind of sounds like a growl I suppose. Once the engine and battery are working it's very smooth.
Tires:
The tires are brutal. They are hard and noisy on the freeway. I will be changing them out soon.
Steering:
Mine has the adaptive steering. I know you can change the settings but in the Sport mode, it's way too stiff, almost like there is no assit at all. I don't know if any of you remember the days of cars without steering assit. haha, but it feels like that at all speeds. When in Standard it's much better and much easier to drive. I think I can personalize my settings to have Sport but with the standard steering.
Other:
I have to look into the brake pedal but the modulation is "squishy" and seems like there is too much resistance. This can probably be remedied.
The rest of the car was very nice. There are so many settings to get comfortable in the seat and took some time to get settled. The steering wheel seems a little thin for the S version as my Acura TL had a fatter wheel, but that was an option that I had. It took some time to get used to and still haven't yet.
INTouch:
I didn't have much time to play around with this, just wanted to get home as it was a long day and getting late.
Two things I noticed that are annoying. When you are playing your ipod there is a delay in the system while it downloads the artwork. So, what this means is the if a song comes on and you want to change it you can't until the artwork for the song you are listening to loads. UGH! This was frustrating.
Secondly, I'm not sure of the issue but when you have HD radio search selected, which means that when you change the station it first loads the regular radio station but if there is an HD signal it switches over. The issue is that if there is a HD signal, if the signal is weak, a screen comes up "Searching" and you get no sound until it loads.
Not nit picking, just wanted to let you know my observations after a long dive home.
Overall, it's a very nice car to drive and comfortable inside. This is my first electric or hybrid car so it reacts and sounds different so it will take some time to get used to that, but overall, I am enjoying it quite a bit.
Engine:
I drove both the 3.7 S when I was making a decision so here are my thoughts now. I think the 3.7 is a much smoother and quieter engine than the 3.5 in the hybrid. The 3.7 is just quiet and smooth transitions between shifts and I think sounds more powerful but the hybrid is quicker.
The 3.5 is a little noisy when it kicks in from battery to gas engine and it kind of sounds like a growl I suppose. Once the engine and battery are working it's very smooth.
Tires:
The tires are brutal. They are hard and noisy on the freeway. I will be changing them out soon.
Steering:
Mine has the adaptive steering. I know you can change the settings but in the Sport mode, it's way too stiff, almost like there is no assit at all. I don't know if any of you remember the days of cars without steering assit. haha, but it feels like that at all speeds. When in Standard it's much better and much easier to drive. I think I can personalize my settings to have Sport but with the standard steering.
Other:
I have to look into the brake pedal but the modulation is "squishy" and seems like there is too much resistance. This can probably be remedied.
The rest of the car was very nice. There are so many settings to get comfortable in the seat and took some time to get settled. The steering wheel seems a little thin for the S version as my Acura TL had a fatter wheel, but that was an option that I had. It took some time to get used to and still haven't yet.
INTouch:
I didn't have much time to play around with this, just wanted to get home as it was a long day and getting late.
Two things I noticed that are annoying. When you are playing your ipod there is a delay in the system while it downloads the artwork. So, what this means is the if a song comes on and you want to change it you can't until the artwork for the song you are listening to loads. UGH! This was frustrating.
Secondly, I'm not sure of the issue but when you have HD radio search selected, which means that when you change the station it first loads the regular radio station but if there is an HD signal it switches over. The issue is that if there is a HD signal, if the signal is weak, a screen comes up "Searching" and you get no sound until it loads.
Not nit picking, just wanted to let you know my observations after a long dive home.
Overall, it's a very nice car to drive and comfortable inside. This is my first electric or hybrid car so it reacts and sounds different so it will take some time to get used to that, but overall, I am enjoying it quite a bit.
