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| Ninja car. Note creases front and rear. |
Last week I drove a strange and wonderful vehicle about
1500km.
I finished up driving it a whole lot further than originally
intended because of the geography of the rivers in the Maranoa – but I‘ll talk
about that later.
The term
“Ninja” applies for two reasons – this thing is
both unorthodox and Japanese. Ninja are Japanese warriors who used unorthodox
techniques, as opposed to the Samurai – much more conventional fighters.
It’s also a Toyota, which at first glance, doesn’t gel with
the unorthodox description, but it is very different from the conventional
household appliance (which is what Toyotas essentially are). In the first
place, it has two motors, one miller-cycle petrol driven, and the other,
electric.
It also has most of its ancillaries driven by electricity,
including the power steering and the air conditioning. It has very low coefficient
of drag, and very hard low rolling resistance tyres.
It is, of course, a Camry Hybrid. These things are now
predominantly Australian made. They’re probably the most complex motor vehicle
ever made in this country.
These things tend to get the climate change deniers
collective knickers in a knot, as they claim that they are a wank – to put it
crudely, pandering to fashion and alarmism.
Funny thing is – they are rapidly becoming a common feature
of many taxi fleets. Taxi managers are notoriously hard headed when it comes to
vehicle choice. They put efficiency and economics before politics.
This particular example was a pale blue, and had obviously
been driven in the manner of most fleet cars. Only one corner wasn’t creased,
and when I picked it up, it took me about 5 minutes to set the driver’s seat up
so I could actually see out of it.
Perhaps there was a connection between the low seat and the
creases on its flanks which were obviously earned in brushes with the support pillars
in the underground fleet car park. The bloody seat was set so low that anyone
within the normal range of physical dimensions was flat out seeing anything but
blue sky.
It was actually very interesting to drive, and felt like no
Camry I’ve driven, and I’ve driven plenty.
It was quiet, refined, a bit ponderous, and accelerated very
well indeed. Overtaking was a breeze, as the torque of the electric motor is
always there, and fairly hooks in when you need it. It has a very well sorted CVT
instead of a gearbox, and this seamlessly encourages the two motors to
cooperate in perfect harmony.
The ponderous feel reminds me of a Toyota Avalon I used to
drive in the fleet. This isn't surprising, as the architecture of the Avalon is similar, if a model or two ahead .
The Camry handled very well, but was not all that responsive. The
brakes felt funny, but stopped it very well. Overall, the controls had a
disconnected
feel about them, but performed the necessary functions with a minimum of
fuss. It felt a bit like driving a simulation, rather than an actual
car.
The big deal with these things is, of course, their fuel
efficiency. This one returned litres per 100kms in the mid sixes, which is
pretty good for a car of this size, weight and performance. This was in country
cruising mode, at which, unlike conventional vehicles, hybrids are not most
efficient. They return better figures in stop-start urban conditions. Hence the
attraction for the taxi fleet buyers.
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| They are fuel efficient - 5.6lit/100kms |
You’d get these figures in a good diesel on a long trip, but diesel
prices are ridiculous in the bush. The Camry Hybrid is content to run on 91RON
unleaded.
And the extra kilometres? You’d have to look at a map, but
halfway through the week I ran into flooding down the Weir, Condamine and Balonne
Rivers. These are all part of the Murray Darling system, flowing south in this
neck of the woods, and I had to get from Roma to St George.
First option was the Carnarvon Highway, but the Balonne crossing
at Surat was flooded. I turned north, to attempt to cross on the Leichhardt at
Miles, but it was cut by the Condamine. In the end, I had to go all the way
north to Dalby, and go along the Moonie Highway to get around the Weir River,
which was also in flood.
The detour was about 350kms. A 220km journey became 543km by
the time I got to Goondiwindi.
St George? Couldn’t get there. I’ll have to do that one next
trip.
I wouldn’t mind if I was assigned a Camry Hybrid – no matter
how creased.
